Movie Review: Bobby Jasoos

Cast:Vidya Balan and Ali Fazal
Director: Samar Shaikh

SPOILERS AHEAD

Vidya Balan does more than just don multiple guises in Bobby Jasoos. She hits many high points as she effortlessly breezes through her role, bearing much of the weight of the film with aplomb in the bargain.

The film does need the support of her shoulders and not only because director Samar Shaikh’s debut effort has its share of limp moments.

Equally importantly, Bobby Jasoos isn’t the sort of flick that is willing to stoop to any level simply to inveigle average consumers of Bollywood kitsch.

A two-hour caper film that thrives on restraint, Bobby Jasoos takes a serious turn in the second half but retains its warmth all the way through.

It is consistently charming, if not particularly exhilarating, and benefits immensely from Balan’s energetic performance.

Bobby Jasoos evokes the ambience of the bustling old city of Hyderabad with a sustained eye for detail and a great deal of fondness.

Cinematographer Vishal Sinha’s contribution is outstanding but unobtrusive.

The film is also aided by a distinctive soundscape created by music composer Shantanu Moitra, and both the songs and the background score set it apart from the crowd.

Vidya Balan plays Bilqees Ahmed alias Bobby Jasoos, a spirited 30-year-old Moghulpura woman who is determined break free from her conservative milieu and explore new avenues.
In the bargain, she runs afoul of her abba (Rajendra Gupta). The patriarch refuses to understand why Bobby should be so desperate to be the best detective in the neighbourhood.

It is obviously a man’s world and the odds that Bobby is up against are revealed in a scene early in the film.

The protagonist walks into the office of a private detective agency in Moghulpura. It is staffed entirely by stuffy-looking guys.

Bobby is in search of an opening in the agency, but she is turned away because she isn’t formally qualified to be a sleuth. She vows to prove the naysayers wrong.

She has a few supportive male friends in the locality – the internet café man Shetty (Prasad Barve) and the tea shop owner Munna (Aakash Dahiya) – who egg her on.
Another of her pals is television news anchor Tasawwur (Ali Fazal), who also happens to be a client.

Tasawwur seeks Bobby’s help to stall his dad’s umpteen attempts to find a girl for him.

The film springs to life when, from snooping around and exposing furtive love affairs, Bobby graduates to a demanding case that promises to turn things around for her.

A mysterious old man, Anees Khan (Kiran Kumar), gives her a series of assignments and offers handsome payment.

As Bobby hits the ground with the case, she encounters many roadblocks, both personally and professionally.

The rest of the film is devoted to her struggle to wriggle out of the many tight corners that she gets into.

Bobby Jasoos may not be evenly engaging, but it stays uncompromisingly true to its essence.

Although it is Vidya Balan who is the focal point of the film, Bobby Jasoos is by no means a one-woman show. The narrative is peopled with an array of relatable characters.
In the Ahmed household, there is a supportive ammi (Supriya Pathak), a kid sister Noor (Benaf Dadachandji) and a busybody Kausar Khaala (Tanvi Azmi), who light up the screen every time they are on it.

Ali Fazal, perfectly cast as the ambitious young man who wants to turn his back on his suffocating middle class upbringing and move into a tony part of town, is clearly an actor who has it in him to go places.

The most impressive among the supporting actors is Rajendra Gupta as the father who sees no reason why a girl from his family should go out and seek a life for herself.

Two sequences involving Gupta stand out. In the first, Bobby, accompanied by her mother, walks over to her father’s room to hand over her first big pay packet to him.

The old man curtly refuses to accept the money, leaving both his wife and daughter at the end of their tether.

In a climactic confrontation, father and daughter come face to face yet again, but this time around the outcome is filled with heightened pathos.

Bobby Jasoos has no item numbers, no cheap thrills, and none of the usual trappings of a wannabe blockbuster.

But it has Vidya Balan in fine fettle, and that should be reason enough for you to go out and watch the film.

Movie Review: Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania (2014)

When Kavya Pratap Singh [Alia Bhatt], a chirpy, yet fiesty girl from Ambala, decides to make a trip to Delhi for her marriage shopping, she meets a young, carefree Delhi lad, Humpty Sharma [Varun]. Humpty’s father is the owner of a campus bookstore, where Humpty and his two best friends, Shonty and Poplu, have grown up together and which remains their hangout spot even now. Kavya is unattainable for Humpty initially, which makes her even more endearing to him. But being a Delhi boy, he is not the one to give up so easily. With some help from his two best friends, he finds out all about her and through an interesting turn of events (including a ploy to save Kavya’s friend Gurpreet’s marriage), they start growing closer to each other.

The more time they spend with each other, their love hate banter grows, but their chemistry is apparent. They are both different, yet very similar as people. They are young, fiesty and carefree, and its the spurge of life which attracts them to each other.

As per plan, once Kavya’s trip ends, she heads back to Ambala, knowing very well that her father, the very strict, yet loving Mr. Singh, would never accept her love for Humpty. But even though they both weren’t looking for love, love happened. So Humpty, accompanied by his two friends, decides to go get Kavya.

That’s the beginning of a journey for him that he wouldn’t have imagined undertaking even in the wildest of his dreams. Humpty, against all odds, decides to convince Kavya’s family to agree to his alliance with her. How he does this and if he succeeds in his mission forms the rest of the story.

Movie Review: Lekar Hum Deewana Dil (2014)

Dinesh Nigam (Armaan Jain) and Karishma Shetty (Deeksha Seth) are South Bombay college mates who have no inkling that they might be in love with each other.

Realization dawns on them only when, after downing several half pints of beer at a bar, they playact and ‘Dino’ proposes to ‘K’ and invites everybody within earshot to their wedding.

Sure enough, the path to bliss is strewn with thorns. The couple runs into fierce opposition from their respective families and decides to flee to Goa, a rescued puppy in tow.

On the run, they get married but the girl, all coy and proper, makes it a point not to consummate the union.

So the young lovers do everything that young lovers do in run-of-the-mill Hindi films but they do not jump into bed.

Not that the boy does not try. He makes many cheesy attempts to lure the girl. The latter describes the boy’s desperation as a “massive turnoff” and sticks to her guns.
Making their way around the country to evade the cops on their trail, they end up in Maoist-infested Dantewada.

What is a Maovadi, Dino asks incredulously, not even getting the pronunciation of the word right. That is how ignorant the lovers are of the realities of the land.

So, in one half of Lekar Hum Deewana Dil, the twosome is on a voyage of discovery.
Their chaotic journey culminates bizarrely in a raunchy item number performed by a belly dancer in the middle of a Bastar forest at the behest of a Naxalite leader.

Matters come to head when the lovers realize that life and love aren’t all song and dance. Reality intervenes and their impulsively made plans are abruptly thwarted.
A suitably chastened Dino returns home in a huff and declares that he has turned a new leaf.

The second half is an endless yawn as the parents of the lovers consult counselors and lawyers and approach the family court for an annulment of the marriage.

On their part, Dino and K blow hot and cold until all the air in the film is sucked dry. Their whining and pining goes on till well after the drama has run out of steam.

Movie Review: Ek Villain (2014)

Guru is a quiet, tough and ruthless boy, working for a politician, Prahlad. A dark past refuses to let Guru sleep at night until he meets a girl, Aisha.He falls in love with her, his life changes and he convinces Aisha to get married to him.

Guru even quits his job and moves from Goa to Mumbai to make a new beginning with Aisha. Just when things seem perfect, she falls prey to an attack.

Devastated, Guru starts hunting the miscreant and is shocked to learn of his seemingly innocuous and simple identity. Something is amiss and Guru is unable to place a finger on the precise problem.Who is the real assailant and what is his motive?

The plot thickens as the astonishing mystery unveils and new realizations come to the forefront.Instead of narrating the tale in a linear fashion, Mohit Suri uses an altogether different mode this time — reverse narration — whereby the story unfolds after the catastrophe has occurred. The tender moments between the lovers, the upheaval in their lives caused by the antagonist, the twisted game of cat and mouse and the thrilling twist in the finale… Mohit has a knack of narrating stories with flourish and the tale he sets out to narrate in EK VILLAIN keeps you on your toes all through.

Mohit makes EK VILLAIN an enthralling experience, no two opinions on that. Although a number of movies have focused on serial killers, the talented raconteur along with screenplay writer Tushar Hiranandani [also the creative director of the film] makes sure they pack several remarkable twists that transcend the genre, making it a novel experience for the spectator. The undercurrent of tension and the violent crimes are intertwined skillfully with the affectionate moments between the lovers and the emotional turmoil that the protagonist goes through. The writing, in short, keeps you captivated right through the finale, which, again, is not of the run of the mill variety. As a matter of fact, the clash between the good and the evil towards the concluding stages is the icing on the cake.

Movie Review: Humshakals (2014)

Humshakals is the story of the confusion and mayhem that takes place when three individuals have a lookalike of a lookalike, all with the same name. Ashok (Saif Ali Khan) and Kumar (Riteish Deshmukh) are best friends and both are unaware of their lookalikes Ashok (Saif Ali Khan) and Kumar (Riteish Deshmukh), who are also best friends and are unaware of their lookalikes Ashok (Saif Ali Khan) and Kumar (Riteish Deshmukh), who again are best friends. And then there is Mamaji (Ram Kapoor) who is a lookalike of another Mamaji (Ram Kapoor) who in turn is a lookalike of another Mamaji (Ram Kapoor). In short, it’s the story of three individuals having triple roles.

Bollywood’s obsession with double roles [many, many films], triple roles [recall Amitabh Bachchan's triple role in MAHAAN or Rajinikanth's triple role in JOHN JANI JANARDHAN], even multiple roles [Sanjeev Kumar reprised as many as nine roles in NAYA DIN NAI RAAT] is too well known. But Sajid Khan’s HUMSHAKALS is, perhaps, the first Hindi movie that has each of the three male leads [Saif, Riteish and Ram Kapoor] reprising triple roles.

Like his cinema or not, Sajid’s laughathons have regaled the spectators since his big screen debut [HEYY BABYY; 2007]. Over the years, the HOUSEFULL franchise — HOUSEFULL and HOUSEFULL-2 — have only cemented his status as an entertainer who endeavours to make the audience flex their facial muscles in those 2+ hours. The only sore point in his career has been HIMMATWALA, but one expects him to bounce back with renewed vigour with HUMSHAKALS.

Handling a complicated screenplay is indeed demanding — an arduous task, frankly — but Sajid has, in the past, handled multiple characters in most of his films. Nonetheless, the script of HUMSHAKALS falls into a new terrain completely and the going can be slippery if it lacks the grip. Of course, the intent — providing laughs and offering entertainment — remains the same, but the triple roles have to ensure abundant entertainment for you to relish the ride. While Sajid keeps the storytelling simple and uncomplicated, the fun quotient is missing for most parts, appearing in bits and spurts only.

Movie Review: Besharam (2013)

Still from the movie

Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Pallavi Sharda, Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Kapoor
Direction: Abhinav Singh Kashyap
Genre: Comedy
Duration: 2 hours 18 minutes

Story: Babli steals cars, fears nothing and romances like a rowdy Romeo. But gets away with benevolence and besharmi.

Review: Remote control Ranbir is here. He can change your mood with a flick of an emotion. Laughter, tears, joy and palang tod romeo-giri. Bedazzling the eyes with baubles, goggles and padded crotches. Yes, he packs in this 'bulge' with besharmi and fearlessness.

At the outset, let me tell you that Kashyap's ('Dabangg' fame) 'Besharam' lacks a kadak story. It has thoda herogiri, clap-trap dialogues, freestyle rowdy dancing and stylish stunts (borrowed from recent action films). Bas! But RK drives this one (taking fuel and pee breaks) through fast freeways and rocky roads.

Babli (Ranbir), a baap-less boy, is a car mechanic-cum-thief, with braveheart. Along with his partner-in-crime, Titu (Amitosh Nagpal), they steal cars to support the orphanage that housed them. The smooth operators have a touch of class too, they dress like MIB ('Men In Black') call themselves T1 & T2 ('Terminator').

During one carnama, they encounter the comical cop-couple, Chulbul (Rishi) and Bulbul (Neetu) Chautala. Enter Tara (Pallavi), the 'beauttee' he falls for. He breaks her heart and spends the rest of the film fixing dils and dents.

This seems like Kashyap's test-drive with Ranbir, with average direction, un-moving music, and a screenplay that is unoriginal and so low on horsepower that it deflates before he revs the reel. He relies on the sheer 3K (read: Kapoors) power to entertain.

Ranbir's role may not be path-breaking, yet he's in full control. He plays a riotous rowdy with utter confidence; using gags padded (stuffing his crotch with socks - even men need 'enhancement', no?), with humour that's corny and horny. Ranbir is shamelessly, stylishly superb! If comic cracks weren't enough, watch out ladies - there's a real one, a flashed 'butt-crack' by RK!

Second in command is his baap, really - Rishi Kapoor. He steals one of the best moments of the film when he gyrates to 'Badtameez Dil'. He brilliantly plays the not-so-dabangg Chulbul, with a biwi (in adorable act) who fires (verbal) bullets and chides his mardangi. Newcomer Pallavi is confident but needs coaching. Amitosh Nagpal (Titu) adds fuel to the comic-fire.

While this is far from the best films of the year, if you shamelessly love Ranbir, go for it.

Note: You might not like this if don't have an appetite for typical Bollywood formula films.

Movie Review: Raqt (2013)

Story: An adopted daughter craves for undivided attention and love from her mother. Turns out she has a psychological disorder. Review: Raqt is a disaster. If it doesn't give you a throbbing headache, you deserve a medal for putting up with utter crap in the name of cinema. The film is loaded with terrible dubbing, out of focus scenes, sleazy songs, tacky dialogues, horrible outfits, a dumb story and pathetic direction. If you must know the story - Sonia (Sweta Bharadwaj) is an actress who adopts her niece Suhani ( Sheena Shahabadi), as her mother dies in an accident. Sonia adores Suhani but the latter fears if Sonia falls in love with anyone else, she might send her away to a boarding school. In no mood to share her mother's affection, she kills everyone who comes between them. Strangely, the mother has no clue about the happenings and is not suspicious of her daughter's behaviour. Thus, many more get killed and the film goes on forever, leading to nowhere. Almost everything about the film is annoying and appalling at the same time. The mother-daughter bond looks like a joke. Farida Jalal plays the role of a maid and because she happens to be 'Maria', she speaks in that cliched Bollywood Christianised-Hindi. "Tum karne ko mangta, bachcha baby, bada baby." "You know how it works in Hollywood" tells a director to an actress, a woman shows off her cleavage and says, "Objects are bigger from inside than they appear outside", etc. There is also this cringeworthy 'lesbian' scene which grosses you out. Shakti Kapoor plays the role of a noble priest and that evokes laughter for obvious reasons. Performances are as lame.

Movie Review: Prague (2013)

Story: Moods, delusions, fantasies and fear...this film follows the complexities of an architect's psyche as he moves to Prague for a project. Review: If you are the type who looks for reasons and answers in a story, Prague is not for you. It doesn't have an agenda, per se, nor is it easy to comprehend. It's free-floating, erratic, pensive and sombre, just like its protagonist's mind. The mood is kept melancholic as the camera follows an architect (Chandan Roy Sanyal) who keeps wandering around, attending to his random thoughts. More than a conversation, his every dialogue is him thinking aloud. The dark, non-linear storytelling helps build a psychological tension throughout, making you feel as if you are being sucked into a black hole, with no way out. If you are patient enough to appreciate and observe the intricacies of Chandan's behaviour, Prague won't disappoint you. What we particularly liked about the film was its layering. The film is structured beautifully. It's atmospheric, unique and manages to hold your attention with its abstract imagery. However, for the impatient ones, finding method in the lead character's madness could get painful, especially since the film is a tad confused and sluggish. A few lines could also offend women. What particularly made us cringe was a 'casual scene', where a guy asks a girl to pronounce the Hindi word for thigh. Performances and cinematography are impressive. The Czech capital has been captured beautifully and so are romantic glances and flirtatious advances. Chandan Roy Sanyal is impactful and the very pleasant Elena Kazan makes her presence felt. More than the city, Prague, the film, is about Chandan's psychological struggle, haunting past and inconsistent behaviour. It's not for everyone. However, if you prefer unconventional, mysterious drama over mainstream entertainment, Prague will engage you.

Movie Review: Maazii (2013)

Florist Tarun ( Sumeet Nijhawan), his wife Srishti ( Mona Wasu) and their little daughter live happily in the beautiful hills of Mussoorie. While Tarun is calm as a cucumber, Srishti is vivacious and dominating. Their idyllic life however gets a sudden jolt when Tarun ends up confronting two criminals who misbehave in his shop. The repercussions of that event put his and his family's life in jeopardy, also bringing to the forefront some startling revelations and brutal confessions. It's commendable that debutant director Jaideep Chopra delivers a spine-chilling thriller that has an international sensibility and feel to it. The film starts brilliantly. Major credit goes to actor Pankaj Tripathi for creating that psychological tension, an underlying air of somberness, through his eerie prologue. The film then shifts gear. The tension mellows. A happy 'family track' grabs our attention before we are transported back to the unveiling of a mystery. The 'whodunnit' thriller keeps you engaged throughout. Performances and cinematography are impressive and so is the story-telling. Nowhere does the film slow down or lose momentum. What we didn't like were a few irrelevant sub-plots and characters. The item song could have been easily avoided too. The bloodshed and violence start getting predictable and formulaic after a while. The portrayal of the media in the film is silly. The film also seems to be partially inspired by Hollywood film Taken. Overall, Maazii is a dark, haunting and unconventional tale of crime and redemption. In spite of no big names associated with it, it manages to hold your attention till the end.

Movie Review: Grand Masti (2013)

After a hiatus of 9 years, taking forward the legacy of the brand, the ‘Masti’ team is back again with a sequel ‘Grand Masti’ which promises to be bigger, funnier and dhamakedaar.Three married guys Vivek Oberoi as Meet,Aftab Shivdasani as Prem and Riteish Deshmukh as Amar go out on fun experience in their college reunion in Shree Lalchand University of Technology and Science(SLUTS),finally to be trapped in a danger. The naughty boys are back! This time around, the MASTI team of Indra Kumar and the flirtatious boys take a flight of stairs, serving no-holds-barred adult humor to patrons. Sure, there have been comedies in the past — clean entertainers and those targeted at adults — but Indra Kumar seems to be the torchbearer of this genre, getting it right in a row [MASTI, DHAMAAL, DOUBLE DHAMAAL]. This time — you may have guessed it by now — it’s much more raunchy, explicit, wicked, zany… and much, much, much more scandalous! A film like GRAND MASTI isn’t plot-driven. Not at all. And don’t even expect a story here. It’s more about double entendres, [sexual] puns and gags and the writers go bananas to woo the spectator. There’s nothing left for imagination here, nor does it hinge on puerile or kiddish jokes, since the characters indulge in some really naughty play of words. The humor, let me add, may sound provocative, disgusting and offensive, but come on, what are you expecting from a film like GRAND MASTI?

BA Pass movie review

The film opens with a funereal scene of an extended family in mourning over a double tragedy. It closes with a shockingly distressing finale. And nothing that happens in between provides the minutest glimmer of hope. Yet BA Pass is never less than riveting. It is an unflinching, scalding tale that exposes the heart of darkness that lies under the serene, genteel veneer of middle class life in Delhi. The downbeat drama, which marks cinematographer Ajay Bahl's directorial debut, plays out in a benighted world of dangerous liaisons and false moves where the privileged and powerful prey relentlessly and mercilessly on those that are weak and vulnerable. This sharply written, smartly edited and evocatively shot film lands all its blows well-nigh perfectly, without having to overplay its hand. BA Pass builds up its 'horror' tale bit by bit, tightening the screws with calm, calculated twists and turns as it inches towards its unsettling climax. Adapted from Mohan Sikka's The Railway Aunty, a short story that was part of the Delhi Noir anthology published in 2009, the film is neither manipulatively 'bold' nor exploitatively 'erotic'. If anything, it is a deeply melancholic take on innocence sullied and brutalized. In the bleak, amoral universe that the narrative is located in, vile treachery lurks at every bend. All that seems to exist and thrive is runaway lust. Here, seduction is only a deadly, soul-destroying game whose rules are as perverse as the morally barren terrain that it is played on. Love is not even a distant mirage in this emotionally arid urban outback, and the sex act is indulged in with clinical coldness, only as a means to exercising power over the meek, not as a pursuit of pleasure by a pair of equal partners. A teenage boy (Shadab Kamal) loses both his parents in an accident. He is forced to leave his small town in Punjab and move to Delhi, to his aunt's unwelcoming home in a Paharganj railway officers' colony. Manipulated by the wife (Shilpa Shukla) of his uncle's boss (Rajesh Sharma), he is drawn into the licentious lady's boudoir and from thence into male prostitution. He is quickly sucked into a bottomless abyss. The boy needs money to fund his studies and his two sisters' stay in an orphanage. The sexual predator next door puts him in touch with other similarly inclined 'aunties' in the neighbourhood and he soon begins to earn enough to be able to dream of escape for himself and his hapless siblings. His only friend is a cemetery caretaker (Dibyendu Bhattacharya) who he befriends as a result of a shared passion for chess. The teenager adores Kasparov, his sparring partner swears by the older Karpov. But there is much else that separates the two. BA Pass is filmed with a keen sense of space and mood. Deviating from the written text in the climactic passages and in expanding a few of the minor characters and adding a couple of new ones, Bahl creates a noir ambience with the minimum of fuss. The director, who is also the film's cinematographer, employs elongated, disconcerting silences, furtive flurries in the shadows, and decrepit, constricted spaces over which the stench of death, decay and danger hang heavy. Violence is a constant presence in this heartless world. The lovemaking is rough and leaves bruises and scratches that linger long enough on the body to singe the soul of the boy at the receiving end. And all this is always just one catastrophic step away from brutal blood-letting. BA Pass is gritty and affecting because its characters, even the most minor ones, are vividly etched, believable people. Whether it is the superficially amiable bua (Geeta Sharma) who barely tolerates her nephew or the dignified Suhasini (Deepti Naval in a cameo), a middle-aged woman who watches over her dying husband and, simply in order to survive, seeks the platonic company of young boys, everyone that Bahl conjures up is flesh and blood. The acting lends coiled power to the story, with both Shilpa Shukla and Shadab Kamal holding their own all the way through this obviously difficult-to-navigate material. Shukla invests the smouldering and scheming 'railway aunty' with an aura of mystery and ruthless impenetrability that is at once raw and refined. It is a performance marked by impressive skill. Kamal immerses himself with unwavering conviction into the doubts and dilemmas of a young man forced to embrace adulthood before he is ready for its onset. Dibyendu Bhattacharya, as a man who makes a living off the dead and hopes to break away from the graveyard one day, nails the nuances of the character to perfection. BA Pass combines the bone-dry quality of a chiselled short story and the stark directness of a minimalist tragedy to deliver a taut, gripping film about the hell that a big city can be behind the bright neon lights and the living room glass cabinets stacked with flashy dolls.

Movie Review: Rabba Main Kya Karoon

Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding proved it once for all. Only Greek weddings need not be big and fat, Punjabi Indian weddings don't lag far behind either. Bollywood has over the years developed a peculiar partiality towards romantic-comedies set during wedding celebrations. Aditya Chopra's Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge did it too. And got away with it with spectacular success. Director Amrit Sagar Chopra, who has to his credit that very fine war epic 1971, returns to direction after six years. He certainly has not lost his spark as a storyteller, who can frame his characters in postures of flattering self-revelation even when caught with their pants down. And pants certainly slip repeatedly to the ground in this sex comedy where no one really gets down to having sex. They just speak about sex, and that too in hushed wink-wink-nudge-nudge tones. This "sex comedy" is astonishingly and refreshingly free of smut and suggestiveness. Even when Arshad Warsi, that natural-born scenestealer, asks his kid-brother (newcomer Akash Chopra) if he had ever "done it" before his wedding, it's done with wit, and a certain innocence. The tale of a virgin-groom and his determination not to lose his cherry no matter how much he gets provoked by his randy brother, is told with a tongue-in-cheek flair. The narration is easygoing and casually stylish. The going never gets garish or gross. And that, during these alarming times of grand masti, is a relief. The director shoots romance, wedding festivities, and loaded dialogues between the two brothers with a wink and a smirk that remain the prevalent moods until midway when, like most Bollywood comedies, the bantering boisterousness of a band-baaja baarati runs out of steam...and scream. The second half whittles down to a whimper. The climax with Akash dangling from a window in a fortress is perhaps indicative of where the scriptwriter finds himself at this delicate juncture when all the noisy confusion must seek a way out. Nonetheless, the theory that "all" men cheat on their wives is interestingly explored through the slimy characters played by Paresh Rawal, who proves his wife, the ever-brilliant Sushmita Mukherjee, clinically unhinged to get away with his womanizing, Shakti Kapoor, who euphemistically describes fornicating as smoking, and Arshad, who fools his gullible wife Riya Sen into believing he is faithful to her. Right. The narrative remains faithful to the theme of unfaithful husbands. There are perky moments in the first-half where the writing outdoes the impending mood of sluggishness that creeps up in the second-half. With a cast that seems to have a blast, Akash makes a comfortable and confident debut. Arshad Warsi's incorrigible Bade Bhaiyya act and his counseling on hormonal freedom are the film's USP. Arshad doles out brotherly advice like Gandhian wisdom, even bringing in a reference to Bhagwan Rama that would have the director's grandfather, the tele-serial Ramayan maker Ramanand Sagar blush. Cinematographer Aseem Bajaj shoots the festivities with restrained gusto. Amrit Sagar is fully in control of the comic chaos in this big fat eventful shaadi. Rabba, this is one helluva joyride!

Movie Reviews: Love in Bombay

For its undeniable sentimental value and its obvious curiosity factor, Love in Bombay might be of some interest to a hardy Hindi film historian. But for a critic, a far less patient creature at the best of times, assessing this film’s faded visuals, patchy soundtrack and none-too-bewitching story four decades after it was cobbled together, is a tricky task. There is no getting away from appreciating a son’s gesture in paying homage to his dear departed father by salvaging a lost film. Love in Bombay all but cost its director and lead actor Joy Mukherjee his movie career. It found no takers. Neither can one ignore the fact that there has probably never ever been a film in history that has been theatrically released 42 years after it was produced. But to be absolutely honest, some movie memories are best left alone. Waheeda Rehman, a peerless screen goddess, did infinitely more accomplished work in her illustrious career than what she was allowed to come up with in Love in Bombay. Kishore Kumar, a mercurial comic genius, scaled far greater heights in an eventful and multi-dimensional ride through showbiz than he had the opportunity to touch in Love in Bombay. Shankar-Jaikishan, an iconic composer duo who defined Hindi film music at the peak of their prowess, was probably only operating at half tilt during the making of Love in Bombay. And Majrooh Sultanpuri, lyricist par excellence, gave our collective voices far more sensitive lines to hum than the ones he delivered in Love in Bombay. It is quite apparent that had this film been released in the early 1970s, it would have been quickly forgotten. It is only a quirk of fate that seems to have assured it a far longer life. By virtue of lying in the cans this long, Love in Bombay has had the fortune of being revived in multiplexes long after the city in the title found a new name, and a year-and-a-half after its producer-director moved on to a new life. Love in Bombay spins an outlandish yarn that, like so many others of its kind from that period, goes all over the place although it is supposed to be about one over-arching emotion and a single mega-city. The male protagonist, Badal (Joy Mukerji), is a man of many parts. He is a deep sea diver, a deck hand, a fighter, a racing jockey and, of course, a lover. Not to forget, he also owns a loyal horse called Cheetah although he is as poor as a dormouse. Badal saves a wealthy tycoon’s daughter, Preeti (Waheeda Rehman), from drowning after a shipwreck. He then also helps her escape from an island inhabited by – yes you’ve guessed it – by a tribe that appears to have emerged from a tank of tar. These ‘savages’ are armed with bows, spears and poisonous arrows. They break into a strange dance when they espy the intruders from the big city. The heroine’s dad (Rehman), referred to simply as Mr Verma, is, of course, in no mood to let his daughter be spirited away by the horseman. So the old moneybag, to fob off the unsuitable suitor, gives Badal an ultimatum: earn five lakh rupees in three months or else forget Preeti. Badal, egged on by a friend, a bear-owning bhau from Kolhapur, Ganpat Rao (Kishore Kumar), gets down to the task of finding a way to earn half a million rupees. Love in Bombay resorts to all the tacky tricks that were known to makers of 1970s potboilers, including the devious machinations of a villain (Dev Kumar) and the antics of Tun Tun, whose mare is pursued by the hero’s horse much to the lady’s chagrin. It would be rather meaningless to assert that the style here is dated: what do you expect from a film that belongs to a different era? Love in Bombay is loud, over the top, and without the slightest pretension to subtlety, but it is marked by a certain degree of innocence that sometimes makes popular Hindi cinema of the 1970s and 1980s tolerable even when they are risible. It is difficult to believe that Waheeda Rehman managed to retain her composure through the madness. Kishore Kumar, clearly called upon to replicate Padosan’s inimitable musical guru act of three years earlier, simply did not have the raw material to work with in this film. The highlight of Love in Bombay? For this critic, it is a song sung in tandem by Rafi and Kishore. Not the best duet they would have rendered together, and not even among SJ’s top compositions, and yet it’s a treat to hear the two voices belt out a number with such free-throated energy from a present-day multiplex screen.