Moview Review: Aamir

AAMIR:

Director : Rajkumar Gupta
Music : Amit Trivedi
Lyrics : Amit
Starring : Rajeev Khandelwal

Everything happens in one day. As the protagonist alights from his flight in India, he is taken for a ride, literally. For the first few minutes, as things happen in a flurry, your heart races anticipating the turn of events. Eventually, you settle to an engrossing fare with an unusual end. The end, as the beginning, raises many questions. About how unsuspecting Muslims are used by those in power to spread terror.

Dr Aamir Ali (Rajeev Khandelwal) is one such unsuspecting Muslim who is dragged to the vortex of terrorism. His only crime; that of being a Muslim. But does he succumb to the terror tactics or does he bow down before God? Does he do what is asked of him, or does he sacrifice his life and is labeled a suicide bomber, for his family to bear the stigma?

This film is for the discerning audience. It raises many questions in the mind of the viewer and leaves many questions unanswered. It's almost as if it's a film for the festival circuit.

Rajeev Khandelwal as one who is caught between the devil and the deep sea is convincing in his performance. Dragged to the by-lanes of Mumbai, inhabited primarily by Muslims, he is given a taste of how his brethren are living. At least that is what is being drilled into his head by the one who is constantly feeding him information on Islam. Forced to follow orders on phone, Aamir is sent from one destination to another as his movements are tracked, until he is to do the final delivery of the red bag at Andheri station.

The truth dawns on Aamir that the bag contains a bomb. What does he do here? Go on... watch this flick.

What is really over-the-top is the precision of the terror network that track him down right from the time he exits the airport. A little hard to digest. Nevertheless an interesting film backed by tight editing, sound background score and a solid performance from Rajeev. This lad from television has a good future on the big screen.


TO GO OR NOT: Not to be missed!

Ratings : 4/5

Moview Review: JANNAT

JANNAT:

Director : Kunal Deshmukh
Music : Pritam
Lyrics : Sayeed Quadri
Starring : Emraan Hashmi, Samir Kochhar, Sonal Chauhan

The first time he tries to reach for the diamond ring, he is arrested. The second time he tries to give it to his love, he is packed to prison, and the third time he tries to reach for it on the floor besides the gun, he is shot dead. Interesting! With the ring as the focus director Kunal Deshmukh Has entwined the cricket betting and setting scandal, which saw quite a few cricketers as casualties.

There are quite a few references to cricketers, which is bold I must say. Like one cricketer who laughs at laughter shows, a few who after retirement make the commentary box their home. The most brazen reference being the one when a cricketer who loves watches, a captain of the team, is approached to throw away a game. This particular actor who plays the captain also has his collar turned up. Like all other references, there are no prizes for guessing this one as well. Will the movie open a pandoras box? Or will the aggrieved party just let it be? My guess is they will let it be. The timing of the release is interesting as well, what with the IPL fever gripping the nation.

As a cricket aficionado who was once glued to the matches and who lost interest eight years ago when the betting scandal broke out, JANNAT in a way is quite intriguing for me. Although nothing much came out of the Commission that was set up to probe the betting scandal, and pull up errant cricketers; as a spectator, you get some insight into what might have been. But to be honest, no one knows the truth.

JANNAT is not full proof as far as a tight script and logic goes. But this is one film where I'm willing to overlook the flaws and view the film in its entirety. So what if a South African cricketer speaks fluent Hindi with our bookie, or if a cop from India is heading an operation in South Africa to uncover the betting mafia. Also, I'm left wondering, why if he was making so much money based on his 'sixth sense' did he venture so deep into the vortex of 'setting matches'.

Though the movie takes a few dips after the intermission, it is interesting on the whole. The music is good. You are left humming the haunting tune Zara sa dil mein de jaga mujhe....The dialogues too are good. Also, the reference to Naam, Mahesh Bhatt's hit film of the 80s is palpable. 'Here there is only incoming, no outgoing.' Remember the 'One Way Street' dialogue from Naam?

Arjun (Emraan Hashmi) is addicted to gambling. From cards, he gradually moves to betting on cricket, and when his 'sixth sense' makes him win big bucks he is taken to South Africa by the king pin to 'set' matches. He falls in love with Zoya (Newcomer Sonal Chauhan) and her presence in his life brings him all the luck required in gambling. They move base to South Africa. Zoya learns of his ways and sets him up with the cops. After being imprisoned, he decides to give up his bad ways and work hard to keep his love. But the lure of the lucre is too big to resist and soon he finds himself drawn for a 'setting' one last time. That's when things go horribly wrong and the coach gets shot.

Emraan, surprisingly is likeable in the role of a gambler. He shows no signs of elation while winning, nor any stress while losing. It's this quality that makes him the gambler that he is. He is cute in the lighter moments, romantic when he is wooing Zoya, focused when setting matches and confused when he has to choose between his love and gambling. Not much is expected from Zoya but she does enough to hold her own.

A word of mention for Samir Kochhar who plays the cop. Very, very impressive.

TO GO OR NOT: There has not been much by way of good releases in the past few weeks. My guess is JANNAT will do well at the box-office. It has cricket as the central theme and the game has replaced even the saas-bahu sagas on prime time television!

Ratings : 3/5

Moview review: Woodstock Villa

Director : Hansal Mehta
Music : Anu Malik
Lyrics : Virag Mishra
Starring : Sikander Kher, Neha Oberoi, Saif Ali Khan, Arbaaz Khan


What you look for in a thriller is this; when the pieces begin to unravel and you want to put them back in place, the plot has to make sense. That's what earns the audience's appreciation. That's what STRANGERS was all about. This Kay Kay Menon-Jimmy Sheirgill-Nandana Sen thriller released last December, was a perfect example of how a thriller should be.

Sadly, WOODSTOCK VILLA has none of these attributes. Though it begins well and holds your attention until intermission, when the pieces begin to unravel you say, "Is this what it is?" Hansal Mehta has no clue what he is up to. All he knows is that he has to help Arbaaz Khan cover up his wife's death.

OK, picture this: Arbaaz's wife is dead and he has his lover take her place. My question is this: are the servants so blind as to not know that this here is another woman living in the house. And Neha Uberoi who is helping Arbaaz cover up for his wife's death is not even an identical twin!

Picture this too: Neha and Sikander are off to the US with the booty after they trap Arbaaz. Both check in separately to avoid suspicion since the cops are on their trail. Since Neha is carrying the bag with the cash, she decides to give Sikander the slip, moves to another counter and asks for a ticket to Johannesburg. My question is this: does she not need a visa to go there?

Picture another scene: Sikander has boarded the flight to the US and besides him is the bag filled with Rs 50 lakh. My question is this: will not the immigration officials in the US want to know where the money came from?

So there you go. The plot is a complete mess. All that is left to review is the performances of Sikander Kher and Neha Uberoi who was last seen in DUS KAHANIYAN. Sikander Kher who plays the Casanova is very confident. It does not look like this is his first performance on screen. If he makes the right choices, I'm sure he will go places. A bright future indeed. As for Neha, no complaints. She does a fairly impressive job.

Anupama Varma who makes her presence on screen after a long time looks the sensuous seductress she portrays in her short role.

The background score is too loud and the songs look forced. The film has good production values though. Sadly, it has no plot.

TO GO OR NOT: To top it all, the corpse is almost a week old. You can imagine the stench. Stay away.

Ratings : 1/5