Shanghai: Just like the Indian Economy. Promises 10% and Grows at 6

If you have seen Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, and have loved it, then would definitely have been looking forward to Shanghai and to be honest would be quite excited for it to come out. Emraan Hashmi in a role he's never done before. Abhay Deol portraying an absolute opposite of what he is known for and Dibakar Banerjee coming with a political thriller starkly different from his earlier work. High expectations already right? And that's where the problem lies. It's like the Indian Economy, expected to grow at 10% and beat china, but actually performs at around 6%. Faster than most economies of the world, but still not good enough because of the expetations. A Recommended Watch, but do not expect anything pathbreaking. Overall, a 6/10.


The movie starts at a dismal pace and in an attempt to make it 'real', dibakar doesn't make it entertaining at all. The first 30 minutes try too hard to establish the premise of the movie and the characters do not seem to be making a mark despite being some very good actors being cast in those roles. The first half gets over in the anticipation of something drastic happening but doesn't. The tension of a political thriller doesn't seem to mount anywhere. May be because the background score (or the absence of it) doesn't help the movement or flow of the narrative. The excitement is not created in any of the sequences in the first half. Plain and Simple, you tend to move towards boredom. And when that happens, it would take a herulean task from the cast and the crew to pick the movie up since the audience has lost interest quite early. 


The second half does offer it's share of twists and turns but they are hardly any 'Oh shit' moments anywhere. The biggest problem was the absence of thrill in the political thriller. May be it just got too predictable for me. The Good part about the movie was definitely the last 15-20 movies which (almost) compensated for the first half. This is where the movie actually starts to go somewhere. Though predictable, but how the story unfolds is definitely not uninteresting. Though you know who is the actual culprit is but how everything has happened is something you are looking for and that doesn't disppoint too much. The 'Real' nexus of the political system and the bureaucracy is explored in quite an interesting and entertaining way in the second half, which typically has not been shown earlier in its true honesty.


It's the first movie, where i thought Abhay just wasn't good enought. Although in an interview i had read earlier, dibakar had mentioned that he did not fit the part at all and that's why he cast him. But now he must have realize that the challenge didn't pay off as well. He didn't look the part and also didn't do justice to the character. A quite contrary to my absolute dislike towards Emraan Hashmi as an actor, he did a pretty good job overall. He was my pick of the lot in the acting department here. His mannerisms were not over the top and he didn't try too hard which worked for him. A Close second was a subtle farooque shaikh who again fit the part so well and reminded of a show he used to do on television on the lines of british comedy yes minister. Very well done. Kalki offers the same psychotic, screamy, crazy eyed character that she almost had patented herself for. And nobody else i remember to be honest. 


The movie is quite 'Real' but is not as 'Entertaining'. The director got too engrossed in the 'storytelling' that he forgot that for a story to be told, 'interest' of the listener/viewer also needs to be kept in mind. You can't get so obsessive about the story that you forgot the person who is supposed to consume it. As already established, the background score (or the lack of it) didn't help the narrative at all. Imagine watching a sarkaar without the govinda govinda or the other gimmeckry. Same happens here. It just got too real and that doesn't help anyone. 


Overall, A Recommended Watch for the 'Realness' of it but do not expect to come back enlightened or entertained. Watch it if you are bored on a sunday and have nothing better to do. 


Feel-O-Meter: 6/10

Breaking: President expresses disappointment over #Shanghai. She thought those were air tickets for a china trip with family.

Save Water. Have it Neat. #WorldEnvironmentDay

Dhoni: "Bisla started behaving as if it was gurgaon. And raped our bowlers repeatedly

Just thought of an amazing joke. Have sent it for approval to mamata di. Will post upon receiving clerance certificate 

Ishaqzaade: Refreshing and Different

Gone are the days, when heroines only had to only dance to 'Ankhiyon se Goli Maare'. This heroine shoots bullets like there is no tomorrow and has shikaar as her hobby. The Hero is anti-hero and almost borders at being a villain. Ishaqzaade is an Action-Romantic-Comedy with a good and fast paced narrative, Innovative characterization, pretty grippy direction, good performances, amazing background score, a couple of good songs, but could have been better with a better cast and technical team. In plethora of romantic comedies or mindless action flicks, it comes as a refreshing delight and is recommended to watch especially due to an innovative story line and strong characters. Overall : 7/10

 Ishaqzaade is the usual Hindu Boy Vs Muslim Girl love story set in ek doosre ke khoon ke dushman family drama, but this is all the usualness about it. It has some very innovative characterization sans any other that you might have seen. The fresh, amazingly written characters and a Western UP political landscape provide a very strong base to the overall story. They hate each other, Their Families hate each other and (ofcourse) they love each other later, only to realize there is a twist in the tale which would make you go.. o fuck.. and then the movie turns on it's head.

The best part about the movie as i mentioned earlier, would be the 'hatke' characters in an unusual setting. The second best part is Parineeti Chopra's impressive performance after Ladies vs Ricky Bahl. She is the only one that keeps some interest as far as the performances are concerned. As soon as she goes away, the movie loses its steam. Full Marks. Amit Trivedi's music is again a very strong point along with the background score by Ranjit Barot. Especially the title track as well as Pareshan. Both so different to each other, but such great and kick ass songs. The overall setting is quite refreshing, though reminds of Omkara at more than a few occassions. And last but not the least, the 'message without being preachy' bit.

The problem areas that i found were, more to do with the direction. The movie goes pretty smoothly and fast paced and suddenly some stupid side track takes place or a zabardasti ka kissing scene or some romantic bullshit and characters lose their character (pun intended ;P ). Also, sometimes the movie gets quite repetitive. Gun Shots, people getting shot, aggressive romance, Lead pair running and dodging bullets, shooting people, running away, hiding.. Repeat process. Also, i soo wish there was someone else in the leading role in place of arjun kapoor, the overall cast is also not impressive apart from parineeti. Nobody impresses. The overall UP small town setting also is not explored in an aesthetic manner or it doesn't say anything to the audience. I wish the cinematographer could have done a better job.

Overall: Recommended to watch due to its fresh treatment and novel characters. Much better than the bullshit served by Bollywood these days.

Feel-O-Meter: 7/10

The Avengers: The 'Super' Movie with a Sense of humour

The Avengers is basically the usual kick ass Hollywood Action Adventure where plot, story, script, narration, characters, performances do not matter at all. What matter is CGI graphics, Over the top action sequences, Aliens, Super heroes, Larger than life disgusting aliens and yes, not to mention  the usual ‘end of the world’ premise. Add to that Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow, Fury and not the forget The Incredible Hulk. Throw in some one liners and not expected witty scenes and you have a total paisa vasool entertainer Hollywood ishtyle. Though the plot is very confusing and you’re like why can’t the super heroes end the villain in the first 20 minutes only, but hey if I am spending 300 rs on the ticket I am definitely not going to complain about the extra 2 hours of action  right? Another most important element which other super hero flicks miss is the 'humour'. The movie has a sense of humour and is definitely very funny. Recommended if you loved any of the above mentioned superheroes or even remotely liked the Michael Bay-ish Masala sans Transformers.  And yes, Leave the Girlfriend back ;)

As far as the plot is concerned, Basically, a dude called Loki (Yes, I laughed at the name too) who's basically Thor's cousin or step brother or something wants to take over the earth by transporting aliens from his planet to earth through a shiny cube, which is a inter universe-transporter/door AND an abundant source of energy. He steals the cube and goes on with his plan. Fury (Samuel L Jackson) calls all the super heroes from different parts of the world to stop him to 'end the world as we know it'.. So they come together, fight each other, one man dies and they get 'united' and take on Loki. And Save the world in process.Not that any of it matters anyways right?

Well, As already written above, the movie is from the transformers genre with aliens and guns and action sequences and cities getting destroyed etc etc. but what appealed to me the most was NOT the action sequences but the witty way the super heroes have been dealt with. They are all super heroes with a sense of humour. Just when you are getting bored of all that ho halla and seem to get lost in the 'story' as to what's happening or why it's happening etc, the movie suddenly provides a funny sequence with a crazy one liner and  you forget all that and burst out laughing. THIS is something i've not seen earlier except in the Iron Man franchise may be. For e.g.Okay, let's leave the example. It'll spoil the fun. Go and watch and you'll realize what scenes i'm talking about.

I also loved the nok jhoks between the super heroes. Especially Iron Man Vs Thor and later Hulk Vs Loki. Seems like nobody is a fan of hammer happy Thor and his Shakespearean Outfit. Robert Downey steals the show majorly because the best lines go to him. The Hulk comes in second and well, the rest don't really matter to be honest.

Overall, A Kick Ass Action Adventure with a Sense of Humour. A Definite Watch if you've seen any of the super hero movies or even transformers and liked it.

Feel-O-Meter: 9/10 (Yes, I didn't care about the story or the lack of it, What I cared about, was there ;) )

Congress talks about minorities reservation, SP talks about minorities reservation, BSP talks about minorities reservation, but they are secular. 
BJP doesn't talk about any caste based differential treatment and they are communal !!

Housefull2: Confusion-tainment

I have always maintained that one should have a very clear understanding of one’s expectation from a movie while booking the tickets and you will not be disappointed. Same is the case with Housefull 2. When you have seen the promos, you know what you are going for and what your expecations are? You expect the movie to be utter brainless comedy with tons of slapstick and gags, right? And that’s exactly what you get from this as well. The movie is actually hilarious if you don’t get into the logic of things. Most of the scenes are actually quite entertaining and though it’s almost 3 hour long, it doesn’t seem to bore you throughout most of it’s length.  Recommended if you are just looking for some brainless humour and entertainment out of the boring everyday life.

The movie revolves around one word : Confusion.  Jai wants to marry X (I forgot the character’s name). Jai’s father goes to fix his shaadi with Henna who is Rishi Kapoor’s daughter who’s Randhir Kapoor’s step brother who has a daughter called Bobby. Rishi doesn’t like Jai’s rishta and Jai’s father suffers a heart attach. Jai wants to take revenge and sends Max as Jolly, the billionaire JD’s son to marry Henna who gets confused and falls for Bobby. Then Jai and Jolly send Sunny who is Max’s ex-best friend to pataofy Henna. Also, Jolly loves J-Lo but is scared of his dad JD. Well, then they all land up at JD’s house and then enters X and her Father who is incidentally JD’s old friend and they had fixed X and Jolly’s marriage during their childhood. Okay, so basically all over a dozen characters are at the same place and all 4 Sasurs and Bahus think one of the four dulhas to be the real Jolly. Confused? Wait till you watch the movie. The confusion goes on and on and on but in a very fun filled and entertaining way.

Performance wise Akshay has been given the maximum footage and he is the pick of the lot too. Nothing award winning from any one but no body seemed awkward or pathetic. Even the girls seem to have done their jobs. Looking pretty and all that you see. Except Zarine Khan who is paired opposite Riteish Deshmukh for some reason! May be that’s to do with her weight/size that she just seemed a big misfit in the whole cast. Almost every one is funny where they are supposed to.

The script and dialogues take the cake here, no matter how confusing the plot becomes. Sajid Khan has managed to pull a close one and through his tribute to 70s cinema and Ranjeet-ism, doesn’t let you bore in most of the length. As soon as the movie goes down, he puts a gag somewhere and you are back on track. It’s amazing how he managed to hold the audience’s attention in a slapstick for almost 3 hours.

Overall, an entertaining, fun filled, slapstick which though definitely is not one of the best comedies you would have seen, but still is entertaining enough so that you don’t feel disappointed.

Feel-O-Meter : 7/10

Hugo: Clockwork

Hugo is a more of a tribute to cinema rather than a movie itself, by Martin Scorsese. The movie has a warm story which unfolds slowly and makes the audience immerse in its aroma one scene at a time. One of the best movies technically be it visual effects or sound design without the excessive use of CGI graphics michael bay style. Quite unlike the scorsese most know of. He pays his tribute to the magical art of filmmaking in a very subtle manner. Though gets slow in the middle and not if you want a fast paced 'entertainer', but rather a soft, subtle narrative which hits you emotionally. 

Hugo is a story of Hugo, a little orphan boy who lives at a strain station in paris and winds clocks for a living. He inherits a sort of a robot from his father and finds his purpose in life to be 'fixing' things and later people too. He meets Papa George who runs a toy shop at the station and has a past of his own which he does not wish to get reminded of. Then the movie takes a rather philosophical view of movie making as a form of magic and gets a bit biographical. Martin shows us what it is like to make a movie and how it is a privilege to be a part of this industry. He shows us how he got inspired by the movies and started off. How movies are just not about telling stories but to showcase your dreams and show them to the world. How 'magical' it is to be a part of this world. And he makes this tribute in the most subtle manner possible, without geeting too preachy about it. 

Technically, one of the finest movies in recent times, without the ho halla of CGI graphics or Jarring background score. Subtlety at its best. You feel so immersed in the sequences, its no joke. Recommended to watch in 3D and possibly an IMAX theater. Ben Kingsley is the pick of the lot in the performance department. He portrays the role of papa george without getting too emotional and preachy. Again, very subtle but impactful. Martin is the Hero of the movie actually because of his effortless style of storytelling and calmness by which the movie progresses. 

Though it's a fine piece of cinema, it does tend to feel a bit stretched in the middle, where you wish the plot should be unraveled a bit quicker.You seem to get lost in the narrative and would hope the second half to be a bit faster. Even if you go and grab popcorn, the movie stays there itself. Nothing really moves for a good 15-20 minutes. 

Overall: An absolute recommend to watch if you like subtlety in cinema and are a movie fan in general though gets a big boring in the middle. Not if you like fast paced mainstream entertainers only. Go for 3D.

Feel-O-Meter : 7.5/10

Moneyball: Worth every penny

Moneyball is the usual improbables coming together and winning sports movie masala but without the 'chak de india' factor. Why it works is because it has the usual plot but unusual treatment. It does not have any emotional motivational speeches. Does not have a sad story behind the success of the protagonist. Does not make him a hero of sorts. Basically it's a sports movie without the usual sport movie-ish-ness. Brilliant performance by Brad Pitt. Engrossing Screenplay. Good Direction and overall a light movie you wouldn't mind spending your money on. Though an oscar nominee, it's not one of those heavy oscar movie material where 'cinema' takes precedence over a 'movie'. Absolute Recommended to watch. Though it didn't win it, definitely my pick of the lot this year for it's right mix of lightness, entertainment, story and performances. Totally Feel Good movie of the year :)

Moneyball is about a baseball general manager (Brad Pitt) whose team does not have sufficient funds to compete with the big leaguers. His players are being bought by the other big teams and he is simply sick of sticking to the old rules of buying players and hoping they convert to wins. He meets a fresh Yale Economics graduate, who takes a different view on the things and they decide to buy 'value for money' players and take a statistical approach towards baseball. Everyone hates them, they are on a losing streak and then things change and they (whether or not) end up setting up a record of straight wins (or losses) in the league that year. Along the narrative, there is a backstory of Brad pitt being a young baseball player who leaves a stanford education for the money baseball pays and is a failure. He takes a vow of not taking decisions on money. At the end, he is made an offer where he would be the highest paid GM in the history of the sport. Does he accept? Watch the movie to know. 

The best part about the movie according to me was its non-preachiness. the usual melodrama, the rona dhona, the coming together as a team and all those melodramatic 'Sattar minute'  speeches are not present which essentially are considered the very backbone of every sports movie. That's what i loved most. It's a sports movie unlike the other sports movies. It's not about the losers getting motivated and then winning. It's about taking a different approach towards the game and then sticking to it and coming out as a winner. It's not the sad story of a sports coach. It touches the point but is not clingy about it. It's not being too emotional helps the cause else it would have been yet another and it is not. 

The plot itself is the backbone of the movie. It could not have been half the movie it is, had the things that took place, had not taken place. The actual story is very interesting and how the events unravel makes the plot interesting and the director's job much easier. It's not difficult to like a movie when you are absorbed in the story as an audience. Brad Pitt is amazing. Subtle but amazing. He does not go overboard anywhere. He just plays the part as it should have been. Taking it easy like a normal sports GM rather than being a Hero of the game. He believed in something and stuck with it, that's it. He wasn't a hero fo some sort for a larger than life image and that's what he does. Does not portray the character being any larger than he is supposed to be. Though that does not make him an oscar contender but yeah, does well for the movie definitely. 

Well, there was hardly anything that i didn't like about the movie or may be i was too immersed in how the plot would unfold in the end. Then the end credit and a final song sun by the girl adds to the overall feel once the movie is over. On the negative side if you are looking for an award winning movie which makes you think and love the 'cinema' aspect of movie making then moneyball is not the one to go for. Watch The Artist instead. And yeah, i wished that the movie had some more dramatisation especially in the last half an hour. The last half an hour should have been about 45 minutes atleast. Could cut down the earlier 15 and give it to the last part and it would have been more enjoyable. The last 15 minutes actually turn out to be the best. 

Overall: A pretty neat 'feel-good' sports movie without the usual sports movie masala. Absolutely Recommended.

Feel-O-Meter: 9/10

Kahaani: Interesting Indeed

Kahaani is one of those suspense thriller which keep you engrossed in the narration throughout the length and make you think of a million plausible endings to keep you busy . Grippy screenplay, Engrossing Characters, Fine performances, Amazing Background Score, Good Cinematography but may be about 15 minutes longer than ideal. Absolutely Recommended for a watch this weekend. 

Kahaani as you would already be aware by now (after the 753987435 appearances on TV including daily soaps and 65376347 interviews by Vidya to promote the movie) is a story of a wife who is ooking for her lost husband in Kolkata.There are 7-8 other characters which keep getting introduced one by one at constant intervals which help the movie in taking those essential twists and turns necessary to keep you guessing. The plot unravels slowly and in the end you seem to be satisfied with the climax and do not get irritated by it (as in the case of some ill executed mysteries, where you go.. WTF where did this come from types). Offers enough in the screenplay to keep you interested in the unraveling of the mystery towards the end. 

Though screenplay is no doubt the soul of the movie, good performances by almost all the actors help the cause too. The best part about the performances was that the actors never look like actors, but characters they are portraying. May be a lot because almost all of them are new or have done only 1-2 cameos in movies earlier. Its Vidya all the way and though you may seem that too much of bhaav has been given to her, she does 100% justice to it and comes out a winner. Even characters which are just ancillary to the plot have delivered the goods and that's the biggest strength of the movie after screenplay. Its a consolidated performance by the whole cast rather than one or two stars shining and rest just fulfiling the formality. 

Credit also is due to Vishal Shekhar for providing an absolutely mesmerising background score. It involves the audience even more, as if it's taking the scene to a next level altogether. If the scene is 90%, then the score takes it to 100 and you get that overall 'feel' from the movie. No Jarring sounds, No Hans Zimmery shor sharaaba, Just perfect according to the scene. The Cinematography captures Kolkata beautifully and towards the end you realize why kolkata plays such an important role in the narrative. Why it couldn't have been set in delhi or mumbai but kolkata only. 

Though due to so many characters being introduced every now or then, sometimes you are like 'Ab bass karo yaar, ab bata hi do kya hua arnab bagchi ko' coz with every introduction the plot takes a turn and you seem to be going farther away from guessing the plausible ending and towards the second half you almost give up. That is when you seem to mind the length of the movie. May be about 15 mins shorter in the second half and coming to the point slightly quickly could have made it even better. 

Overall: Very Good in every aspect with enough twists and turns to keep you engrossed. Recommended.

Feel-O-Meter: 7/10 

Dear long distance relationships, why don't you bloody leave me alone???.. oh wait... damn it... #getit

Paan Singh Tomar: Bandit King.. Well Not Really..

Paan Singh Tomar tries very hard to be in the same league as Omkara and Bandit Queen. It gets close but not close enough. It just seems trying too hard to be another omkara and misses its own self. Though it has a very gripping and interesting story with a Very powerful performance by Irrfan Khan and pretty neat screenplay, but it still left a lot more to be desired (atleast by me). Though on paper it's a very moving story but I didn't feel moved for PST and it felt much longer than its 2 hours 15 minutes length. A Good Watch nonetheless, but not as great as the feedback you might have got. (Or may be it's just because I had very high expectations). A bit more emotional, A bit less stretchy in the middle and it could have been my choice for this year's Oscars entry from India but that wasn't the case. 

Paan Singh Tomar is the story of.. well.. Paan Singh Tomar an Armyman, who participated for India in Asian Games Steeple Chase event. Returned to his village after retiring from the army and 'circumstances' forced him to turn into a Dacoit (Or Bhaghi as he calls it). Though the movie on paper is very moving and you want to feel for PST, but while on screen you don't seem to feel his pain. May be that's the way the director envisioned the lead character. May be he thought of him as not very emotional, someone who did not have any emotional connect with neither the sport he played or his family and Irrfan played the character in the same way as well. Very to the point, straightforward and when you come across so un-emotional, it's hard to feel for such a character. He seems forced to become a dacoit, but the circumstances don't seem to move you a lot. His Family members are dying, He is struggling in between the red tape of bureaucracy and police-gangster nexus but still you don't feel his pain. Atleast I didn't. There were hardly any emotional moments which could justify his turning into a dacoit. Or may be I expected the portrayal to be a bit more filmy. May be he turned into one, for the money and not because of circumstances as much. May be he wasn't the hero he was portrayed as. May be he was just an athlete who got drawn into it and was not forced into. Who Knows the true story, but I atleast didn't feel the character suffers as much to be pushed into it. 

I am not saying that Irrfan has not done justice to the character. He is absolutely brilliant and may end up winning an award or two as well, but my problem was more with the director than the actor. Also, i felt there was a bit more Irrfan in PST than PST in Irrfan. It's like Irrfan portraying PST on screen rather than him 'being' PST. He is one of the best actors in India and I just expected less of his 'Kaa bhaiya' and be more character-ish. Not to take away anything from his performance though. He is the King of the movie and all others go un-noticed. You hardly seem to remember anybody else. This is where it is not in the same league as Omkara. Coz though Omkara has the pivotal role in the plot, you seem to remember all others as well. But in PST, there is no one, you can remember apart from PST. But may be that's the way it is supposed to be, a biopic about him only and not about anyone else. 

I know that Tigmanshu Dhulia is considered one of the finest of our generation but I still feel he could have done much better in this. He could have shown the emotional side of PST and dealt more with the circumstances that lead him to become a dacoit rather than concentrated more on the humour or his sportsmanly credentials. Also, the movie in the end is shown as a dedication to the lesser known sports persons but i don't know. For me, it just wasn't emotional enough. For me, Chak De was much more emotional than this. Lagaan was as emotional a sports movie can be or has been in bollywood. PST was just not there in the same league. 

Overall : A pretty good plot with a phenomenal performance by Irrfan Khan. Recommended to Watch. But don't expect the kick-assiness you might have heard of about the movie. 

Feel-O-Meter : 6/10

At the breakfast table at A hotel in a new city. Bored and tired, cant think of something witty. 
You glance through the room and notice an absolute hottie. She gives a greeting smile and almost plays naughty. 
Suddenly you start hearing bells in your ears and your pulse seems falling. Then, you realize it's your phone and your girlfriend's calling.

We have a very musical relationship. Main uske liye gana gaata hoon aur wo mujhe apni ungliyon pe nachaati hai.. :P
Happy Valentine's Day

Ek Main aur Ekk Tu: Ek se Bure Do

EMET is romantic comedy which neither has romance and is hardly comic. The best part is amit Trivedi's score and worst is.. hmmm let me think.. there are too many 'worsts' here. It could be Kareena's typical 'hey i am soo carefree' or Imran's usual goodie goodie boy character(s). It could be the ill developed plot or an almost non existent story. It could be stretched like chewing gum screenplay or absolutely boring and not funny 'funny' moments. Well, one positive was that though the characters were cliched but the ending wasn't. The ending is not at all filmy and i can just hope that the movie wasn't too. 

Let me be honest here. I am hardly interested in even writing about the movie here, coz there was hardly anything that involved me in it. That's the worst that a movie can do. Whether you like or hate a movie, every movie should invoke a response from the audience. This one doesn't. I as an audience just didn't care after the first couple of scenes. The plot was supposed to be a typical rom-com-ish one but the difference could have been made through the treatment or 'how' the plot moves forward, but that wasn't the case. 

In typical rom-com style, Kareena and Imran are absolutely opposite to each other. Kareena is the typical 'Geet', the usual happy go lucky, carefree girl who lives every moment of her life ! Imran is a typical Mama's (and Papa's) boy once again, who is all goodie goodie and all. The meet and fight and then get married in a drunken state. Suddenly,  (sorry i don't really remember or care why and how) Kareena doesn't have any money and ends up living with Imran for a few days even though they are trying to annul the marriage. They become friends and the usual 'living life to the fullest' scenes follow. Kareena and Imran come to India for a vacation and Kareena 'changes' Imran and makes him the man he should be (Don't get me wrong here ! ). She makes hims stand up for what he believes and do what he loves rather than what his parents tell him (Yes, there is some 3 idiots here too). In the end, Well ending is the only thing interesting here, so i would leave for you to experience it, when its out on DVD or Star plus soon.

The biggest problem i had with the movie was with the non-emotional treatment. you just can't feel for the lead pair. May be since you have seen the characters earlier or may be simply because there is nothing fresh they offer in the acting space. Thye guy is unemployed and you don't care. The girl has no money but you don't care. Just because you are not bothered about the characters, you don't care about what's happening to them in the movie too. And once you are so disinterested, you don't really care about the movie and are constantly looking at the watch.

There were two things i liked about the movie. One, Amit Trivedi's background score and almost all the songs. Two, the ending so un-typical of bollywood. But to be honest, you are so bored of the movie, you don't care about the good part too.

Overall: Utter waste of time. Bad performances. Cliched Characters. Boring throughout the length. Watch it on TV after a couple of months rather. 

Feel-O-Meter: 4/10

Agneepath: The Angry Young Man Returns.. with a Bang 10/10

In the Mediocrity of mainstream bollywood movies, agneepath is one of the most moving and engrossing movies i have seen in the past couple of years. Especially when compared to trash like dabanggs, readys, bodyguards, delhi bellys  of the world and other dirty pictures. Agneepath is pure action with no nonsense or dilution of comedic bull shit. Its about Revenge and at any cost. The angry young man (or even if you want to call him the anti-hero) is back and with a bang. The movie has its 70s bollywood and maa-behan type cheesy moments and could have been 15 mins shorter but i am ready to overlook all that just because of its sheer 'being true to the story' treatment. Hrithik Roshan establishes once again that he can play almost ANY role with elan and is not limited to any genre or fan following and the Khans can shove it up theirs. A 10/10 from my side.

The best part about Agneepath is its not following the original and 'adapting' it rather than 'remaking'' it. Even though the basic plot is taken from the original, the new characters, the twist and turns, the double crosses, the triple crosses make you engrossed in the movie throughout. Even though at some points the movies goes too bollywoody with the usual maa behan episodes, pitaji ke sanskaar, baap ki maut ka badla type cliches enter, the film still does not seem to bore  and you just ignore those and move on. These could not have been avoided because all these cliches form the base of the story in itself.

Agneepath is one of the few movies in the past (say 5 years) which rests on phenomenal performances of almost all of the lead characters. The actors are not playing characters. They ARE the characters. Be it the scary Kancha or Rauf lala  played ammmmmazingly kick ass by Rishi Kapoor. Not to forget, Hrithik Roshan who shows everybody that HE is THE actor in bollywood. He does not care about a loyal small town audience or playing the same Rahul/Raj even though playing a super hero. He is an ACTOR first and STAR later. He can play a retard in Koi Mil Gya or a Superhero in Krrish or an Angry Young Anti Hero in Agneepath and still be brilliant in any role. Be it Fiza or Mission Kashmir or Kaho na Pyar hai, he can play different characters and not get limited to any one style or genre. Hats Off. You have just found a fan in me after Agneepath. Apart from these 3 other characters (including priyanka) just lie on the sidelines but don't feel a misfit in any scene.

Another thing i really loved about the movie is the detailing and not compromising on any aspect of film making. Be it the background score which reminds you of The Dark Knight and Sarkaar Raj. The Art Direction and horryifying Sets of Mandwa, the Voldemort look of Kancha, The dark cinematography and everything around it. It just seems like one of the most complete films in the recent times.

Also, Let me be very clear (for the purists and the cool ones) that Agneepath is not path breaking 'cinema' but as a mainstream bollywood movie, so please don't  get 'cinematic brilliance' in the picture. The movie is in competition with the bullshit served by the so called A list actors. It is a slap on the face for all those 150 Cr plus box office collections made through 'loyal fans' and over the top/ in your face marketing. The movie works on the narration, treatment and performances and not because the lead actor is shaking a leg in some malls or on dance/comedy shows. Not because the hero acts like a retard and people laugh over the stupidities but because the lead actor is able to involve the audience in his story of revenge and you want him to win in the end at any cost and avenge his father's death.

Yes, the movie is about 15 minutes longer than ideal, has its share of cliches and cheesy dialogues, has a couple of songs which were not required, has the usual Hrithik's greek god bodyshow and all that. But still all that can be ignored because the movie 'moves' you. You feel for Vijay throughout and are relieved when he kills Cheena and then dies 'peacefully'

Overall : One of the most complete films in the last few years in bollywood. A Slap on the face for the so called Stars and an absolute must must watch for anyone

Feel-O-Meter: 10/10 (Yes, i am ignoring all the negatives here. The movie 'moved' me and that's what cinema is supposed to do)

Guess a man should be called a woman's Sole-mate.. Jo bhi kar ley joote to khaane hi hain :P

Players: Game Over (Well Almost)

If you have seen Italian Job, don't even think of watching Players. The Bad memories will stay with you forever, especially the absolutely ham-ful performances by ALL the lead actors. But if you haven't, then Players would turn out to be a decent watch providing you enough twists and turns to keep you interested throughout the length. The credit goes to the original movie. Abbas Mustan simply take every scene and shoots it with the new Actors. Bad performances, Pathetic Music, No 'Oh my God' sequences, Corny Dialogues but with an interesting plot. Bottomline. Watch if you haven't seen the original, Ignore otherwise.

Players revolves around 5 con artists who are trying to steal 10000 Crs worth of Gold from a moving train. Then Betrayal by one of them and it turns into a revenge drama, suddenly there are all sorts of bollywood elements like orphans, handicap children, puraane sapneys, double crosses, triple crosses etc and in the last half hour turns simply too confusing just to differentiate from the original. Should've stuck to the original i say.

The biggest problem i had was, 'why can't you make an original movie'. It's not that we are living in the 90s where we hardly see hollywood flicks. We have already seen Italian job like a million times and there is nothing new you can do to make a remake look like an original and even if you can do it, why don't you make an original only? Half the battle is lost, when you see the 3 Minis running on the streets and realize its a copy. Next, You bollywoodize it. Why do you want to put all that senti stuff in. Pyaar Mohabbat, Puraani Yaadein, Apaahij Bacche, Anaath baccho ka ashram and all that. I mean, why does it HAVE to be about some good cause !! Third, Casting. I mean you actually think Omi Vaidya is a Punjabi Sunny Deol wannabe!! Sikandar Kher as a Deaf.  Neil Nitin Mukesh as a cyber hacker, Sonam Kapoor as a.. wait.. i don know what she does.. You can only laugh when you hear stuff like 'Yeh hain Duniya ke best players'. Duniya ke Best Ch****e i tell you sounds more apt.. Fourth, the performances. You can't expect Award winning stuff from any of the actors but i wish they could simply act at a below average level rather than ham their way to glory in every scene. I can go on and on and on so let's just leave it there.

The good part is, that if you remove the bad acting and bollywoody treatment. It does reasonable justice to the original in terms of filming. The added twists and turns though stupid and confusing, still add that interest factor in the last 10 minutes since the movie moves away from the original plot (Thanks to extra characters and love angles). Another good point was some(but only some) of the dialogues which were actually funny and the usual Abbas Mustan Johny Lever type comedy. In a couple sequences, you actually laugh and forget about the misery you witnessed in the past half an hour.

Overall: If you forget it's a remake. Then you could actually go and enjoy the movie with all its bollywoody treatment, the story, twists & turns, jokes after ignoring the bad acting and corny dialogues.

Feel-O-Meter: 4/10 if you have seen the original. 6/10 if you haven't

Don 2: Entertaining, Gripping, Stylized, but too Hollywood-y

Don 2 is definitely entertaining and gripping thorughout most of its length.Interesting Storyline, Tight Direction Decent performances by all, Very Stylized treatment, International Standards in filming and very hollywood-ie treatment overall but the soul of the movie is not in the script/story but rather in just chasing hollywood and seeking acceptance internationally. Its just another Mission Impossible served for Indian audience.  A Definite Recommend if you are an SRK fan and don't watch a lot of hollywood action movies. Also, to see how quickly the gap is being bridged in the quality of filming and not to mention its very tight and gripping treatment throughout the most length to keep you engrossed and does not let you bore.

The plot revolves around Don wanting to steal Euro Printing Plates from a Bank in Berlin and in the process get Immunity from Various International police forces around the world for the acts done by him in the past. He ropes in his old arch rival Vardhaan (Boman Irani), A contract killer Jabbar and Ali (Kunal Kapoor). The rest of the plot revolves around 'how' he manages to do it and has its own share of twists and turns almost every 20 minutes, which keep you in your seat and provide you the 'Ab kya hoga' moments.

The best part about the movie is its overall look and feel. The cinematography is definitely International Standards and you don't get a feeling of watching a Bollywood movie. Well, almost if you ignore the same old Rahul/Raj SRK donning the Don Cap.The Action Sequences are also very neat and done in a very spectacular fashion. No complaints there either.

On the negative part, there are two things i can't ignore. One is a perennial SRK problem, He NEVER plays a character, It doesn't matter if he is Raj or Rahul or Don, he is still the same SRK playing himself. The arms wide open, the knee half bent romancing the female lead. I'm sure all of us want him to go back to his Darr, Baazigar days when he was not the ever-romancing Rahul and please stick with the character in the next if possible.

Secondly, the whole idea of the movie is to prove a point to hollywood, just like Ra.One. Hollywood is a billion years away from us in terms of quality of filmmaking, Scale and Originality. No matter how good a copy you make, it is still a copy. It would definitely be considered a spectacular movie in the Tier 2 cities. But for metros where audience (may) see more hollywood movies in an year than bollywood, it is just another hollywood action/thriller rip off. There is too much Mission Impossible in it in almost all sequences. On One hand it's good that the mainstream bollywood fan would be able to see the hollywood quality in a bollywood movie, but it takes away from the soul of indian film making. We should be telling stories rather than chasing something done already. But yeah, that's a macro point not related to this movie per se. So ignore it anyways.

Overall: A very Tightly treated and gripping narrative providing edge of the seat excitement (for bollywood standards) with very International look and feel, though has too much of  Chasing Hollywood. Recommended Surely (if you haven't already)

Feel-O-Meter: 7/10