Friday, February 17, 2012

Marc 2 DONald

The Problem with reviewing a SRK Movie as a huge fan is to unshackle the bias that comes with aplenty. But I attempt to review the movie for all that and more it is, other than the maverick Khan. Akthar, his lineage is rich and renowned for the prowess of story telling .Farhan is to live up to the benchmark that he has so refreshingly set for himself with DCH and progressed admirably by the other chip of the old block Zoya Akthar. Considering Akthars, but off-course the expectations are sky high. After priming the senses with edge of the seat sequels like the Borne Series and the recent Jolie thriller SALT , as an Indian , was expecting a Bollywood Production to come atleast 25 % of Hollywood Benchmarks. Alas , expectation are expectations and Don 2 is at best an attempt that is unapologetic and a try that the makers will be unashamed of even if there are ample amounts of inspiration borrowed from the West.Akin to the hollywood face mask that gets pealed to reveal the real bollywood caper. The plot thins & but wins in parts thus .... Mere dushman samajh rahe thay Main abb kabhi laut ke naa aaunga Ek gumnaami ka samundar hai Usme hi jaake doob jaaunga Abhi baaki meri kahani hai Saari duniya ko jo sunaani hai Mujhe pehchano Dekho main hoon kaun Aa raha hoon palat ke Main hoon Don Don Don.... Don lands up in a Malaysian Jail to engage in a dull jail break along with the dreaded yet funny Vardhan. An attempt it seems is to gang up with the baddie who has a vestige from Don 2006 Remake and Don makes good of the same to quell the European Syndicate of drug mafia who were plotting to kill Marc DONald. Lara Dutta is hot as she shimmers in the glitters as Don's aide while Piggy Roma Bhagat remains the inexplicable fetish ,fancy of the kinky wicked Don even as they play cat n mouse from Malaysia to Berlin. Mission Impossible kind off Heist at the German Bank follows and how Don collaborates with Roma , Vardhan and the other characters like Sameer & Jabbar is the later part of the movie. Double Dangers play out even as the wicked man comes unscathed is the rest of the meandering plot. While our janta viewing this can be consoled that the car chase and action sequences , the booms n the blasts ape and seem like a bollywood with hollywood quality gloss , the movie itself has an ordinary execution and an intrigue-less script.That they manage the above with an Indian budget is skillful indeed. Farhan is surely not in his best form and Don KingKhan as usual is sincere in his acts of endearing hamming .Piggy Chops is fit in fights while hotting up the screen in a chase that was hardly needed.And then as the heist plays out so does the adage of Khahani mein twist which sure is the deft touch more Aktharish. End is open ended for obvious reasons. As an ardent fan the most exciting scene was the Ducati riding in the middle of the sea- A menacing stubble clad wicked Khan with Don 3 Number Plate...Its when you know picture abhi bhaki hai mere doston .. Hoping the third attempt keeps up with the promise of what the two sequels thus far promised in plenty flattering to deceive. Note : The fan in me made me watch the flick thrice in 3 D as I was searching hard for the abundance of promise the Huge Star & rich talents of Khan,Akthar had in store ..liked the viewing though thoroughly as an unabashed fan.Some where in the 3rd dimension lurking was the Dreaded Dang Dang Dand Dadang Dang Don !

Ranbir RockStar

First things First, Rockstar is a caper that cements the immensely talented Imtiyaz Ali as one of the top rung Directors from Bollywood's newest crop of cinematic talents. Having said that , this stint with the megaphone is a tad pale in comparision to his earlier benchmark of 'Jab We Met'.
The Indian movie fanatic has a peculiar way of watching movies. The movie he see is the one he has already imagined in his figment of imagination.Which is where the expectation factor kicks in and the expectations from Ali are quite high post 'Jab We Met'. The story is simple yet potrayed in a complex canvas for the masses to comprehend. The subject of Rock as a genre is a far fetched plausibility to the masses from the hinterland and as a result the patrons may well be the GenX,Y and Z audiences thronging the multiplexes. Story - The boy's imagination seems to have caught on to the legend of Jim Morrison and conveniently finds it as an anchor for him to seek out his identity & calling. In the process he is being advised and goaded by his samosa loving friends and an interesting canteen character who endearingly dissuades him from strumming & humming opining that true art emanates from the heart which has experienced pain. Not wanting to be in his family business the naivety with which JJ attempts to woo the college hi fi heart throb is picturised with elan by Inmiyaz and portayed well by Ranbir. What unfolds is a saga of how the Heer , the stunningly beautiful ( Nargis Fakhri ) but hardly can act Kashmiri Kali & wanna be RockStar, find fulfilling platonic relationship where the boy aids the lass exploring pre marriage 'joie de vire' - ( a plot exploited many times before , in DDLJ and recently in Mere Brother Ki Dulhan ) . Alas this is where the plot streaches and meanders as Ranbir limps without the integral support of the leading lady who desperately needed to scale in performance depth to lend to the love,pain,angst and therefore frustration, rebellion of an erratic Rockstar. What lends is the sincere potrayal & acts of the Canteen Wala, Aditi Rao as a TV Jurno , and the immensely talented Piyush Mishra as a stereo typed music baron. The Yahoo Man graces the silver screen for one last time. Rockstar is a reaffirmation of the talents beyond leniage of the Kapoor Lad. That said , the movie isnt half as what it is , as Imtiyaz relies on the broad sholders of the Genial AR Rahman and the real rockstar Mohit Chauhan. 3 and a Half Stars as the bollywood afficando will want to see what the lads Imtiaz n Ranbir have done with their artistic influence.