Love Has No Expiry Date

When you watch a film which boasts about its writer (not the producer after Rowdy happened) being none other than ace filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali,  you expect it to be worth watching. The aptly titled film Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi directed by debutante Bela Bhansali Sehgal (SLB's sister) who's been the editor for all SLB films so far. The film stars Boman Irani in the leading role and marks the debut of choreographer turned director turned actor Farah Khan (but why?), which is again a bizarre combination of the leading pair. Although the film has enough of Unique Selling Propositions (USP) to attract the audience but what actually "Nikal Padi" with Shirin-Farhad?

Farhad Pastakia (Boman Irani) is 45 and lives a satisfied but unhappy life with his "over-loving mother and grandmother", which he writes in his matrimonial bio-data. Farhad is unmarried because of his weird job as an undergarment-salesman but he is proud of his job (it's honest, he says) and he dreams to establish his own undergarments business one day named "UNDERWORLD". His family and friends are desperate to get him married; he tries a lot but finds no decent girl (rather woman) for marriage. He meets Shirin Fugawala (Farah Khan) in his store who works at Parsi Trust and develops a liking for her. They start hanging out together and comes closer. Everything goes fine until Farhad takes Shirin to meet his mother who recognises her as the same Parsi Trust Secretary who has demolished an illegal water tank which Farhad's father had built for her (his akhri-nishani type). The story revolves around Shirin and Farhad's relationship and how they break-up, patch-up and finally convince Farhad's mother for their marriage.

This film belongs to Boman Irani all the way. Portraying the role of a Parsi bachelor, honest, sweet and emotional at heart, Irani plays his part with so much perfection that you cannot do without appreciating his acting talents. Being a Parsi himself, he knows the accent and the body language of a Parsi fellow pretty well. It's quite evident that the filmmakers haven't thought once about Shirin's role and cast Farah Khan who looks so dumb on screen (well, off screen too, TMK?) and acts poorly (sharing the screen space with extremely talented Boman Irani is no joke). Daisy Irani as Farhad's mother is impressive and acts beautifully throughout her role.

The problem lies in the writing style as the film lacks the spark which is needed for a love story (so what if it's middle-aged). A film giving a sweet and simple message that "Love has no expiry date", should have that twinkle, the cuteness quotient which explains nothing but all (maybe if they've cast an experienced actor, say Lillette Dubey, or any other except Farah Khan, it would look much much better). The story is simple and cute but the screenplay is lackluster and moves on a same pace. Music by Jeet Ganguly is easily forgettable and cinematography (Mahesh Aney) and editing (Bela Sehgal, Rajesh Pandey) gains no extra mark.

SFKTNP is a decent watch but not upto the "Bhansali" mark and could be easily avoidable if you're not a cinema buff. The only thing you remember when you come out of the theater is none other than Boman Irani and his brilliant performance throughout the film (esp. climax). He should actually think about grabbing some more lead roles as "acting also has no expiry date".     

"TIGER toh Kutte ka naam hota hai yaar"

Yash Chopra presents . . . a film by Kabir Khan (his 3rd YRF movie) . . . a story by Aditya Chopra (no one told me he's unwell?) . . . in Ek Tha Tiger . . . where naturally, Salman Khan is TIGER !! There is not an iota of doubt when the director Kabir Khan says "there's only one TIGER in the film industry" as he's dauntless, invincible, irresistible, dynamic and a bit exaggerated. A film like Ek Tha Tiger comes as a surprise from the director who is mostly known for his serious films and documentaries. Kabir Khan makes a comeback after three years and bangs the silver screen with his action packed romantic thriller casting the most bankable actor of Bollywood awarding Yash Raj Films a fortune.

Tiger (Salman Khan) is Research and Analysis Wing's (RAW) most important and fearless officer who is always ready for any field mission and is best in the game. His reporting head Shenoy (Girish Karnad) tells him about the next mission where he is supposed to observe Prof. Anwar Jamal Kidwai (Mass Comm. and Research Centre ?), a scientist teaching at the Trinity College in Dublin who is suspected of sharing information with the Pakistan defence establishment. Tiger reaches Dublin undercover with his fellow officer Gopi (Ranvir Shorey), and meets Zoya (Katrina Kaif) who is the part-time caretaker of Prof. Kidwai's house. Tiger and Zoya develops friendship, comes closer to each other and falls in love. Tiger suspects something fishy around him and after he was attacked by an stranger twice, he comes to know that Zoya is an Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agent. He completes the mission and tells Zoya to run away who disagrees that she ever loved him. After a gap, Tiger meets Zoya again in a conference in Istanbul where she tells him that she loves him a lot and how they both can never be together. They try to elope after the conference and how they face adversities explains the rest of the story.

As stated before and as the history explains, Salman Khan is the "tiger" of Bollywood having a charismatic screen presence and a macho style which is irrepressible. Though he looks a bit older but nevertheless he is the super-hero of Hindi cinema. He makes action sequences looks effortless which is worth praising and for his fans even watching him on screen doing anything is more than a treat. Katrina Kaif looks gorgeous, alluring, dazzling, fascinating and every other adjective. She's not merely a cute-looking-teddy-bear in the film rather she has an equal role to play to which she does justice. Girish Karnad is natural as always and gives a very composed performance, Ranvir Shorey has not much to do but he is brilliant in whatever he is supposed to do. Roshan Seth as Prof. Kidwai is exceptional (but in an incomplete role).

The actors in the film are mostly experienced but what about the writers? Are they not? Aditya Chopra, who gave us some absolutely brilliant stories has messed up with this one. Though the initial idea about the friendship between India and Pakistan by portraying the secret agents of both the nations in love is commendable but the most expensive film coming from a banner like YRF cannot be based only on an "idea". The story starts with a decent pace but due to lack of an interesting story and an arresting screenplay (which is badly needed in a spy thriller) it falls short of events and could not move forward till the end leaving you asking for more (at least a proper end). Sohail Sen's music is hard hitting and Julius Packiam's background score is outstanding (you actually feel the background sound). Aseem Mishra's cinematography is magnificent as he frames the most unique and picturesque locations ever seen in a Hindi film. Rameshwar Bhagat's editing is top notch with fine inter-cuts of the scenes to make the film look sleek (but it's not). Kabir Khan has raised his bar of expectations from his past films, namely New York and Kabul Express and this film is surely going to disappoint his admirers as it falls short of a decent story line and suppresses the talented directors efforts and capabilities.

ETT is not just another Salman Khan's super-human film (though it has some action sequences which leads to indigestion) but it has an element of sensibility carried on very smartly, for example, it has a scene where Salman Khan strips off his shirt, but to put it intelligently he does it to change his shirt and not to beat the enemy, smart huh? Salman Khan fans won't need a review to watch his films, they'll watch it anyway but to put it short 'Bollywood still needs to think seriously about the story factor in a film, esp. when it comes out of the biggest production banner". Who said "Salman ki Agent Vinod?" . . . Critics you know!       

Watch JISM 2 to know how Sunny Leone can help the nation !!!

2012 is the year of sequels . . . The sequels to most of the hit films are lined up one after the other in 2012. Jism 2 is the sequel to the 2003 erotic thriller Jism which marked the debut of John Abraham. The film was highly praised for it's story and eroticism and is considered among the top sexiest movies of Bollywood. Pooja Bhatt, the producer of Jism took the brand name and his father's another inspired story to make its more erotic sequel Jism 2 starring the queen of adult entertainment Sunny Leone (who is enough to attract viewers). Pooja Bhatt's directorial career is not very impressive (not that her acting career is remarkable) and this film was supposed to change her career for good.

The story starts with Izna (Sunny Leone) after spending a night with Ayaan (Arunoday Singh), an inteligence officer, receives an offer from him which could earn her a sum of 10 crore rupees and without knowing the task she agrees to do it (no one in this world could be that greedy Bhatt sahab!). When the task is explained to her by the chief Guru Saldanah (Arif Zakaria) that she has to play a honey-trap to the dreaded police officer turned assassin Kabir (Randeep Hooda) who once loved her, she is reluctant to do that.. They want Izna to go back into his life and get all the details about his network which is kept in his laptop (Whoa! how do they know?) by showing some "jalwa" of her "jism". Izna at first disagrees but suddenly something prompts her and she not only wants to do the job but also kill Kabir (loosely explained). Izna and Ayaan shifts in the house in front of Kabir's with disguised identity. When Kabir recognizes Izna, he wants to live all of his life with her and quit all his wrong doings but at the same time he's confused if Izna really wants to come with him or she's happy with Ayaan. Ayaan, on the other side becomes the latest victim of Izna's Jism and falls in love with her. Now, Izna has to choose between Kabir and Ayaan, Right and Wrong, Herself and her Country.

The story of the film is not properly polished and to say the least it is not a good story to make a film out of. The story has no pace and ends up in a few scenes without taking you anywhere. The film was supposed to be an erotic thriller but the 'erotica' is totally missing from this one barring a few scenes which would make you go 'Ah!'. It sneaks into the patriotic 'desh-bhakti' genre very easily without waking up the makers (or we're lacking of story writers, so put up anything you can think of?). The characters are not neatly defined especially Arif Zakaria's character who becomes unnaturally wild during the climax and same is the case of Arunoday Singh's character. You can also be able to hear some worst dialogues mouthed by some good actors like Hooda. Thumbs down for Mahesh Bhatt for story and screenplay. The audience has a number of toilet-breaks in the kind of screenplay adopted. How Izna became a porn star and how Kabir became an assassin is absurdly explained or not explained at all. The twisted climax also cannot save this film as the plot looks unaccomplished in itself..

Randeep Hooda is yet again a treat for the eyes (overshadowing Sunny Leone). Though his character lacks something and it seems he's still in search of 'illegal guns trading mafia' which his character in Jannat 2 does but he's a brilliant actor and brings his extraordinary touch to every character he plays and the role of an insane police officer is tailor-made for him (you can watch the entire film for his performance). Arunoday Singh acts below average, even his debut performance is better than this one. Sunny Leone looks like a newcomer (though she's not!) but carries on her role with ease (esp. the bed scenes). Arif Zakaria is terrible just like his character for the film. There is no other actor . . . seriously!

Jism 2 is a decent attempt but a terrible outcome from the Bhatt camp. Don't expect it to be an erotic thriller because unlike Jism this will not tell you how destructive a woman's body can be but how to save our country through a woman's body (that too is mismatched).  If the makers have chosen a smaller canvas for this film, it would've surely worked. The best thing about the film is Randeep Hooda and some beautiful music and singing which will sooth you from time to time.    

Kyaa 'SUPER FOOL' Hain Hum ?

'Kyaa Super Cool Hain Hum' is the sequel to the 2005 surprise hit 'Kyaa Cool Hai Hum' which made the otherwise not-so-successful director Sangeeth Sivan famous. 'Kyaa Cool Hai Hum' has always been considered as another launching pad for actor Tusshar Kapoor by his sister Ekta Kapoor which ultimately reached its destination. It's the story of two notorious unlucky friends who in search of their soul-mates find themselves in a tragic situation. It was the first time in 2005 (except Masti) that an adult comedy is portrayed and it was very well received by the youth in India. Inspired by this huge amount of success, Ekta Kapoor decided to take a step further to make a sequel out of this 'coolness' quotient in the form of 'Kyaa Super Cool Hain Hum'. But are they super cool enough? Or just making a super fool out of us?

Adi (Tusshar Kapoor) and Sid (Riteish Deshmukh) are best buddies and roommates. Adi is a struggling actor doing some ridiculous products' ads to earn his living and tries hard to get into films. Sid is a smartass DJ (pronounced as 'Diks Jockey') who considers himself so unlucky that he's ready to buy a packet of sanitary napkins because he's going through a very bad 'period'. Adi's astrologer tells him that a girl whose name starts with 'S' would come into his life and will change his life for good. Adi meets Simran (Neha Sharma) and falls in love with her. Simran likes Adi but doesn't want to settle down so early. Sid starts falling for Anu (Sarah Jane Dias) whom he meets in a fashion show and who's also the best friend of Simran. Simran and Anu go for a vacation in Goa where Adi and Sid follows them. Anu's father Francis Marlo (Anupam Kher) is a crazy millionaire who thinks his mother has reincarnated in the form of a female dog on insistence of a thug called Baba 3G (Chunky Pandey). The story moves forward when Marlo insists Sid to give him his reincarnated father in the form of Sid's dog Sakru (Vicky Donor) as he wants to marry off his newly reincarnated father-mother.

The film not only doesn't have a decent story-line but it's better to say that the film moves on and on without any story. This is a recent trend in the Hindi film industry that if we're making a comedy film it's better to keep away with something known as 'story'. The film starts off well, promising a 137-minutes laugh riot but it very soon loses all the elements for which an average viewer has spent his money. The makers forgot that if they're making a sequel to a hit film, naturally the expectations becomes high and the story-line they've come up after 7 years is not only disappointing but absurd. The main USP of the film is, without a doubt, its dialogues. There are numerous vulgar, double-meaning, wicked and witty dialogues which you expect when you go for an adult  comedy (not gaalis like in Delhi Belly). If it's not for those one-liners which have the capability to make you go crazy, the film would be intolerable. Sachin Yardi's directorial debut C Kkompany failed miserably at the box office but this one having the 'COOL' brand name would make him succeed. He's a great writer and that doesn't mean he can be a great director too and KSCHH stands evident for this fact.

The performances are the second best thing in this mindless comic caper. Riteish Deshmukh shines all the way in the film and stands out even while sharing the screen space with veteran actor like Anupam Kher. Tusshar Kapoor is all the same but in some scenes he's exceptionally good. Sarah Jane Dias looks stunning, Neha Sharma has little to do but plays it well, Anupam Kher as the crazy millionaire looks very 'gayish' and totally wasted, Chunky Pandey has a little idiotic role (but "baba ne ek taang par khade hokar tapasya kari hai" - - "ye mat poochna kaunsi taang par", makes you go crazy) and Sakru - The Pug steals the show with his censored performance.

The best thing about this film is it makes you smile all the way, even if you're watching a totally mindless scene on screen. A lot of contribution of the actors' performances, a huge contribution of witty dialogues and a pinch of sexiness by the ladies makes the film an entertainer (strictly, not family) which is loved by today's youth (and hated by yesterdays'). Ekta Kapoor has adopted her brand slogan 'Entertainment, entertainment and entertainment'. KSCHH is no 'American Pie' (or even it's genre)  neither 'Kyaa Cool Hai Hum', watch it if you 're in a mood of adult jokes and if you miss this one, you've not missed a lot.