1. London Dreams
2. Aladin
3. All the Best
4. Blue
5. Wake up Sid
Friday, October 30, 2009
London Dreams Review
Here’s a movie that derives its basic plot from an American film (the Oscar winning Amadeus ), which was based on the rivalry between an Italian (Salieri) and a German (Mozart) composer. Served with Indian sentiments, it’s named London Dreams . Nevertheless, this globalization of cinema clicks for its worldly charm.
Arjun (Ajay Devgn) and Manu (Salman Khan) are childhood friends from Punjab. Arjun is inclined towards music, much against opposition from his family. Manu’s family wants him to learn music though he keeps running away from it.
Shifting to London, Arjun, as a child, runs away from his uncle (Om Puri) and you are supposed to believe he makes it on his own, all alone in an unfamiliar land. Until he resurfaces as an adult singing at the Trafalgar Square! An impromptu band is formed as much casually with two complete stranger musician brothers (Ranvijay, Aditya Roy Kapoor) joining him on stage. Priya (Asin) adds plain face value to the band as they win gaadi, kapda aur makaan through one transition song.
Further you are made to believe through the shallow and speedy script that after decades of separation, Manu is still Arjun’s best buddy who arrives at London airport in just his chaddi . Manu is added to the band and soon he starts overshadowing Arjun as the lead singer. Seeds of jealousy are sown in Arjun’s mind which takes the face of rivalry when Manu, a compulsive flirt, also wins Priya’s heart. Arjun starts scheming against Manu and maligning his image before the climax concert in Wembley Stadium.
London Dreams starts on a low note with an unconvincing buildup and one doesn’t mind the hurried pacing. Suresh Nair’s screenplay gains rhythm in the second half with the clash of the titans. The contrast in the characterizations of Arjun and Manu are well-defined with the former worshipping music while the latter being god-gifted. Arjun’s vulnerability to being envious of Manu’s rise is humanly portrayed giving him more of a sympathetic shade than negative. The jealousy pangs are emotionally evolved keeping away synthetic negative characters and God is attributed for blessing one with passion for music while other with talent.
Vipul Shah adds profound depth to the drama and the sensitivity in his direction makes you relate to the conflicts of both the characters convincingly. Thankfully the rivalry is more musically-driven over their contention for the same girl, thereby avoiding the tendency of the narrative to take shape of a conventional love triangle. But for a film which essentially works for the intensity of its drama, the end of London Dreams is too conveniently designed.
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s rocking tunes adds immense life to London Dreams and one doesn’t mind a little overdose of songs. Notice the musical expertise extending to the screenplay in the sequence when Salman sings the same stanza in three different musical versions in Bollywood, ghazal and hip-hop style. Salim-Sulaiman’s background score is equally peppy. Sejal Shah’s cinematography is eye-pleasing and the production design is of high standards.
Finally it’s the performances that make London Dreams rock. Ajay Devgn’s restrained intensity perfectly complements the contrasting flamboyance of Salman Khan. Salman takes the lead in the second half but at no point do the performances overshadow each other. Watch out for the scene when Ajay Devgn, seized by guilt pangs, whips himself for his premeditated wrongdoings. Salman puts in a lot of heart in his act and his frivolous nonchalance never makes the drama go overboard. He is likeable as a flirt trying to woo Asin and his doped act in the final reels is compelling. Asin looks appealing and is decent in her part. Ranvijay Singh shows improvement from his debut act in Toss . Aditya Roy Kapoor looks and plays immature.
In times when most films are turning out to be nightmares, London Dreams is a decent entertainer and has its heart at the right place. For its wonderful performances, rocking music and terrific chemistry between Salman and Ajay Devgn, London Dreams is worth a watch.
Source: indiatimes.com
Arjun (Ajay Devgn) and Manu (Salman Khan) are childhood friends from Punjab. Arjun is inclined towards music, much against opposition from his family. Manu’s family wants him to learn music though he keeps running away from it.
Shifting to London, Arjun, as a child, runs away from his uncle (Om Puri) and you are supposed to believe he makes it on his own, all alone in an unfamiliar land. Until he resurfaces as an adult singing at the Trafalgar Square! An impromptu band is formed as much casually with two complete stranger musician brothers (Ranvijay, Aditya Roy Kapoor) joining him on stage. Priya (Asin) adds plain face value to the band as they win gaadi, kapda aur makaan through one transition song.
Further you are made to believe through the shallow and speedy script that after decades of separation, Manu is still Arjun’s best buddy who arrives at London airport in just his chaddi . Manu is added to the band and soon he starts overshadowing Arjun as the lead singer. Seeds of jealousy are sown in Arjun’s mind which takes the face of rivalry when Manu, a compulsive flirt, also wins Priya’s heart. Arjun starts scheming against Manu and maligning his image before the climax concert in Wembley Stadium.
London Dreams starts on a low note with an unconvincing buildup and one doesn’t mind the hurried pacing. Suresh Nair’s screenplay gains rhythm in the second half with the clash of the titans. The contrast in the characterizations of Arjun and Manu are well-defined with the former worshipping music while the latter being god-gifted. Arjun’s vulnerability to being envious of Manu’s rise is humanly portrayed giving him more of a sympathetic shade than negative. The jealousy pangs are emotionally evolved keeping away synthetic negative characters and God is attributed for blessing one with passion for music while other with talent.
Vipul Shah adds profound depth to the drama and the sensitivity in his direction makes you relate to the conflicts of both the characters convincingly. Thankfully the rivalry is more musically-driven over their contention for the same girl, thereby avoiding the tendency of the narrative to take shape of a conventional love triangle. But for a film which essentially works for the intensity of its drama, the end of London Dreams is too conveniently designed.
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s rocking tunes adds immense life to London Dreams and one doesn’t mind a little overdose of songs. Notice the musical expertise extending to the screenplay in the sequence when Salman sings the same stanza in three different musical versions in Bollywood, ghazal and hip-hop style. Salim-Sulaiman’s background score is equally peppy. Sejal Shah’s cinematography is eye-pleasing and the production design is of high standards.
Finally it’s the performances that make London Dreams rock. Ajay Devgn’s restrained intensity perfectly complements the contrasting flamboyance of Salman Khan. Salman takes the lead in the second half but at no point do the performances overshadow each other. Watch out for the scene when Ajay Devgn, seized by guilt pangs, whips himself for his premeditated wrongdoings. Salman puts in a lot of heart in his act and his frivolous nonchalance never makes the drama go overboard. He is likeable as a flirt trying to woo Asin and his doped act in the final reels is compelling. Asin looks appealing and is decent in her part. Ranvijay Singh shows improvement from his debut act in Toss . Aditya Roy Kapoor looks and plays immature.
In times when most films are turning out to be nightmares, London Dreams is a decent entertainer and has its heart at the right place. For its wonderful performances, rocking music and terrific chemistry between Salman and Ajay Devgn, London Dreams is worth a watch.
Source: indiatimes.com
Aladin Review
In accordance with a prominent line from the film “ Buri aadat badal daalo, Aladin ko maar daalo ”, director Sujoy Ghosh kinda kills the magic of the legendary fairy tale character in his contemporary adaptation of the Arabian Nights account. Certainly the inspiration is interesting but the execution tends to become formulaic.
Aladin Chatterjee (Riteish Deshmukh) is bullied in school for being namesake of the fairy tale character. Classmates often ridicule him by making him rub lamps through which no genie emerges. And one fine day, Genius, the Genie (Amitabh Bachchan) does come out of the lamp, much to Aladin’s disbelief. Genius is on the verge of retirement and has his last three wishes to grant to his final master Aladin.
In such state of affairs, what could have shaped up as a fantastic fantasy ride from hereon, merely ends up being a formula-driven love story. Ideally the viewer expects Aladin to make magnanimous wishes from the Genie to add a new flamboyant flavour to the revisited fairy tale. Unfortunately all of Aladin’s wishes are expended only in winning his ladylove Jasmine (Jacqueline Fernandez). Jasmine is predictably the new entrant in college who Aladin dreams of but doesn’t dare to propose.
Much like Aladin realizes he doesn’t want to win his love through downright magic despite having the choice, this is one Bollywood plot that resorts to minimalism (in storytelling) when it had absolute scope to get larger than life.
Then there’s also a villain in the form of Ringmaster (Sanjay Dutt) who keeps clowning around with his team of circus extras. An ex-genie, he wants to use the magic of lamp for himself over humankind. There’s also a comet whose reflection is to be captured through the conventional climax combat.
Sujoy Ghosh does make a decent attempt to interpret the anecdotes of Aladin in his own cinematic language. Characterizations of Marjina and Qasim are loosely derived from another popular Arabian Nights story Alibaba and the Forty Thieves . A female frog serves as a reference to the fable of The Frog Prince . Ghosh has a vibrant vision in depicting scenes where the Genie opens doors to Aladin’s dreams. Some characters of the Ringmaster’s crew are creatively caricatured like a Wolverine-nailed sidekick and a masked sexy figure without a face.
But soon enough the bound script (that’s Sujoy’s banner name) writing by Sujoy Ghosh, Ritesh Shah and Suresh Nair opens up to an assortment of Bollywood clichés. The basic romance plot reminds of Rakesh Roshan’s Koi Mil Gaya with Riteish playing the underdog and Genie replacing Jadoo who helps him woo the girl. Sadly Sahil Khan can’t even match Rajat Bedi in being the bad bully guy.
The scene where Ringmaster reveals the secret past to Aladin and creates a rift between him and Genie seems distinctly derived from a similar scene in Main Hoon Na where Suniel Shetty divides step-brothers Shahrukh and Zayed. Also the pre-climax song has an exactly analogous setting as the prom-night Gori Gori track from Main Hoon Na . The screenplay also turns back to DDLJ for the trademark ‘ agar ladki palat ti hai, toh pyaar karti hai ’ scene.
The VFX effects supervised by Charles Darby ( Matrix, Harry Potter ) comprise of some decently done sequences. But the director can’t ignore the inclination to include some tacky juvenile jugglery on screen like the archaic electrocution sequence catering strictly to the kids. Sabu Cyril’s art direction gives a fantasy feel to the hill-station town. There’s too much of song and dance and Vishal-Shekhar’s musical score is just passable.
One can perfectly envisage Riteish Deshmukh for the character of Aladin for the kind of expressions he is capable of. But he doesn’t go beyond your imagination. Amitabh Bachchan is vivacious as the Genie but gets loud and animated at times. Sanjay Dutt amuses to an extent through the buffoonery of his character. Jacqueline Fernandez looks absolutely stunning and can give the Kareenas and Katrinas a run-for-money through her gorgeous looks. The immensely talented Ratna Pathak Shah is wasted in an inconsequential role. Mita Vashisht almost apes Archana Puran Singh’s character from Masti but hams it up badly.
Just in case a Genie ever emerges out from your lamp, wish for once that our filmmakers come up with better ‘bound scripts’ and more enthralling adaptations. Till then all flights of fantasy should go on strike.
Source: Indiatimes.com
Aladin Chatterjee (Riteish Deshmukh) is bullied in school for being namesake of the fairy tale character. Classmates often ridicule him by making him rub lamps through which no genie emerges. And one fine day, Genius, the Genie (Amitabh Bachchan) does come out of the lamp, much to Aladin’s disbelief. Genius is on the verge of retirement and has his last three wishes to grant to his final master Aladin.
In such state of affairs, what could have shaped up as a fantastic fantasy ride from hereon, merely ends up being a formula-driven love story. Ideally the viewer expects Aladin to make magnanimous wishes from the Genie to add a new flamboyant flavour to the revisited fairy tale. Unfortunately all of Aladin’s wishes are expended only in winning his ladylove Jasmine (Jacqueline Fernandez). Jasmine is predictably the new entrant in college who Aladin dreams of but doesn’t dare to propose.
Much like Aladin realizes he doesn’t want to win his love through downright magic despite having the choice, this is one Bollywood plot that resorts to minimalism (in storytelling) when it had absolute scope to get larger than life.
Then there’s also a villain in the form of Ringmaster (Sanjay Dutt) who keeps clowning around with his team of circus extras. An ex-genie, he wants to use the magic of lamp for himself over humankind. There’s also a comet whose reflection is to be captured through the conventional climax combat.
Sujoy Ghosh does make a decent attempt to interpret the anecdotes of Aladin in his own cinematic language. Characterizations of Marjina and Qasim are loosely derived from another popular Arabian Nights story Alibaba and the Forty Thieves . A female frog serves as a reference to the fable of The Frog Prince . Ghosh has a vibrant vision in depicting scenes where the Genie opens doors to Aladin’s dreams. Some characters of the Ringmaster’s crew are creatively caricatured like a Wolverine-nailed sidekick and a masked sexy figure without a face.
But soon enough the bound script (that’s Sujoy’s banner name) writing by Sujoy Ghosh, Ritesh Shah and Suresh Nair opens up to an assortment of Bollywood clichés. The basic romance plot reminds of Rakesh Roshan’s Koi Mil Gaya with Riteish playing the underdog and Genie replacing Jadoo who helps him woo the girl. Sadly Sahil Khan can’t even match Rajat Bedi in being the bad bully guy.
The scene where Ringmaster reveals the secret past to Aladin and creates a rift between him and Genie seems distinctly derived from a similar scene in Main Hoon Na where Suniel Shetty divides step-brothers Shahrukh and Zayed. Also the pre-climax song has an exactly analogous setting as the prom-night Gori Gori track from Main Hoon Na . The screenplay also turns back to DDLJ for the trademark ‘ agar ladki palat ti hai, toh pyaar karti hai ’ scene.
The VFX effects supervised by Charles Darby ( Matrix, Harry Potter ) comprise of some decently done sequences. But the director can’t ignore the inclination to include some tacky juvenile jugglery on screen like the archaic electrocution sequence catering strictly to the kids. Sabu Cyril’s art direction gives a fantasy feel to the hill-station town. There’s too much of song and dance and Vishal-Shekhar’s musical score is just passable.
One can perfectly envisage Riteish Deshmukh for the character of Aladin for the kind of expressions he is capable of. But he doesn’t go beyond your imagination. Amitabh Bachchan is vivacious as the Genie but gets loud and animated at times. Sanjay Dutt amuses to an extent through the buffoonery of his character. Jacqueline Fernandez looks absolutely stunning and can give the Kareenas and Katrinas a run-for-money through her gorgeous looks. The immensely talented Ratna Pathak Shah is wasted in an inconsequential role. Mita Vashisht almost apes Archana Puran Singh’s character from Masti but hams it up badly.
Just in case a Genie ever emerges out from your lamp, wish for once that our filmmakers come up with better ‘bound scripts’ and more enthralling adaptations. Till then all flights of fantasy should go on strike.
Source: Indiatimes.com
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