Review: Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai

Originally for YAHOO.COM

Cast: Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, Kangna Ranaut, Randeep Hooda, Naved Aslam

Director: Milan Luthria

Producer: Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor

Rating: ***

‘Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai’ rides on hype and controversy. It is debatable though whether the film deserves any of that. Hype, probably it does because of the great cast and the fact that it is said to be inspired by the life of Haji Mastan – the smuggler who inspired Dawood Ibrahim. Controversy, it does not! There is a proper disclaimer before the movie starts that it is in no way a biopic on any person living or dead. And even in the inspirations, the film in no way maligns Haji Mastan’s reputation. Rather it almost works like an image builder, creating a huge halo of goodness around him.

Looking into the film if it justifies the hype, a straight answer would be ‘no’! The reason is that it’s a bottle of old wine in not so new a bottle. The story is not extraordinary and the screenplay does not make it any better. It is a rather simple story about smuggler called Sultan (Ajay Devgn) and young guy called Sohaib (Emraan Hashmi) who wants to be as big as Sultan. The difference – While Sultan rules the sea and believes in not harming anyone in the city, Sohaib’s ambitions have no boundaries and he does not bother killing innocent people to spread terror. The story takes the audience through the journey of both the characters, clearly defining the stark difference between both the characters. While one is loyal and would not go against his conscience, the other is reckless and does not mind cheating on his love or craze for money over anything else. Sultan is already the smuggler when Sohaib is just a child who dreams of making it big. And as he grows up Sohaib makes his way to Sultan’s gang and starts working for him.

The writer needs to be credited for painting characters well giving them distinct identities and making them memorable. But in an attempt to keep the film easy to comprehend the writer overlooks errors in the screenplay. While the first half drags the second half ends without quite fulfilling expectations. The rise of Sohaib is not given as much importance. Also there is one primary issue with the age of the character. Sohaib is shown as a child when Sultan is already the king. But neither Sultan nor his lady love Rehana (Kangna Ranaut) show any sign of aging when Sohaib grows up to be a hunk. Makes one wonder if Sultan smuggled in any age defying potions along with his regular banned items! Apart from that the way the story of Sultan starts – in a flashback narration – is quite tame. Why would a police officer go about giving a life history of a criminal like Sultan to a colleague almost as if the colleague had no idea who Sultan was in first place!

On the good side, the director Milan Luthria has taken great care to assure the film looks set in late 60s and 70s. Everything is authentic – right from the trousers worn to the car used to the buildings shown. The film successfully takes us back to the bygone era. Also writer does a good job with the dialogues and the actors do a good job delivering them. ‘Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai’ has great performances from every actor, making it an engaging watch. Ajay Devgn is superlative and has overbearing that the character demands. And Emraan Hashmi does not let down either. The girls have much lesser to do in the story line, except help in establishing the characters of their respective male leads. Both Kangna and Prachi justify their presence.

‘Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai’ ends with the line ‘Behind the myth is the city’s greatest betrayal’, and the story delivers on that. It also refreshingly shows the city growing. This film is an entertainer worth a watch for the settings and performances. 

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Review: Lamhaa

Originally for AOL India

 
Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Bipasha Basu, Kunal Kapoor, Anupam Kher, Mahesh Manjrekar, Vipin Sharma, Rajesh Khera, Yuri, Yashpal Sharma, Shernaz Patel 
Director: Rahul Dholakia
Producer: Bunty Walia, Jaspreet Singh Walia
Music: Mithoon
Rating: ***1/2
 
There could not have been a more ironic time to release ‘Lamhaa’. The film comes right when Kashmir is back in news for violence and shootouts. The Army is currently deployed across Srinagar under a curfew like situation after clashes between protestors and security forces. The battle between the citizens and the Army is back to forefront.  
 
Throughout the promotion of ‘Lamhaa’ everyone related to the film promised that it will bring out in the open what the Kashmiri citizens face every day. Accordingly, the tagline of the film also mentions – ‘The Untold Story of Kashmir’. And very truly it does delve right into the primary problem. But this time, unlike most other movies made on the same subject, it does not stay on a superficial level. Shot in docu-drama style, Rahul Dholakia’s ‘Lamhaa’ gives us a peek into the intricacies of the funding that anti peace movements receive. Of course it is fictionalised to suit the story line, which could have otherwise become very controversial. ‘Lamhaa’ also formulates how politicians could be benefitting from the long-drawn violence in the valley. 
 
‘Lamhaa’ starts with a brief introduction to Kashmir and the clashes of 1989 – all non-fictional account. However, soon it moves into fiction as Major Vikram (Sanjay Dutt) is introduced as a person from the Army Intelligence deployed in the valley to figure out what is the big plan that the extremist group Lashkar is coming up with. The story is about how Kashmir has just become a profit making venture for all those related parties - politicians as well as extremists. Well drawn details of how money flows are fitted into the storyline.Vikram isdeployed under the alias of Gul Mohammad. He befriends Aziza (Bipasha Basu), the adopted daughter of the most influential leader in Kashmir, Haji (Anupam Kher). Aziza is a leader in her own right and fights for women’s rights and also the freedom of Kashmir – a common goal of all Kashmiris shown in the film. The two work together to discover shocking truths behind the bomb blasts that occur every once in a while in the state. In the meantime, Aatif (Kunal Kapoor) emerges as a politician who wants to bring freedom through peace and politics. 
 
One thing in the film that might be disturbing to the rest of India is the general opinion of the Kashmiris. All of them want an independent Kashmir and that’s apparently what the director collected during his research for the movie that happened over many months. The story otherwise works very well. The first half is fast and the director opens up a lot of cans – which confuses the viewer to some extent. However, the second half ties up all loose ends. 
 
Technically, however, the film could have been much stronger. It has inconsistent camera work, at time baffling us with excessive shakes and close ups. There was absolutely no need to try going the Ram Gopal Varma way of shot taking, which was apparent in many scenes. The editing could have been crisper. There are scenes which could have very well been left out. For example a scene where two guards are shown guarding a post at the borderline in Kashmir (one of them being Vishwajit Pradhan) which leads nowhere. 
 
Performances however are noteworthy. Sanjay Dutt does a good job and so does Anupam Kher. Kher, interestingly, is a Kashmiri Pandit himself and has witnessed violence in real life too. Kunal Kapoor could have worked more on his dialogue delivery. But to his credit he has worked on the Kashmiri accent well. Bipasha didn’t seem a Kashmiri girl from any aspect – looks or accent. She could have definitely done a better job. 
 
Overall, ‘Lamhaa’ definitely is a film to be seen. However, don’t watch it for entertainment but to understand deals that happen over one’s motherland. Watch it if you have an open enough mind to accept that people who have the cleanest face could be the ones creating all the trouble too, and the enemy is not necessarily what is seen.  Interestingly, the film has already been banned in the Middle-East, without any proper reason citation. 
 
PS: Contrary to promotional claims that this is the first film to be shot in Kashmir after a long time, ‘Sikandar’ (2009) by Piyush Jha too was shot in the valley. In fact that film took the camera right into the beautiful countryside of Kashmir which most films, including ‘Lamhaa’, could not do.

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Type cast!

The other day there was a strange discussion that originated out of nothing.  And it was all for an estranged object called the pen. I don’t carry it anymore. And I know few who carry one religiously. From times when the pen was almost the best friend and something we touched most, one thing that we are completely out of touch today is our handwriting.

              

My father was into accounts. And he would carry two pens in his pocket as he walked out from home to office every day. In office he would use those pens to complete his work; Writing files… writing cheques.  As for me and my siblings, he would get us nice fountain pens before exams. A good pen would always give some added confidence. Every exam we would have nice new pens to write. Pens have been so much a part of our lives. But as the clocked ticked away we got busier with work and companions changed from a notepad and pen to a computer; a laptop for the more tech savvy, or now an iPad. 

Getting back to the discussion, a friend asked me for a pen. And I didn’t have it. Then she asked her boyfriend and he didn’t have it either. Funnily both he and I earn our bread and biscuit from writing. He writes scripts and I write for newspapers. My friend ridiculed that we call ourselves writers and don’t carry a pen with us. To our defense we said writers don’t need to carry pens. We write on our computers. “But writing is done with pens. You type on your computer,” she said. Of course we are defined as writers, but I have no idea how correct that term is any more. My friendly promptly pointed, “You are mere typists!” Of course that was a remark made out of fun but it did suit what we do. We don’t write stories any more. We conceive them in our minds and then we transform them into paper through typing on a keyboard.

Thankfully school kids still are using the pen. Although they don’t really use the good old fountain pen any more. While we blame kids for writing with ball point pens and playing soccer only on PlayStation, we have ceased using the pen except few occasions.

A few instances we still have to use the pen are – writing the pay in slip in the bank, our signatures on important documents and signing in out and out of office compound. And here too the first and third instances are being replaced through electronic transfers and plastic cards. We are left with signatures… ideally a mark to prove our genuine self and not some virtual thief or real ghost.

In the age of guns, bofors and nuclear the stronger pen has taken a beating from an unassuming computer keyboard!  But then we still have to resort to it to prove that we are real. The good old proverb – a friend in need is a friend indeed!

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Film review: I Hate Luv Storys

Originally for AOL India
 
Cast: Imran Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Sammir Dattani, Sameer Soni, Aamir Ali 
Director: Puneet Malhotra
Producer: Karan Johar
Music: Vishal-Shekhar
Genre: Rom-com
Rating: ***
 
In one of his interviews, director Puneet Malhotra had mentioned that he was tempted to cast himself in ‘I Hate Luv Storys’. As you watch the film, the one thing that you may easily note is that he has written the character of the lead actor with a lot of passion – probably hoping he’d be playing it himself. He may have ended up only directing the film, but Imran Khan turned lucky!
 
Love stories are dime a dozen in Bollywood. We see one almost everyday. Often with the same story and minor variations – something ridiculed by a section of the audience. And that’s exactly how ‘IHLS’ starts. We see ‘the cool dude’ Jay (Imran) making fun of these ‘filmy’ stories. Ironically, he happens to be working under a director who is best known for making such films. 
 
‘IHLS’ is a clever story, which could also have turned into a risk if not handled well. But fortunately for the new director, he chose to stick religiously to the genre of the film – keeping the comedy. While it could have easily got emotional on many counts as Jay transforms from a non-believer to a lover, Puneet kept the humour going right till the end. And that’s what brings newness to an absolutely clichéd story. 

 
On a brief note – Jay and Simran (Sonam) are strangers who start working together. Simran is already committed to Raj (Sammir) and hates Jay at first for his attitude. As they spend more time with each other, Simran understands she is falling for Mr Wrong. But Jay is yet to accept that he has fallen for what he always abhorred – love. But when he does, he tries getting back his lady love. 
 
In the process of the story you are reminded of almost all love stories you have seen in last one and half decade – ‘Dil Chahta Hai’, ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’, ‘Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai’, ‘Hum Tum’, ‘Kyun Ho Gaya Na’, ‘Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na’, ‘Mohabbatein’, ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’, et al.
The best part of ‘IHLS’ – apart from the characters – is the dialogues. There are some cool one-liners and hilarious incidents which will keep one laughing. That apart, it looks a very bright and pleasant film. From costume to colours to cinematography, all have been taken care of in the best way. And the music works better in the film than it does individually. Performances too are good. Sonam does well while Imran does better than his last two movies. He is good with comic scenes but needs to work on anything that is slightly emotional. Sammir Dattani hardly has any variation in the character to show any of his acting skills. The rest are fine. 
 
Having said that, the film is not faultless. The narration that goes on through the film is something new that has been tried, but it is a complete failure. You really don’t need the character to narrate what is already being shown on the screen. Too much of spoon feeding! Also, the treatment (including the smart humour) and style ensure that the film will find its audience only among the youth and in metros. It will have a hard time connecting with audience who don’t belong to the abovementioned classifications. 
 
Overall, ‘IHLS’ is one clichéd product yet completely fun. For all the female fans of Imran Khan – this one is just for you!

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