Review : Sudh Desi Romance

What makes life confusing? It’s when one can’t determine if things are signs for you to give up or simply a test to see if you can hold on longer.

Sudh Desi Romance is one such story set in a picturesque city  Jaipur, Where a  witty tourist guide and fake wedding guest Raguram aka Raghu (Sushant Singh Rajput)  is suffering from pre wedding jitters .On his way to his wedding venue he meets Gayatri (Parineeti Chopra) a strong willed , ultra modern independent women who is acting as a fake sister to the groom for extra cash . Already baffled Raghu is mesmerized by the way Gayatri lives her life. They both get into a long conversation during this journey and get attracted to each other physically during this trip, which gives Raghu the guts runway from his wedding stage on the last minute leaving the bride Tara(Vaani kapoor) stranded .

Few days later Raghu and Gayatri bump into each other in the city market, eventually start dating and become live in partners, alternating between suspicion trust and lust . Entering into Live-in-Relationship the two decide to give a name to their relationship and fix their wedding. On the day of their wedding Raghu again gets the panic attacks but before he could runway, Gayatri runs out on him leaving him yet again totally confused.

Soon after in a wedding where Raghu is a fake guest meets Tara , the girl he was going to tie knot with. She asks him out only to take revenge but eventually getting into a serious relationship with him  . Finally when Raghu decides to propose Tara for a marriage to penance for all this pervious misdeed with her , Gayatri re-enters his life . What does all this confusion leads to, Does Raghu proposes Tara for marriage or he gets back to Gayatri or he again runs away .It is for us to see and enjoy.

Sudh Desi Romance is the face of new changing relationship , It shows the mindset that one has to be happily married at a certain age can put massive stress on individuals resulting to take wrong decision . Director Maneesh Sharma has effortlessly presented a new age love story  by  capturing the mindset of the today’s youth in very humorous and causal way . The film speaks about the youth that understand love and commitment but are confused somewhere in between. Handling of such a deep and heavy subject of relationship in such a light and easy manner makes the film more appealing , The only speed breakers to this smooth film were when the character talking to the camera which was avoidable or could have treated otherwise . It was spoon feeding for the maturing audience.

Jaideep Shanis is renowned for his realism without letting the audience feel the weight of reality . The main characters Raghu , Gayatri , Tara , Goel or even gossiping Gupta who is just seen in one scene  are so real that you feel you have meet them before. Jaideep Shanis has beautifully woven this romantic drama in layers with various uncertainty and conflicts the young and impatient youth faces today when it comes to commitment. Also the decision to take upcoming-town Jaipur as the base where the youth faces more cultural and traditional collision with fast changing belief than the bigger developed city creates an exciting drama. The only defect I could point out was too much of coincidence of character bumping into each other and all the three protagonists were coincidently orphans, or parents not at reach which gave them the freedom to runway what could have happened otherwise??

The Cinematography by Manu Anand is worth a mention, each and every frame exhaled romance , He captured Japiur refreshingly and the inserts shots in the film were romance in their ownself  . The Editing by Namrata Rao is good but nothing exceptional. The Music by Sachin Jigar is refreshing & hummable  . The Art department T .P Abid and Rashmi Seth has also done their job very well.

As for the performance Sushant Singh Rajput gets into the skin of the confused, quirky, naughty and flirty character of Raghu very convincingly. He shows and proves that he is here to stay longer in the industry. Gayatri is as playful as Parineeti normally gets, the character was tailor made for her , she swiftly changes gear from playful to serious emotions and I specially loved the drunkard act where Parineeti creates a bubbly magic. Vaani Kappor as Tara has done a commendable job. Tara has a pinch of wild streak in her which Vaani has captured it well. Vetran Rishi Kapoor as Goel sabh  once again sprinkles the magic with his act.

Summing it up “Sudh Desi Romance” can be the flag bearer to new romantic cinemas to come ahead.

Rating

***

(Note: Those who love Melodramatic romance this is not the film for you)

So you always wanted to be a writer ??

A simple question asked by a friend of mine acted as a wrap machines, took me back to the times when I was akid, where things were simple and life was easy, where your father got you a mechanical toy kit , and mother got you a medical toy kit , where you were unknowingly deciding your future and I had decided mine .

It was a summer afternoon; I had accompanied my mother to the market, we had guest coming over to our place offor dinner, My mother was busy buying vegetables and dragging me from one vendor to another, I was busy crying and cursing the heat, I wanted to go back home but the grocery list was endless , Sweat was dribbling over my face and palms ,my cheeks had gone red and throat ran dry ,I was panting , I was just dragging my feet and after grueling hours the shopping came to an end. All the energy was drained out from me, I can easily relate with one of the ads playing on TV now a day’s “ a big straw attached to a kids head and Sun sucking up the energy” I guess I was that kid. I looked up to my mom with fuzzy eyes and she read the agony in my eyes.  She picked me up in her arms and somehow managed to hold on to the grocery too. I don’t know how she managed,but she did and I guess that what we call superheroes power .

She carried me to make shift stall which was at the end of the road , A huge colorful umbrella  kept the sun at bay ,  there were kids like me standing around the stall desperately looking at the man who was crushing ice with the help of an ice crusher . He then plugged the crushed ice on to a stick and kept adding crushed ice until he got his desired shape, then poured colorful syrup on it and gave it to the kids and some elders to.. They were relishing it as if it was a savior, the happiness on their face was unmatchable , my mom handed me a glass of lemonade ,the moment I touched the icy glass it transported  me into a land full on snow , now I could understand their happiness , I relished each and every drop of lemonade . Even today I remember the icy ,sweet  and sour taste .

Later that night after the dinner with Khanna uncle , I was playing with the tool kit given by my dad, and my doctor kit was taken by Naina who was Khanna’s uncle daughter . I was busy repairing a broken toy . Suddenly my father asked Naina.

“Naina What do you want to be ,when you grow up??”

“Doctor” She said in a sweet soft voice

Now it was my turn , everyone looked at me. Khanna uncle asked me

“And what do you want to be Sunny”

I looked up, I guess everyone hadtheir own answers in their eyes

“I want to be a GOLA-wala” I dintknew why I said that but  there was asilence for a moment and then everybody exploded into laughter’s .

So the question remains “ I alwayswanted to be a writer ??  or a GOLE-wala”

Today I know why I said “ I want

to be a Gole-wala” as kid. The happiness, the content , the smile , the pleasureon the face of the patrons who drank the icy lemonade was unmatchable . I wantto keep people around me happy, give them joy , give them smile . A writer  is a Gole-wala , he adds happiness , sweetness and a little bit of sourness in his stories and makes his reader elope in a different world .

So the answer to the question is “Yes I always wanted to be a Gola-wala”

Note : Gola-wala is a man who makes Ice candy, Lemonade Juice etc

February a month for lover’s , a month of red and pink , a month for romance , But 22nd Feb with the release of “KAI PO CHE” made alteration. 22nd feb 2013 would be remembered for its BROMANCE. 

Set in Gujarat in the amidst of earthquake and riots “Kai Po Che” takes Chetan Bhagats enchanting novel   about brotherhood and  converts the written word into mesmerizing world far beyond just a story well told. Kai Po Che  is about the common dream shared by three best friend , Ishaan a District level cricketer but like millions of boys in India , His talent was lost in the maze of politics , he now is hot-headed , wild & reckless . Govind is business minded,   geek and shy who wants to be a successful businessman . Omkar (Omi) is the son of temple priest and nephew of a political leader in right wing of Hindu party  , he is confused and can easily influenced by anyone,he  sees the same dreams as his   friends .  Their dream comes true when they open their small sports shop in the premises of a temple , with the help of Omi’s uncle Bittu mama , in this journey they comes across a god gifted young Muslim  boy  Ali who hits six on every ball, and this god gifted boy gives Ishaan  direction to his life , who now wants coach  Ali so that Ail can achieve the dreams which he wasn’t successful off , Govinds dreams gets grander when their sports shop picks up business,  now he wants  to take their small shop into lavish mall, to accomplish this dream yet again they take help of Omi’s uncle. 

In journey of these three best friends, joined by a fourth is a girl Dolly sister of Ishaan who is secretly involved in relationship with Govind , and has missed out on her periods due to her secret rendezvous with Govind. Adding to Govind and his friends  misery ,  Ahmedabad is hit by earthquake where all their grand dream of a shop in mall crashes into dirt . As the three gather themselves from this setback from natural calamity they are again hit by crude reality of communal riots of Godhra  , where Omi loses his parents and  Ishaan is set out on the streets alone to save his prodigy the young Muslim boy Ali.

Kai Po Che brings life to a world where misfortunes of reality crashes gently but powerfully with  natural and man-made calamities that shakes the very existence of human being , living on the edge where tumbling into the deep valley of human emotion is a real probability  

Although the Abhishek Kapoors “Kai Po Che” is a depiction of “Three Mistake of my life” but not completely , The director exquisitely  weaves together fine embroidery of fresh  sequence , emotions, characters and lives that grips a complete philosophy and culture without surrendering originality of the book. The Screenplay writers Abhishek Kapoor, Chetan Bhagat, Pubali Chaudhuri and Supratik Sen have written  a beautifull Bandhani sari type of screenplay , which emphasis on human bonds , emotions & situation. Songs by Amit Trivedi and Lyrics by Swanand Kirkire  are not the usual type of dance number but these songs reflects the inner voice of the lead characters, Background Score by Hitesh Sonik  camouflage with each emotion and situation easily , this music might remind you of Gustavo Santaolalla’s Babel and 21 grams, Special attention has been paid to detail as the art director by Sonal Sawant  and costume designer Niharika Khan brings out the colours of Gujarat alive on celluloid.  Anay Goswamy camera work portrays the small lanes and beautiful planes of Gujarat magnificently. Not to forget the casting Director Mukesh Chhabar who deserves a pat on his back for assembling such an excellent cast together. Editing by Deepa Bhatia is Crisp and to the point .

Debutant Sushant Singh Rajput effortlessly sinks into the character of Reckless , hot headed & wild  Ishaan , he surely catches your eye. Rajkumar Yadav who plays Govind gives his best performance makes you forget his past work and makes a point that he was born to essay this role. But among the trio Amit Sadh as Omkar aka Omi is the only one who has character graph,  a confused guy who later turns into Hindu radical , Amit Sadh has exceptionally  played the characters with his undertone acting, emoting with his eyes and body language in each scene. Dolly played by Amrita Puri has also done well of a bubbly character. Bitto Mama played by Manoj Kaul  adds friction to the story by his acting skills and last to mention is the young Muslim boy Ali played by Digvijay Deshmukh is another actor to watch for , from is perfect cricketing shots to the accent and body language Digvijay does everything with ease .

Kai Po Che is nearly immaculate, effervesces with lively bonding of three friends and surprises with varied situations and it’s a cinema of coming age. 

In Short 

Kai po Che ma baau saaro Dum che 

****/5

(Note : Those who have read the book might find the film a little slow)

Education begins with ABCD , mine too started with ABCD in this film industry . The first project I worked as an Asst art director was in ABCD. So this film holds a special place in my heart. But that’s not going influence the viewer in me.  ABCD is a story of Vishnu Sir (Prabhu Deva) an ace choreographer, instructor and founder of Jehangir Dance Company  (JDC) , who finds himself in cold situation when his friend cum shallow business partner  Jehangir khan (Kay Kay Menon) ask him to step down to make place for American Choreographer and take up a desk job . But for Vishnu dance is the only way of life ,So heartbroken Vishnu decides to leave the city , before returning to back from where he came , he visit his old friend Gopi (Ganesh Achrya) who was thrown out of JDC cos his weight gain .This last Visit turns Vishnu’s life all the way around. He finds a reason to live and fight back as he discovers a group of untrained dancer (DID Gang). Whom he takes under his wings and polishes so fine that, he pitches them against India’s best talent of TV dance show to win back his pride. A very thin story line and even thinner screenplay filled with long list of clichés, The screenplay writer tried his best  to fill the gaps with Drama, Romance , Suspense but fails evidently,  not even a single scene could  evoke the emotions , but only succeeds in bringing  out laughter in few scene  . Remo Sir risk on the his fresh faces has paid him well at the box office but as a director he fails to bring out the emotion and acting from the dancer. I remembered Remo Sir Words to the  dancer in a dancing show “Is act mai mujhey Dance Kam nazar aaya”. May be same goes to him “Iss Film mai hume Story kam nazar aayi aur acting to bikul bhi nahi”. If one only wants to see dance there are many dance shows already on Television . Prabhu Deva as an actor doesn't impress, but decades after he shows that he can still dance like what he did in 90’s. Ganesh Acharya  also fails to impress with his acting skills.  Kay Kay Menon who is the only non-dancer in this film he too fails to impress with his acting at times he over acts .  The whole DID group did best what they always did best “Dancing” they should have focused more on acting as this could have opened new avenue for them. The music by Sachin–Jigar is Foot Tapping but fails to engrave memorable track in one’ memory. Production Designing or set designing by Aparna Sud is good but details are missing. 3D Cinematography by Vijay Kumar Arora is appreciable , the use of Slow motion and chase sequence have been handled very well. With only dance number and less story two and half hour is too much of length.

In Short

ABCD is a grandeur version of DID tv show .

** /5

(Note :   ½ star if given because I watched the movie with my parents , they loved the dance and also giggled  I consider that as mass audience appreciation )

What are the ingredients to make a super-hit movie?

Make a movie with good Story or Make a movie with good controversy. Vishwaroopam does the later. I wonder what would have happened to Vishwaroopam if there was no controversy, it would have simply boomed. An Afghani terror group  is plotting a terror attack on U.S with a Cesium bomb    An ageing Kathak Dancer Vishwanath (Kamal Hasaan) is married to a young nuclear oncologist Nirupama( Pooja Kumar) , in New York who confesses a physiologist that the only reason for this marriage for a gateway to U.S to pursue her Ph.D . The age difference between them putts Nirupama off and she gets attracted to her immediate boss Deepak (Samrat Chakrabarti ) , With the guilt of cheating on her husband she tries to find if her husband has any secret to hide , She hires a private detective to trail him, from him she learns that Vishwanath is not Hindu but a Muslim, in this search for truth the detective gets killed by an terrorist gang led by Omar (Rahul Bose) , the Visiting card on dead gives away Nirupama location and the terrorist gangs nabs Vishwanath and Nirupama t interrogate. In the Interrogation Nirupama & the terrorist find the truth about Vishwanath that he is an undercover agent for India who is on special task. Vishwanath and Omar have a past of their own. Ten years back, Vishwanath was working on a mission in Afghanistan where he meet Omar in Al-Qaeda training camp. Nirupama is mesmerized with the new Avtaar of her husband and stunned with the facts that her Uncle ( Shekhar Kapoor) , American friend Dawakins (Miles Anderson) & the dance Student Ashmita (Andrea Jeremiah)  too are undercover agents , What follows are the events of unfolding the past between Vishwanath and Omar and search of the Cesium bomb.

Trailers of the movie promised fireworks, and the movie keeps it promise, the only problem is that it’s a  Diwali firework conic fountain (Anaar) which rise’s quickly and descends even quicker . The movie takes off with catchy dialogues, beautifully choreographed dancer number and equally well choreographed fight sequence, but what trails later is slow narrative non-linear story-telling and a fizzed out climax. Acting by sir Kamal Hassan is not one of his best neither is the direction we have seen wonders from him in the past and expect milestone with every movie.  Nirupama played by Pooka Kumar is refreshing her facial expression and dialog delivery brings out the lighter moments in the movie, Shekhar Kapoor dint have much to prove in mantel. Rahul Bose was the Bonsai Afghani who tried to do his best but fails. Music by the trio Shankar Esshan Loy dint help much to enhance story , Editing by Sheekhar Prasad could have cut the story more tighter , The only savior of this Film were the Cinematography and Visual Effect dept , they have done a fantabulous job. It’s a visual treat to see for Indian Cinema.

In Short :

Vishwaroopam is a Bogus Swaroopam 

* ½ /5

In the age of South-Indian remakes, Senseless Action, Senseless Comedy, Senseless Story, Movies earing hundred cores yet doesn’t make sense of one single paisa in it. Here comes a movie that makes a little sense.  It not a movie to preach or teach, it’s a movie to show another side of the story that one never sees, or never wish to see. AkashVani is a story about a young couple Akash (Karthik Tiwari) a young charming lad from Chandigarh who is full of life, doesn’t bother about the social norms, lives life his own way, talks dirty but his heart is pure and Vani (Nushrat Bharucha) is a small town girl born and brought up in Dehradun, she is ambitious but she is bound to live according to the society norms, A girl next door who can easily fall in love but is scared too. Akash & Vani meet at St . Stephen College Delhi, where they both are set to spend three yrs. of college life, with the events that trails in these three years makes them fall madly in love with each other. When Vani decides to break the news of her relationship with Akash to her parents who are busy in their elder daughter’s wedding preparation, her elder sister apparently elopes at the time of her wedding, which breaks Vani’s parents to the core and to add to the agony their neighbor and relative keep taunting them. With all chaos around Vani’s decides not to tell her parents about her love and get married to the bride of their choice trying to bring back smile on their face, but not thinking  what Akash would go through , the story doesn’t ends here, it rather starts here . Does all the sacrifice made for the parents are worth?? Or being selfish like Vani’s elder sister is the correct decision. Akash played by Karthik Tiwari does justice to the character but doesn't makes it comes alive. Vani played by Nushrat Bharucha is loveable but still needs depth in emoting. This type Story you must have heard and seen before, but the point this story elaborate is something new. It is said that Action speaks louder than words and Luv Rajan has done justice to this sentence. There are scenes where no dialog's are spoken yet the emotions reach easily ,but then at times some scene are to stretch which makes the audience loose interest. There is special care taken by the Cinematographer to create romance in each frame and has definitely done a wonderful job.  The song and the music really dint gets my attention. The match cut transition between two scenes are well thought of, editing is smooth, but then Two and half hours is a bit lengthy for this story.

In Short

“AkashVani Ek hi baar hoti hai, don’t miss if you are romantic”

**/5

Race 2
First Sequel of the year and tickets being sold in black outside the mother of multiplex theatre “Gaiety, Galaxy” raised my expectation with Race 2.  The Race between Smart vs. Super smart, Bad vs. Worst and Hot vs. Sizzling, and the finale race between the audience and the director duo. Who Wins the race and what is the race about is the question??? Race 2 is about the balding hero Ranveer Singh’s  (Saif ali Khan) set to take Revenge  “Badlaa Jitna Purana Hota hai, Unta khatarnak hota hai” of the past  from the beefed up  protein villain Armaan Malik’s (John Abraham) “Race mai Dodega bhi wo hi , jeete gab hi wo hi, Bus finish line ke paar mai sab cheen lunga ” . Ranveer’s reason for revenge against Armaan is only known to him, Armaan Malik once a street fighter is a Multi-Zillionaire with the help of his Step Sister Ileana Malik (Deepika Padukone) who owns 50% of Armaan Malik empire. A pretty pickpocket   Omisiaa (Jacqueline Fernandez)   is Armaan’s love interest whose interest and intention are unknown  , but in this Race Armaan is the one who sets the table and knows ever card and wins every game . Ranveer’s race is against such a player, whom Ranveer has never faced before and to win this race Ranveer takes help from fruitful old friend R D (Anil Kapoor) and horny yet innocent his new assistant Cherry (Amisha Patel), but this time R D is fermenting poisonous juice for Ranveer,   With So many speed breaker in the race for, it going to be a hell bumpy finish or not?? The Story only holds on until the interval , later the suspense starts to fizz,  this is because of predictable screenplay pattern of director duo , Ranveer Singh played by Saif Ali Khan continued his acting style from earlier Race, not much is  added regarding the acting only the add-on was the Kareena tattoo on his left arm , Armaan Mailk played by John Abraham require no special mention , Deepika as Ileana Malik is not given much screen importance , Jacqueline as Omisiaa is just  to add glamour  as she has no scope both in story and acting. RD played by Anil Kapoor adds humour with his funny fruit-liner’s and Cherry played by Amisha Patel is saving act for her drowning Bollywood career. Abbas Mastan Duo has definitely made master piece in past, but their repetitive pattern of twist has turned the audience wise, so the Duo need to make more smatter movies.  Technically this movie was supposed to be   edgier than the 1^st instalment which it did in few of the action scene but fails in the minute detail like “Kareena” inscription on Saif Ali Khan arm which doesn’t justify for the Character Ranveer as his love interest in the previous part was Soniya, and to add to list and out of focus scene in such a multi-core film which is a big let-down in the Cinematography Dept. Art Direction and Editing have done fairly good. Music by Pritam is upto the beat, but they only break the moment of the film. Without the songs the film would have been a bit racier.
In short
“Not at all a photo Finish race”

* ½  /5