Sequels and more sequels

Since it is latest fashion in Bollywood to turn films into a franchise or at least make a sequel or two, here come my thoughts on three of them....

Dhoom

Directed by: Sanjay Gandhvi

Starring: Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham, Uday Chopra, Esha Deol, Rimi Sen

Released: 2004

Verdict: destroy every copy ? horrible ? bad ? whatever ? flawed but enjoyable - good ? great ? amazing

At first I thought it was a film made for less talented star relatives, but thankfully it turned out quite well. Abhishek was really good, which in his case is rather rare, but I just did not believe John to be the bad guy. He is a chocolate boy who looks like a lollipop macho, but he is as evil as a tomato soup. This was my first encounter with Uday Chopra, and he suited the role perfectly, and it was also my first encounter with Esha Deol. In her case all Hema Malini?s genes concentrated on making the daughter looks like an exact copy of her mother, but failed in transferring charm and screen presence (forget talent). What I liked the most was probably the editing (except for the scene near the end when Abhishek and John are coming out of the casino when the constant "BOOM and close up on them looking at each other" was used annoyingly often). The story lacked both the investigation process and the planning of the cons, which quite frankly bothered me a bit. I was always just presented the final result without seeing any development - which in cop films like this one are just necessary. Dhoom is primarily a guy?s film - by guys for guys. Full of motorbikes and skinshow

Dhoom 2

Directed by: Sanjay Gandhvi

Starring: Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai, Abhishek Bachchan, Uday Chopra, Bipasha Basu

Released: 2006

Verdict: destroy every copy ? horrible ? bad ? whatever ? flawed but enjoyable - good ? great ? amazing

From the first second it was clear that this Dhoom is more polished. More fancy. And much, oh so much more stupid. I have a great tolerance to the physically impossible displays of awesomeness, but what is much is too much as we say in Czech. Abhishek and Uday are still both very much stuck in the first Dhoom and have not made any progress altogether on any level at all. Hrithik didn?t have any impact on me ? his Filmfare for this reamins the biggest Filmfare joke ever. Bipasha - why was she in this film? She has TWO roles and both are absolutely needless. I was sorry for Aishwarya, because she was just bad, and I know she can do so much better. Her beauty was burried under a THICK layer of very unflattering make-up and Crazy Kiya Re has to be the most overrated song in history of Bollywood. "Why are you wasting your incredible dancing skills?!" line was swirling in my head all the time watching it. The music overally is pretty weak (excep tfor the Dhoom theme which has already appeared in the first film) and the final nail into its coffin hammer the English lyrics, that in this case just do not work. Whatever the suspence in the first Dhoom, there is absolutely none in this. And I cannot help but wonder WHY in the world is this going to have another sequel.

Housefull

Directed by: Sajid Khan

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone, Riteish Deshmukh, Lara Dutta, Arjun Rampal, Boman Irani, Chunky Pandey

Released: 2010

Verdict: destroy every copy ? horrible ? bad ? whatever ? flawed but enjoyable - good ? great ? amazing

I can?t believe I?m saying this but most of it I actually enjoyed. Not liked. Enjoyed. Anyway it is definitely a bad film, and though the skin show is not ever present it has a somehow sleazy feel throughout. The showstealers were Boman Irani and Chunky Pandey, and I one of the reasons I enjoyed the movie was Lara Dutta (the woman is just not in enough films!). The story is next to none, there is just one big mess of a confusion given by switching multiple partners according to situation.

Housefull 2

Directed by: Sajid Khan

Starring: Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, Rishi Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor, Mithun Chakraborthy, Riteish Deshmukh, Asin, Jacqueline Fernandez, Shreyas Talpade, Zarine Khan

Released: 2012

Verdict: destroy every copy ? horrible ? bad ? whatever ? flawed but enjoyable - good ? great ? amazing

Indeed the house was full from basement to the roof. Sequels are rarely met with such a good response, but Housefull 2 did more than well and after a series of flops Akshay Kumar returned from the oblivion. There is not much different from the first film. The plot and the jokes are yet again based on loads of lies and partner changes, just unlike last time Akshay is not an innocent fool but a cunning kamina. Truly, housefull 2 brings nothing new to town, except a really delightful on screen meeting of Rishi and Randhir Kapoor as two brothers who hate each other, but have many things in common. There are way too many damn characters to remember and way too many damn deceptions to really keep a track, but to be honest I found the over the top unlikely situations absolutely hilarious ? and credit goes more to the art of the actors than anything else. Seven women in the story (two mothers, four girlfriends and a dancer) have absolutely nothing to do, and womenfolk is pretty much presented as kind of dumb, but all the men are just splendid in their comedy (I especially need to mention to I-am-a-joking Chunky Pandey as Aakhri Pasta). More than a sequel it is a upgraded version of the previous movie and definitely the funniest film of the whole first half of 2012.

Dhamaal

Directed by: Indra Kumar

Starring: Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi, Riteish Deshmukh, Javed Jaffrey

Released: 2007

Verdict: destroy every copy ? horrible ? bad ? whatever ? flawed but enjoyable - good ? great ? amazing

The OTT is so Indra Kumar... However in all that OTT there is heart somewhere. True enough, I was not able to finish this at one go, because it would give me headache after a while, but I kept returning to it till without regrets. It was amusing, though not exactly hilarious. I could have done without the stupid souds indicating that "this was funny", seriously in a film like this (meaning FULL of silly jokes) we wouldn?t have missed that the joke already happened. I must admit I was genuinly teary-eyed in the end.... Sanjay Dutt was made for such roles. He was awesome and by far the most funny of them all, without making faces and talking rubbish. My love for Riteish was justified yet again, loved him as well. Fine timepass.

Double Dhamaal

Directed by: Indra Kumar

Starring: Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi, Riteish Deshmukh, Javed Jaffrey, Mallika Sherawat, Kangana Ranaut

Released: 2011

Verdict: destroy every copy ? horrible ? bad ? whatever ? flawed but enjoyable - good ? great ? amazing

Yet another story of four not that brilliant guys trying to get rich quickly and without work. As much as I enjoyed the first one, this one is not as half as funny and also lacks all the heartwarming moments. In fact the only fun and simles I had came in the last hour. This time it?s not Sanjay Dutt, but Ritesh Deshmunk who takes the cake for the best performance, his "Tukya" was purely hilarious! I?m almost ashamed to say I found Mallika Sherawat much more natural and bearable then Kangana, who, to be honest, is starting to annoy me really bad. All in all there is LOTS of OTT Indra Kumar style (as usual and expected), and way too many references to other films actually take away from the wit.  

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani

Directed by: Ayan Mukherjee

Starring: Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Kalki Koechlin, Aditya Roy Kapoor

Released: 2013

Verdict: destroy every copy ? horrible ? bad ? whatever ? flawed but enjoyable - good ? great ? amazing

While Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani belongs into the Bollywood?s favourite category of young romance, which sustained the industry for decades and will continue to do so, the film?s resounding success at the box office and with critics has, in my opinion, more to do with maturity that the story is weaved through with as well as some truly beautiful dialogues, than with a clich?d yet forever working formula it uses. YJHD has many factors going for it, even though it is not the best movie ever (or of decade ? it might be of the year if nothing better comes) ? from interesting cast, catchy music numbers, as much realism as you can hope for in a commercial Bollywood movie (by which I mean you must not question a girl who goes trekking in the snow in a mini skirt) to a cuddly embrace of what is probably the best jodi of the new generation.

Three best friends ? Bunny, Aditi and Avi ? decide to go on a trekking trip to Manali. Joining them is Naina, a dutiful, homely, aspiring-to-be-a-doctor girl, who just feels like she needs a change for a while. She is quickly accepted by the three outgoing friends and to her great amusement and amazement she watches and later joines them in their carefree attitude and antics. Before the trip is over she falls in love with Bunny, but when she find out he is planning to leave India to study abroad, and that his dreams are to travel the whole world, she decides not to ruin the moment and keeps her first love as a cherished memory. 8 years later the four friends are reunited, all grown up. Aditi is getting married, Avi is a bar owner gone bankrupt, Naina is a doctor. Just Bunny seems to be still the same, with dreams of seeing everything and never stopping at one place. Will Naina?s old feelings be rekindled? Will Bunny feel it too? Will it stop him in his eternal hunt for something new?

As said before the plot is nothing ground-breaking or new. And there sure was no need for the stereotypical transformation of a ?normal? girl into a goddess of oomph by simply putting off glasses (at least nobody even dared to hint Naina with glasses would be ?ugly? - a blasphemy forced upon Juhi Chawla in Aaina). However the way Naina, and later also her friends think, is very mature. Matters of the heart are important, but sometimes it is necessary to not allow things happen ? and just as important is to go on and not spend your life miserable and whining, because, after all, there is much to do and much to fill it with. This attitude is extremely rare in films. Naina doesn?t nurture hopes that seem futile, because she knew she would end up hurting. Aditi realizes that one-sided crush would make her miserable, and settles for a less attractive, but completely loving guy, who ?makes her happy?. What a change from all the selfish wrist cutting inflicted upon us around the same time in another ?romantic? film.....

After emotions-packed Rockstar and extremely heart-touching Barfi, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani shows Ranbir Kapoor in another different kind of romantic relationship, in which he actually doesn?t know he is until the very end. He doesn?t disappoint and delivers a very good performance ? something we associate him with for some time now. However it is Deepika Padukone who really comes to her own in the film. Last year she was wonderful in Cocktail, and now she confirms it was definitely not some monetary fluke of luck. She is growing as a performer right in front of our eyes! The chemistry between the two is wonderful. 

Aditya Roy Kapoor doesn?t have much to do, and his character was a bit..... left out really. His drinking problem actually made me wonder if he was switching between the sets of YJHD and Aashiqui 2 and he kinda forgot in which one he was at the moment. Kalki, on the other hand, is a complete darling. There is much to relate to in all of the characters. I found a bit of myself in the shy, quiet Naina from the first half. Who wants to have fun, but it is not easy for her to just throw herself into it. It was also nice that the twist did not lie in making a homely girl the Queen of society, neither it was showing that spending your life abroad doesn?t compare to desi homeland. Both Naina and Bunny learn something, adjust themselves to it and make it part of their own personality. They grow up.

Plot may be bland but the script and direction are winners. As is gorgeous cinematography and play of colours and hues used to enhance the beauty of landscapes and clothes. Much like with his previous venture ?Wake Up Sid? Ayan Mukherjee chooses a slow, even tedious narrative, delving into the feeling of a moment rather than rushing ahead for the sake of somebody not getting bored. If you get bored, that is pretty much your problem, and Ayan is unapologetic.

I need to mention ?Ghagra? - the very much hyped special song picturized on Madhuri Dixit. It was a fine song, a good dance number, Madhuri looked gorgeous and to see her with Ranbir was wonderful! It was all too much fun and I loved she also got to mouth several poetic dialogues before the music broke out. That said, Ghagra somehow doesn?t fit the rest of the film. It is brilliant as a separate video, but in the film it does not really serve any purpose and even from the way the costumes and sets look it is clear this bit was quite rushed and added at the last minute. But whatever. I was happy to see Madhuri dance ? and thankfully Ghagra turned out quite progressive ? as a song in which a younger guy is attracted to and charmed to an older woman ? she did not stop being attractive and charming just because she hit 40.

Beautiful actors, beautiful performances, beautiful music, simple story, Madhuri..... What?s not to love?

Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela

Directed by: Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Supriya Pathak, Richa Chadda

Released: 2013

My rating:  destroy every copy ? horrible ? bad ? whatever ? flawed but enjoyable - good ? great ? amazing

Does the world really need another take on Romeo and Juliet? Of course not. In fact after pure and precise adaptation by Zeffirelli from the 60s every new movie on the topic can only pass of as ?fine? at best. Still a prospect of the story adapted by megalomaniac of Bollywood Bhansali, who had previously given us some serious visual orgasms and basically drowned us in feelings (positive or negative), against Indian backdrop sounded deliciously tantalizing. Even more so since SLB?s last venture with Guzaarish felt somehow shallow and pretentious to me. I was hoping for the return of magic of Devdas (also a classic story revolving around self-obsessed people) or HDDCS but while I would rate Ram Leela above Guzaarish, it is still much weaker than all the rest of SLB films. I was also pinning my hopes to it as a film that would be THE film of 2013, only to be kind of let down.

How?s my lipstick?

Given I am not the greatest fan of the original story, it still cannot be denied that it was heading to somewhere following (even if naive and hormonal) basic logic and once it reached the tragic climax one felt for the two young people. Ram Leela could easily turn a teenage puppy love into a truly passionate affair, but ultimately the teenagers from Verona owned them. Lust at first sight that happens between oily, hairless Ram who dedicates a whole song to get dandruffs out of his baal, and stunning beyond words Leela is good and makes sense, yet everything that follows is just too quick. But to be fair, it doesn?t do THAT much of a damage. Yet. I was quite enjoying the story of two families who shoot at each other every day for centuries and obviously suck at handling the gun considering they never hit anyone. And when they do, it is by accident.

Up until the moment of Ram and Leela being found by their families and torn apart, the movie works. However after that to the very last minute there is not an ounce of common sense left. Ram becomes the leader of the family gang, yet does absolutely NOTHING to get to Leela, in fact he is not even answering her desperate phonecalls. Leela holds onto her logic a bit longer, but then looses it as well. The story reaches new heights of WTF with HER becoming the leader of HER family gang. But while both our lovers can weep their eyes out they decide to continue the mutual family slaughter. I did not understand who exactly they were fighting with. Ad to it extremely random change of mind that other pivotal character goes through near the end and you are left with your head hurting from all the shaking.

Not all is bad. The film is visually pleasing and the play of colours wonderful, be it the blue and white Holi or red and golden Navratri, also the use of different festivals to give the viewer sense of how much time has passed is skillfully vowen into the narrative. Music is appropriate and follows the story well (yet I expect more from SLB films after the gold that were Devdas and Saawariya soundtracs). I could have done without the forced Priyanka Chopra?s item number. Women in the film are all in the top form and it wouldn?t be wrong to claim the film belongs to them. Supriya Pathak is nothing short of amazing. She steals the show with her portrayal of Baa - and only looses breath near the end with her (already mentioned) nonsensical and unexplained change of heart, which takes away from the impact of her character ? and also makes the uselessness of the final Ishaqzaade-ish tragedy all the more frustrating. Her scenes are intense and very well create an image of dangerous woman who is scarier than all the dudes running around with their rifles.

Deepika Padukone is looking beautiful and emoting beautiful. I loved that underneath the tough exterior there was really just a very vulnerable, yet determined creature. I wouldn?t say it?s her best performance, but definitely very good. She also emerges as a very capable dancer, oozing grace in Lahu Munh Lag Gaya and unbound energy in Nagada Sang Dhol, even manages to pull off the throwback into the 90s that is the only unfitting song Ishqyaun Dhishqyaun, suffering from Govinda/Karishma hangover. Finally Richa Chadda, with an air of mystery and looking positively gorgeous, deserved more scope and more stuff to work with. She is brilliant in whatever she is given. And even though minuscule, I would mention the subplot with Leela?s unwilling prospective groom among positive as well.

Turning our attention to somehow effeminate Ram, Ranveer Singh nails some of the scenes and disappoints in others (but yay to his dancing). He is very inconsistent throughout, going over the top quite a few times. It doesn?t help that he shares next to none chemistry with his Leela (somebody explain to Bhansali that eating each other?s heads every five minutes does not create an image of love or passion if you simply don?t have ?it?). Romeo and Juliet is primarily a story about two people who cannot be without each other. But here the script has them separated quite early on and the relationship practically ceases to exist (???). Truth is because of all that I did not care for Ram and Leela as a couple.

Overal Ram Leela is an average fare. Not ?bad? and not ?good?. Worth a watch, if only for Deepika Padukone. It is getting more and more interesting to watch her evolving into a very fine actress. I give it ?flawed but enjoyable rating?, even though I did not exactly enjoy myself.

Love Aaj Kal

Directed by: Imtiaz Ali

Starring: Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Rishi Kapoor

Released: 2009

My rating: destroy every copy ? horrible ? bad ? whatever ? flawed but enjoyable - good ? great ? amazing

The story may not be great and performances of varied quality, but there is something lyrical about Imtiaz Ali films, which makes them an enjoyable watch, even if only once. Love Aaj Kal is the least emotional of his movies, least complicated, not reaching the amazing entertainment offered by Jab We Met or even emotional wreckage of Rockstar. But it has its share of charming moments and overal is a pretty, pretty picture, using flashbacks very well, without confusing the viewer, and heightening curiosity as the story goes on.

We are given a glimpse of ?modern? and ?cool? relationship between architect Jai and art student Meera, who have great time hanging out together, all on the backdrop of London. Jai, who is really the one carrying the narrative and the story unfolds from his point of view, considers romantic love an old-fashion concept, and when Meera is offered work in India, he very sportingly supports her to leave him, breaking up with her on friendliest terms possible. How very modern and cool indeed. However as the time passes by, he notices his sloppy attempts to move on are all destined to fail. And being constantly nagged by an elderly restaurant owner, who paints in front of Jai his own story of love he had once lived, Mr. Architect is quite shocked when he realizes Love has probably happened to him. Unfortunately it seems Meera actually did move on...

Deepika Padukone does not have much to contribute to the movie, aside from her utterly gorgeous face and drool-worthy wardrobe. After getting used to her very much exciting self from the last two years, I was actually surprised to revisit the somehow awkward, extremely camera-conscious Deepika with pitiful dialogue delivery (which has so evolved since then!). She doesn?t ruin the scenes she?s in, but the director very wisely let Saif Ali Khan do most of the acting instead, giving him most of the dialogues, and so our dear nawab goes on like a chatterbox, rarely stopping an endless flow of words whenever he is nervous or emotional. Sometimes his monologues actually get so long you wonder if Meera?s turn to talk would ever come (and sometimes it really does not).

The most charming bits of the movie, however, are introduced to the viewer by Rishi Kapoor and his narration of the old-school love story several decades ago, in India. The warm, brown colouring of all the scenes in the ?past? gives them a unique mood, very different from the rest of the film. In fact, it felt so nice, I caught myself wishing it would have been the main bit of the film, or a film of its own! Even more so since I felt it was left rather unsolved, even though Neetu Singh?s brief appearance in the very end of the movie gave away the final result.

Love Aaj Kal concludes a very simple fact: Love is Love, no matter if one searches for it or not, no matter where, no matter how it happens, and no matter how modern and cool you consider yourself. You can never bee too cool for Love. It?s just about how thick you are in the head to realize it happened. Very good production values, very likeable actors and very charming story telling make Love Aaj Kal a nice film, if you are in the right mood.

Om Shanti Om

Directed by: Farah Khan

Starring: Shahrukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Arjun Rampal, Kirron Kher, Shreyas Talpade

Released: 2007

My rating: destroy every copy ? horrible ? bad ? whatever ? flawed but enjoyable - good ? great ? amazing

While I do not hold Farah Khan in high esteem as a director, she did something remarkable and created a film which has been terribly important in my personal Bollywood journey, and so enjoyable that it easily ranks in my top ten Indian films. Om Shanti Om is like a gigantic puzzle box. There is truly everything you may ask for in a film ? puppy love, eternal love, slapstick humour, subtle humour, tragedy, action, memorable dialogues, great soundtrack.... and when it all comes together it just clicks and works wonders. Nothing speaks more in favour of the film that even though it is stuffed to the broom with film-references and making good-natured fun of the style of Indian filmmaking, it has become my number one choice of recommendation whenever Bollywood beginners ask me to show them a film. They know nothing about Bollywood, yet all of them like Om Shanti Om with all the quirks and in spite of not understanding any of the underlying jokes (and having no idea who that bunch of people randomly appearing in Deewangi Deewangi are).

Shahrukh Khan is allowed to over-play his already dramatic antics and as a result we get two delightfully different, yet both completely over the top heroes: Om Kapoor the goofy, star-struck movie fan, who lives only for his dream of becoming a star and gaining love of the gorgeous Shantipriya, the dream girl of the silver screen; and Om Kapoor the spoilt brat and arrogant actor who takes everything for granted. They only really become one and the same person as they near their destiny ? the goofy bubble-gum 70s Om finds his doom in flames, that also shockingly take away Shantipriya, the irritable 00s Om upon realizing that he has unfinished business from his previous life. His over-dramatic acting is spot on and exactly what the film needs. And Dard-E-Disco is the greatest item song Bollywood has produced and you cannot tell me otherwise, capturing both the fun and ridiculousness item songs stand for.

I could not but oogle over Deepika Padukone (and her stunning, stunning wardrobe throughout the film), who, though dubbed, gave a very confident and good debut performance. Her expressions and eyes speak a language of their own, even if the voice is not hers. She is glamorous and perfect as Shanti. The whole supporting cast is apt and excellent, Arjun Rampal giving you the necessary creeps, Kirron Kher both amusing you and breaking your heart as typical filmi Maa, Shreyas Talpade with his adorable and undying support to Om?s dreams. Not to mention all the array of stars and superstars who agreed to do a cameo. The whole Filmfare awards bit was utterly hilarious also thanks to impeccable comic timing of Abhishek Bachchan and Akshay Kumar. And how heartening it was to see Rishi Kapoor and Subhash Ghai, who ?opened? the whole film, fighting over a microphone? That is one of those golden moment that make Om Shanti Om so endearing.

THIS

IS

NOT

OK (did I mention I am pyrophobic?)

The film is visually opulent, nothing short of Bhansali level of opulence actually. The aesthetics of it appealed to me greatly as they stem from my beloved Art Noveau, which gives for example the green-rooms corridor almost a fairy-tale look. Another wonderful thing are all the beautiful painting by Alfons Mucha on the walls. The songs are skillfully choreographed and also magnificent, from romantic randez-vous in a film studio for Mein Agar Kahoon, to fabulously theatrical Dastaan, clearly inspired by the big masquerade scene from the Phantom of the Opera. And they are all beautiful. Except for Dar-E-Disco which is not beautiful, but totally fab in its own right as mentioned above. The lyrics ?Now I am a wanderer, and a lover of disco, as I wander around London, Paris, New York, L.A., San Francisco!? are a true gem.

Do...

you......

.....hear his heart breaking?

As you can already tell, I adore this film. I dare to go as far as to compare Om Shanti Om with another Bollywood extravaganza ? Amar Akbar Anthony ? even though the latter is without doubt on a whole another level of iconic. The right mix of stuff that ranks from touching to pretty much crazy, with logic loopholes that one couldn?t care for any less, since it is simply all just too much fun. It is a well known fact that Om Shanti Om is an unofficial remake of Karz, which in turn was a remake of Madhumati, all films dealing with the themes of revenge ?from beyond the grave?, with reincarnation being the turning point. It is also remarkable that unlike another set of remakes (based on the trope of separated twin siblings), all these films are memorable and great. Farah Khan simply took the story and filled every scene with potshots on almost every aspect of Hindi films. However these are all taken with much love and never even border on insulting. Om Shanti Om is both a parody of Bollywood and at the same time appreciates most of what makes it distinct and special.

Sequels and more sequels

Since it is latest fashion in Bollywood to turn films into a franchise or at least make a sequel or two, here come my thoughts on three of them....

Dhoom

Directed by: Sanjay Gandhvi

Starring: Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham, Uday Chopra, Esha Deol, Rimi Sen

Released: 2004

Verdict: destroy every copy ? horrible ? bad ? whatever ? flawed but enjoyable - good ? great ? amazing

At first I thought it was a film made for less talented star relatives, but thankfully it turned out quite well. Abhishek was really good, which in his case is rather rare, but I just did not believe John to be the bad guy. He is a chocolate boy who looks like a lollipop macho, but he is as evil as a tomato soup. This was my first encounter with Uday Chopra, and he suited the role perfectly, and it was also my first encounter with Esha Deol. In her case all Hema Malini?s genes concentrated on making the daughter looks like an exact copy of her mother, but failed in transferring charm and screen presence (forget talent). What I liked the most was probably the editing (except for the scene near the end when Abhishek and John are coming out of the casino when the constant "BOOM and close up on them looking at each other" was used annoyingly often). The story lacked both the investigation process and the planning of the cons, which quite frankly bothered me a bit. I was always just presented the final result without seeing any development - which in cop films like this one are just necessary. Dhoom is primarily a guy?s film - by guys for guys. Full of motorbikes and skinshow

Dhoom 2

Directed by: Sanjay Gandhvi

Starring: Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai, Abhishek Bachchan, Uday Chopra, Bipasha Basu

Released: 2006

Verdict: destroy every copy ? horrible ? bad ? whatever ? flawed but enjoyable - good ? great ? amazing

From the first second it was clear that this Dhoom is more polished. More fancy. And much, oh so much more stupid. I have a great tolerance to the physically impossible displays of awesomeness, but what is much is too much as we say in Czech. Abhishek and Uday are still both very much stuck in the first Dhoom and have not made any progress altogether on any level at all. Hrithik didn?t have any impact on me ? his Filmfare for this reamins the biggest Filmfare joke ever. Bipasha - why was she in this film? She has TWO roles and both are absolutely needless. I was sorry for Aishwarya, because she was just bad, and I know she can do so much better. Her beauty was burried under a THICK layer of very unflattering make-up and Crazy Kiya Re has to be the most overrated song in history of Bollywood. "Why are you wasting your incredible dancing skills?!" line was swirling in my head all the time watching it. The music overally is pretty weak (excep tfor the Dhoom theme which has already appeared in the first film) and the final nail into its coffin hammer the English lyrics, that in this case just do not work. Whatever the suspence in the first Dhoom, there is absolutely none in this. And I cannot help but wonder WHY in the world is this going to have another sequel.

Housefull

Directed by: Sajid Khan

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone, Riteish Deshmukh, Lara Dutta, Arjun Rampal, Boman Irani, Chunky Pandey

Released: 2010

Verdict: destroy every copy ? horrible ? bad ? whatever ? flawed but enjoyable - good ? great ? amazing

I can?t believe I?m saying this but most of it I actually enjoyed. Not liked. Enjoyed. Anyway it is definitely a bad film, and though the skin show is not ever present it has a somehow sleazy feel throughout. The showstealers were Boman Irani and Chunky Pandey, and I one of the reasons I enjoyed the movie was Lara Dutta (the woman is just not in enough films!). The story is next to none, there is just one big mess of a confusion given by switching multiple partners according to situation.

Housefull 2

Directed by: Sajid Khan

Starring: Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, Rishi Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor, Mithun Chakraborthy, Riteish Deshmukh, Asin, Jacqueline Fernandez, Shreyas Talpade, Zarine Khan

Released: 2012

Verdict: destroy every copy ? horrible ? bad ? whatever ? flawed but enjoyable - good ? great ? amazing

Indeed the house was full from basement to the roof. Sequels are rarely met with such a good response, but Housefull 2 did more than well and after a series of flops Akshay Kumar returned from the oblivion. There is not much different from the first film. The plot and the jokes are yet again based on loads of lies and partner changes, just unlike last time Akshay is not an innocent fool but a cunning kamina. Truly, housefull 2 brings nothing new to town, except a really delightful on screen meeting of Rishi and Randhir Kapoor as two brothers who hate each other, but have many things in common. There are way too many damn characters to remember and way too many damn deceptions to really keep a track, but to be honest I found the over the top unlikely situations absolutely hilarious ? and credit goes more to the art of the actors than anything else. Seven women in the story (two mothers, four girlfriends and a dancer) have absolutely nothing to do, and womenfolk is pretty much presented as kind of dumb, but all the men are just splendid in their comedy (I especially need to mention to I-am-a-joking Chunky Pandey as Aakhri Pasta). More than a sequel it is a upgraded version of the previous movie and definitely the funniest film of the whole first half of 2012.

Dhamaal

Directed by: Indra Kumar

Starring: Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi, Riteish Deshmukh, Javed Jaffrey

Released: 2007

Verdict: destroy every copy ? horrible ? bad ? whatever ? flawed but enjoyable - good ? great ? amazing

The OTT is so Indra Kumar... However in all that OTT there is heart somewhere. True enough, I was not able to finish this at one go, because it would give me headache after a while, but I kept returning to it till without regrets. It was amusing, though not exactly hilarious. I could have done without the stupid souds indicating that "this was funny", seriously in a film like this (meaning FULL of silly jokes) we wouldn?t have missed that the joke already happened. I must admit I was genuinly teary-eyed in the end.... Sanjay Dutt was made for such roles. He was awesome and by far the most funny of them all, without making faces and talking rubbish. My love for Riteish was justified yet again, loved him as well. Fine timepass.

Double Dhamaal

Directed by: Indra Kumar

Starring: Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi, Riteish Deshmukh, Javed Jaffrey, Mallika Sherawat, Kangana Ranaut

Released: 2011

Verdict: destroy every copy ? horrible ? bad ? whatever ? flawed but enjoyable - good ? great ? amazing

Yet another story of four not that brilliant guys trying to get rich quickly and without work. As much as I enjoyed the first one, this one is not as half as funny and also lacks all the heartwarming moments. In fact the only fun and simles I had came in the last hour. This time it?s not Sanjay Dutt, but Ritesh Deshmunk who takes the cake for the best performance, his "Tukya" was purely hilarious! I?m almost ashamed to say I found Mallika Sherawat much more natural and bearable then Kangana, who, to be honest, is starting to annoy me really bad. All in all there is LOTS of OTT Indra Kumar style (as usual and expected), and way too many references to other films actually take away from the wit.