Agneepath Movie Review

Review By Bobby Sing,

	A fine lengthy attempt but not a Remake at all with every single character of the Original remaining pure and untouched.- DilFilmy.com
As mentioned in my reviews earlier, A Remake is the easiest way of making your way into the history of cinema, which also gives you a readymade script to start working upon instantly. But after watching this recent version of one of the most stylish and cult movies of Indian Cinema (which got this status in the later years after being a flop initially), I reached a new conclusion about this latest trend in Bollywood. Remaking a cult movie featuring one of the current heart-throbs of the Industry is undoubtedly the safest business projects for a production company. It not only shows that the company is hesitant in making films on some new ideas but it also loudly announces that the makers are now quite over-confident to think that they can surely do something better from the original in their new version. And these two conclusions are clearly proved by Dharma Production’s present remake of their own 1990 project in the following way: 1. Karan Malhotra’s AGNEEPATH is not at all a remake of Mukul S. Anand’s classic in a true manner. It takes too many liberties, makes too many deletions and adds too many insertions showing the over-confidence of its makers mentioned above. Many important characters of the original (like of Mithun, Madhavi, Tinnu Anand, Goga Kapoor and more) are taken off completely and many new are added, out of which only one works in a fine way, thankfully. But due to these hugely heavy manipulations, the real impact of the original gets lost and is visible only in parts. So, actually Karan’s current new age version just takes the basic idea plus some of its key characters from the 1990 film and then gives you a completely different product all together. 2. But even then, despite of making it so distinctively, Dharma Production still publicized it as a Remake of AGNEEPATH in order to get all the business benefits associated with the buzz as stated above. In fact this publicity stunt of making a remake of the hugely popular 1990 film will help them in two ways. Firstly it will bring in the Big Initial as essentially required for such mega project in its first weekend. Plus, since it is not exactly A Remake, it will re-install the memories of the past and would boost the demand of their own original 1990 project in the Satellite and Home Video market once again. So it’s a perfect two way profitable business plan being played here by the producers. Coming to the review of the movie, it’s a pretty easy task if one writes about the film as a remake of Mukul. S. Anand’s AGNEEPATH of 1990. Because frankly, from that point of view it fails miserably since it lacks the 4 essential aspects of its original. Now Mukul’s AGNEEPATH had a powerful Vijay Dinanath Chauhan with his own impeccable style (followed by the youngsters even today), a strong mother with her truthful ideals, a lovable nurse-wife understanding her husband perfectly and an honest police officer who had a mutually respectful relationship with Vijay. Unfortunately none of these four elements are there in Karan Malhotra’s official remake. There is very less emphasis given to the mother-son track, the nurse- wife gets converted into a beauty parlour owner degrading the character itself and the police officer never really feels like a strong official ever. But most importantly there is no Vijay Dinanath Chauhan here in this 2012 AGNEEPATH unexpectedly. And that’s where I have certain reservations with this so called remake of the cult classic. Mukul S. Anand conceived Vijay Dinanath Chauhan as a larger than life persona, a macho man who had both mercy for the needy and terror for the culprits in his decorated eyes. But here in Karan Malhotra’s version we have a young well built Boy playing Vijay and not the Man, Vijay Dinanath Chauhan as in the original. Mukul’s Vijay was a powerful Don, who also happened to be the Messiah for the poor and was loved by everyone immensely due to his good deeds. He worked with the BAD but had a heart thinking for the poor and humanity as a whole. But I honestly couldn’t understand this new Vijay and his ideals which are all confusing. At one end Karan’s Vijay living in a chawl, is doing many charity works and running his own vans for the cause. But on the other hand he has no objections and is very keen in dealing in Drugs which in fact is the key factor ruining our society, particularly the people staying in the same....more

Gali Gali Chor Hai Movie Review

Review By Bobby Sing,

	With an abrupt ending, it keeps hanging between a comedy, drama and satire - DilFilmy.com
There have been few good movies made on the subject of a common man being caught in the ugly vicious circle of the corrupt system prevailing in our country. Shyam Benegal gave us “Well Done Abba” on the same theme in 2010 and last year we had “Chala Musaddi Office Office” based on the famous TV series revolving around the same common man, who always becomes the victim in this corrupt bureaucratic system. GALI GALI CHOR HAI is also another project made on the similar lines which revolves around a middle class family of Bhopal with only 4 members. There is a retired father (Satish Kaushik), a son who works in a bank (Akshay Kumar), his wife who is teacher (Shreya Saran) and a young modern girl (Mughda Godse) who is a paying guest living with them like a family. Their difficult time starts from the moment they refuse to give one room of their house for the Election Campaign Office of a reputed contestant. But the matter even gets worst when the elderly father (after his refusal to the leader), gives the same room to the opposition’s contestant instead. In frustration, the first party starts creating complex situations for the family with the help of local police which further leads to a much serious allegation towards the climax. Interestingly there was no ANNA MOVEMENT when the two movies mentioned above released in the past years. But now after ANNA being known to every single person of the nation, the subject certainly has its own reach and relevance in the present context. So in that way director Rumy Jafry chose the right plot and star-cast too, to impress the common man watching the film. However once again it is the execution which somehow is not able to make the desired impact on the audience. And for this I would like to blame its childish second half and a very strange or unintelligent conclusion which takes the film to simply no-where in the end with an abrupt finish. GGCH starts off pleasantly with many light sequences and some well written one liners too. But as the common man gets into trouble, it prolongs the things without any solid base and then later goes on to add many silly sequences in its second half diluting the good impact made by its first hour. Particularly the scenes related with the bag and two funny terrorists following Akshay should have been treated in a better way with....more

Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu Movie Review

Review By Bobby Sing,

	An inspired foreign dish served with Indian toppings and masalas which ends on a pretty confused note - DilFilmy.com
(Spoiler – The review reveals the plot and climax, so it is suggested to read it after watching the film.) Valentine Day is here and so is Dharma Production’s another glossy film based on a love story with the same routine developments inspired from more than one films from the west. Releasing with a perfect planning & timing, offering the viewer nothing fresh in real terms, EMAET is a clear example of the fact that in India we are now more into making business projects and less films on some new stories. No doubt EK MAIN AUR EKK TU has two fine performances from the lead pair Imraan and Kareena. But in absence of anything fresh in store for the viewers (other than its confused climax), the fabulous acts fail to make the desired kind of impact on the audience. Whereas Imraan surprises with his controlled performance, Kareena delivers an extension of what she earlier did as Geet in “Jab We Met”. Though it does have some enjoyable moments which occasionally make you smile and laugh, yet due to the same old routine developments, the film cannot be rated much higher, intelligently timed for a Valentine release. Truly speaking EMAET can easily be termed as a foreign dish served with some Indian toppings and masalas, which actually ruin the real taste of the recipe all together. In reality the problem is that at one end our young film-makers are pretty inspired from the western films, their directors and want to try something unique on those similar lines. But on the other, our Indian market, traditions and the concept of love, don’t allow them to cross certain boundaries which in turn results in a pretty weak product hanging in between, reaching nowhere. Now let me try to explain what I found deliberate, illogical and unloving in this Love Story. The film starts off with all seen before kind of scenes relating to Imraan’s arrogant and classy parents forcing all their wishes on to their child. And the child is now a grown-up architect (of 25+), working in a big foreign company but still so dumb to continue to be the puppet of his ruling parents. Now after he gets fired from his job, Imraan meet this full of life girl Kareena and they spend some good time together in a pub drinking heavily. In their drunken state they even get married unknowingly and become an official couple as per the law. And from here onwards EMAET copies its initial main plot straight from WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS (2008) and the Mexican film RECIEN CAZADO (2009). But in a very amusing way, the first time director Shakun Batra makes an Indian change in the idea and puts some clothes on to the naked people in his script. In both the original films, the couple find themselves naked in a bed together in the morning and scream loudly as they come to know the truth of their shocking marriage. However in EMAET, the couple wakes up in their full clothes on, lying on the same bed and then start screaming. The presentation clearly shows that we still have dualistic minds working........more

Ekk Deewana Tha Movie Review

Review By Bobby Sing,

	It doesnt offer anything new but isn't that bad at all as rated in the review market - DilFilmy.com
The latest offering from Bollywood once again reveals the dark side of today’s “Review Market” prevailing in the Industry. Where last week’s EK MAIN AUR EKK TU didn’t really deserved the 3-4 stars ratings given by many, the current week’s EKK DEEWANA THA also doesn’t deserve the 1-2 star ratings given by most of the critics, stating it as a very poor film. So there is evidently a huge imbalance in the reviews which largely get influenced by the production house and stars in the film instead of the product’s actual content. Coming to EKK DEEWANA THA, it certainly isn’t any great piece of art or path-breaking film with some fresh ideas. It talks about the same ages old love story between two young souls, who not only have a slight age difference but who also come from two extremely diverse regional & religious backgrounds causing all the problems. The script can easily be called predictable as we have already seen the same emotional drama umpteen times before on the screen. But still EDT isn’t a complete washout as being written in many reputed reviews. It’s a sweet film with a refreshing first half which keeps you engaged and entertained till the interval. Plus it also has its moments post intermission resulting in an above average film far better than many craps churned out by some big production houses in the name of Love Stories. Following the current remake trend EKK DEEWANA THA is the Hindi version of director Gautham Menon’s earlier 2 hits namely VINNAITHAANDI VARUVAAYAA (Tamil) and YE MAAYA CHESAVE (Telugu). In the initial reels it even reminds you of Kamal Hassan-Rati Agnihotri starrer EK DUJE KE LIYE which also revolved around a love affair in some similar circumstances. But as it progresses it moves on to a different path involving an interesting marriage sequence and its loving results. So what’s watchable in this routine love-saga? The answer comes in the form of Amy Jackson, Manu Rishi and to a certain extent Prateik too. However the sole charmer in the film remains Amy who looks stunningly gorgeous especially in the Indian outfits. Though she doesn’t get a well defined character (who remains confused) along with a poor make-up in many scenes, still she keeps the viewer hooked on to her innocent beauty till.....more

Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya Movie Review

Review By Bobby Sing,

	You can watch this all inspired stuff only for Genelia -  DilFilmy.com
Spoiler : The review reveals the basic storyline of the film in order to disclose its various inspirational sources. One of Bollywood’s oldest but most used formula is to mix concepts taken from more than one Hit movies and then mash them together to make a new film for its audience. Incidentally both the movies released this week can be studied as a perfect example of this trend followed by the Hindi Film Industry from decades. But moving ahead of the uninteresting JODI BREAKERS, here we have a little better film in comparison, revolving around the same old concept of Love which starts developing between the lead couple as the film progresses and then they happily unite together after a dramatic climax. As far as the recipe of TERE NAAL LOVE HO GAYA goes, it straight away lifts or copies its first hour from Danny Boyle’s A LIFE LESS ORDINARY (1997) which might have come across the makers while researching on the director, post his SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE. The opening sequences where Riteish loses his job, thinks of taking a revenge from his employer Tinnu Anand, goes to his house, get holds of a gun from security men and then unintentionally kidnaps Tinnu’s daughter Genelia in a funny manner have all been taken from the English flick as it is. Amusingly in TNLHG, when Riteish is counting 1,2,3 with his fingers on the trigger, then Genelia says 3 from behind and the Gun goes off, whereas in the original Cameron Diaz says 5 and we hear the shot. Later, all the scenes of couple entering a deserted house by breaking the glass and then calling home for ransom, are also copied in this Hindi version in the most truthful manner. However the difference here is that in TNLHG, its Genelia who forces Riteish to kidnap her willingly, whereas in the original it’s the boy who takes the call. And that is the only authentic insertion tried by the director in this first half. Post intermission the English influence gets replaced by our own Bollywood Hits like Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge or Jab We Met along with their Punjabi flavor, where either the boy or the girl is living with the family of the other and starts winning the hearts of its every important member with his cute gestures. In the present version it is the girl, Genelia who stays with Riteish’s family, who are famous for their abduction profession all over the region. And then after this whole process of love in the air, it all ends with a dramatic climax as usual with a pinch of little suspense to keep your interest alive. So this is the recipe of Bollywood’s latest romantic comedy made on the same old formula tried several times before. The film has an above average soundtrack by Sachin-Jigar which also has a Punjabi number sung by the current rage of Punjab, Diljeet and that is an intelligent addition to create some ripples in the North belt. Being in Punjabi Pop business from many years, TIPS very well knows this art of value-addition and they keep on using the same in their productions on a regular basis. Cinematography captures the outdoors of Punjab and its surrounding Hills well, which keeps the freshness intact despite of its repetitive storyline. But then why TNLHG is being rated here as much better than the rest? That’s because it has a light, refreshing feel throughout, perfectly supported by......more

Jodi Breakers Movie Review

Review By Bobby Sing,

	Why we keep on repeating ourselves in the name of New Concepts? - DilFilmy.com
Beginning with the inspirational connections, JODI BREAKER takes the idea for its lead couple’s strange profession and its title from a 2010 French film HEARTBREAKER, but it is not a straight copy as was being said before its release. The plot no doubt had the potential of making a fine romantic comedy but it unfortunately doesn’t work at all due to the same old repetitive stuff which we had earlier whole heartedly appreciated in BAND BAAJA BAARAT, where we had Wedding Planners instead of Marriage Breakers. Interestingly, this concept of a team of JODI BREAKERS or Divorce Specialist might be fresh for many, but as I recall, Govinda played a similar kind of specialist in his 2009 comedy LIFE PARTNER too which also couldn’t sustain at the box office. The unimpressive promos of the film already had me in doubt as they clearly revealed the whole movie in a single line dialogue. In one of the key promos, Helen yells at both Madhavan and Bipasha saying “You two were only the cause of their break-up and now you two only would bring them together again.” Now this one line only clearly gives away the whole plot of the film in just a few seconds and I really couldn’t understand how the director Ashwini Chaudhary could approve such kind of revealing promo for his film made quite unintelligently. The promo, heavily publicized at all the leading channels simply ruins the whole surprise element of the film which could have been easily avoided. Further it has a very boring and uneven script which neither allows it to become an enjoyable sex comedy nor a good romantic film in its both unimpressive halves. In fact the first half of the film is so distasteful that one loses all the hope of getting anything interesting in its later reels. The disappointment continues post intermission too, as it once again offers those same old rotten love sequences lacking any freshness. The writers also throw in few weird comedy sequences here and there to fill in the spaces. But the unpleasant humor in them fails to do the trick wherein we are shown a Baba Kamdev (referring towards Baba Ramdev), a sexually psycho wife and few doctors fighting in an operation theater right in middle of an operation, with the patient sinking in front of them.   In the acting department, its again a big letdown since no-one is able to deliver something exceptional mainly due to its lousy script. Madhavan looks tired in the whole film with an untidy kind of get-up. Bipasha, apart from her item song, doesn’t look ravishing as she did in her previous films. Moreover the chemistry between the two.....more

Will You Marry Me Movie Review

Review By Bobby Sing,

	Few fine scattered ideas gone wrong - DilFilmy.com
In the recent years we have seen few films made under the newly found genre in India known as Teen Movies which basically revolve around some school or college characters who just like to think about their love life, sex, parties & career too, along with finding new ways to enjoy their youth to the maximum. And WILL YOU MARRY is just another below average movie made under the same head which doesn’t have a solid script to bank upon. Though it starts off pretty well with a college farewell sequence (which was intelligently used for its promos), followed by a good idea wherein a group of friends sign a heavy investment deal which will go to the one who will remain unmarried among them all. But post this few initial minutes it sets off to a completely different path which has many below par sequences disappointing the viewers like the boys dancing in a Superman dress in the Gay Party & the way one of them proposes his girl. The humor seems to be all forced upon and the romantic pairing doesn’t look like romantic at all. So before the intermission it’s just a jumble of unentertaining scenes put together in the name of a Young Film and nothing else. In the second half the chaos even gets heavier as now we have lots of sub-plots running within the script all of a sudden. For instance we have a grand wedding being held in Dubai where two boys are chasing the same girl and the triangle nicely makes way to a sacrifice angle in the end, there is a strange businessman Don chasing the boys for his lost money. But wait, we have 20-20 Cricket betting too leading to a usual climax wherein a third girl also enters the family since all the boys have to be given their respective girls obviously. Among the actors, only Shreyas Talpade gives you something to cheer in the whole film with the rest simply being there as his good supporting cast. Rajeev Khandelwal performs well but he doesn’t look like of the same age as his fellow friends. Muzammil is ok along with Tripta Prashar. Mugdha Godse plays the glamour doll as required and so does Celina Jaitly in her few minutes cameo towards the climax. Paresh Rawal entertains........more