Dev D

By Taran Adarsh

Rating: *

There's a major difference between K.L. Saigal, Dilip Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan and Abhay Deol's Devdas. The first three films were faithful to Sarat Chandra's legendary novella, while Anurag Kashyap's deviant take on Devdas is contemporary and in the process, differs from the original work.

In Kashyap's Dev D, Dev is into drugs and vodka. Paro sends her nude pic to Dev via email and later, wants Dev to have sex with her in the fields. Chanda, a hooker, indulges in phone sex mainly. Clearly, Kashyap's Dev, Paro and Chanda are audacious and rebellious.

There's no harm if you pick up an enticing story and tell it your way, but Kashyap goes a bit too far, crosses all limits and tends to get abstract once again. And that's the reason for Dev D's downfall.

To Kashyap's credit, a number of individualistic scenes are interestingly handled. Unfortunately, the proceedings gyrate from absorbing to boring to yawn-inducing. The writing (screenplay: Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane) lacks consistency.

So what's the final word? Does Kashyap redeem himself after the boring and listless NO SMOKING? Unfortunately, he doesn't. Watching Dev D is akin to doing atyachaar on oneself!

Son of a rich industrialist, who is sent away to London when he was 12, Dev (Abhay Deol) returns to his hometown and to Paro (Mahi Gill), his childhood sweetheart. Inseparable as they seem, a misunderstanding puts their lives in a tizzy; Paro is married off to someone else and Dev goes into severe depression.

Not one to take on responsibilities for his acts, Dev Digs deep into drugs and alcohol for salvation. He stays away from home, but his finances still come from a doting father.

Lenny (Kalki) likes to live her life on the edge -- a rich student with a penchant for adventure. After a devastating MMS scandal, she's abandoned by her family and is forced into isolation. As a runaway, she finds shelter with Chunni, a pimp. With great determination and inner strength she adopts an alter ego -- Chanda.

As Chanda, she gets to be a high profile escort by night, while Lenny remains a college student by day. At this juncture, Dev enters her life…

Despite the fact that you know the basic plotline of Dev D even before the reels begin to unfold, what you're keen to know is, how has Kashyap executed the subject?

The sequences between Dev and Paro at the start are captivating and the volatile relationship they share makes you realize that Kashyap is on the right track. Note the altercation between Dev and Paro, which prompts Paro to marry Bhuvan, who's much older to her, besides being a father of two.

Post Paro's marriage, Dev D starts going downhill. Lenny/Chanda's MMS scandal is straight out of life and the reasons that make her turn into a hooker are well explained. But the sequences between Dev and Chanda lack fizz.

Equally sad are the scenes between Dev and Chunni. Besides, there's not much movement in the story after a point and the goings-on get boring. The journey to the climax is prolonged and tedious.

Amit Trivedi's music sounds good to the ears. 'Emosanal Attyachaar' is already popular, besides a couple of other songs ('Nayan Tarse' and 'Pardesi'). But there're too many songs in the narrative. Rajeev Ravi's cinematography captures the rustic look of North India well.

Abhay Deol is natural. Mahi is decent, while Kalki shows sparks in a few scenes only. The balance cast, including the actor playing Chunni, are strictly okay.

On the whole, Dev D is NO SMOKING II. Does one elaborate more?

Source:SantaBanta.com

Chal Chala Chal

By Taran Adarsh

Rating: *

This week is special! Three new releases -- Dev D, Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye and Chal Chala Chal -- and all three are vying for 'Worst Film Of The Week' award. The winner is, hold your breath, Chal Chala Chal. It wins hands down!

There's nothing right about this comedy, which turns out to be a tragedy for the hapless viewer. The direction is bad, the script is pathetic, the editor seems to have gone on a vacation, the actors scream their lungs out…

Chal Chala Chal rests on an outdated concept, something that might've worked 35/40 years ago. On second thoughts, Chal Chala Chal is so bad, it would've failed even then.

Deepak (Govinda), a simpleton, has been switching jobs as he does not want to succumb to the corrupt system. Since years, with unwavering efforts, financial hardships and an unshaken faith in the judicial systems, he has been helping his father (Om Puri) in a legal matter.

His father is fighting a court case against the school to get his due provident fund and pension. He later wins the case and the school is ordered to give a part of its property as compensation, if there is no money in its funds. And thus Deepak's life gets an addition: a bus.

Instead of selling it off, acting on his father's advice, he decides to run the bus, while the rest of the family members -- two sisters Chhaya and Arpana (Upasana Singh and Amita Nangia) and the ghar jamai-husbands (Asrani and Manoj Joshi) -- are against it. Their primary interest is in selling off the house.

Sundar (Rajpal Yadav), who is desperately trying for an American Visa, is also an age-old friend. He comes in handy with initial investments and they establish a company, Chal Chala Chal Transport. And so begins the ride of their lives.

You ought to have nerves of steel to bear this film. There's no story in the first place and the screenplay, hence, is non-existent. Worse, the edit is so bad that, for a second, you feel the reels may've got interchanged in the projection room.

Here's a sincere advice to Govinda: Act your age. It's indeed sad to see the actor being reduced to such roles. Rajpal Yadav is wasted as well. And what is Om Puri doing in this film? The remaining actors (Asrani, Manoj Joshi, Razzak Khan, Asif Basra, Murli Sharma, Upasana Singh, Amita Nangia and Reema Sen) are mechanical.

On the whole, Chal Chala Chal is a terrible film in all respects. Move over CC2C, CCC is here.

Source:SantaBanta.com

Victory

Starring: Hurman Baweja, Amrita Rao, Anupam Kher and Gulshan Grover

Director: Ajitpal Mangat
Rating: **

Vijay Shekhawat (Hurman) a Jaisalmer boy after a lot of struggle manages to fulfill his father's (Anupam Kher) dream of making it to the Indian cricket team.

With a great debut he wins not just fans but a lot of endorsement deals and lucrative contracts. Success begins to spoil and distancing him from his lady love (Amrita Rao) back home.

Blinded by success and the taste of the high society life he losses both focus and form. He is then understandably dumped by the selectors. Following which, his father gets a heart attack.

Vijay then decides to mend his mistakes and fight his way back to the team. In final match, despite a severe head injury he manages to get India a near impossible win.

A sports film is always crippled with a same storyline that of a underdog, his rise then fall and subsequent rise back to gain the impossible victory. This film is no different. But one expects atleast some sense of creativity wherein the interest is kept alive throughout.

Twenty minutes into the film and one somehow senses whats in store. So full of cliches and melodrama is the film that sometimes you begin to wonder did the makers intend to take the viewers for a ride.

If the melodrama was intended to bring in that emotional connect with the audience then the writer-director have clearly failed as throughout the film the emotional impact is clearly missing.

Also nowhere does the lead character's passion for the game comes across. Also one fails to understand the need of Hurman's character using swear words for his opponents.

Wear is your sporting spirit dude is what we wish to ask him! His character therefore fails to evoke any sympathy from the audience. The biggest high point of sports films are games shown in the film.

But here they are biggest drawbacks. Not only there are just a very few games but also what are shown are simply thanda! There is total lack of edge of the seat excitement which was very much needed.

Also homework by the makers is clearly lacking if they intended to show the 'real' behind the scenes happenings of the cricket match for example the dressing room interactions etc. Just putting in famous national-international cricketing names don't necessarily give the film authenticity.

One feels really sad for Hurman Baweja whose tremendous hard work is noticeable in every single scene but is mightily let down by a pathetic script and listless direction by debutante Ajitpal Mangat.

Amrita Rao reprises her typical simple small town girl act for the nth time. She looks very pretty though. Anupam Kher after a point of time starts grating on your nerves with his screeching overmelodramatic act. Gulshan Grover is just about okay.

The music doesn't really register any impact as there are no full songs as well. The Balla Utha number mostly keeps playing in the background during the match sequences. But thankfully the songs are less.

The film is a complete let down in many departments and instead of wasting time on this film it is a better option to watch a re-run of any Indian cricket team match on TV or best spend your time watching the current India v/s Sri Lanka one day series.

Luck By Chance

By Taran Adarsh

Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, Rishi Kapoor, Konkona Sen Sharma, Isha Sharwani, Dimple Kapadia, Juhi Chawla, Sanjay Kapoor, Aly Khan

Lyrics: Javed Akhtar

Music: Shankar, Eshaan & Loy

Producers: Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar

Director: Zoya Akhtar

Rating: ****

One has often heard, read and seen the positive and negative aspects of Bollywood. It would be erroneous to state that LUCK BY CHANCE does a pol-khol of the glamorous industry.

Let's put it this way: The film mirrors the behind-the-scenes drama and manoeuvring exactly the way it occurs in showbiz. Watching LUCK BY CHANCE is like experiencing it first-hand.

If you're associated with Bollywood, if you know how the machine works, you'd laud and applaud, laugh and smile, identify and understand and at times, empathize and sympathize with the characters in LUCK BY CHANCE. Zoya Akhtar's take on an industry that attracts millions of hopefuls year after year is bang on target.

Almost three decades ago, Hrishikesh Mukherjee's GUDDI depicted a star-struck teenager's [Jaya Bhaduri] obsession for a top star [Dharmendra].

Along with the core issue, the film highlighted the behind-the-scenes hard work and labour that went into making movie

LUCK BY CHANCE taps almost every important facet of Bollywood and presents assorted characters you've encountered some time in life: An over-ambitious aspirant who knows to make the right moves; an actress trying hard to get that big break, even if she has to compromise; an icon of the 1970s who desperately wants her daughter to be a star; a producer who looks at riding on big names, script be damned; a failed actor now looking at direction to redeem his career.

One of the prime reasons why LUCK BY CHANCE works is because the writing [Zoya Akhtar] is simply wonderful.

Right from the characters, to the individualistic scenes, to the way Zoya puts them in a sequence, LUCK BY CHANCE is easily one of the most cohesive scripts this side of the Atlantic.

The verdict? Leave aside everything and hitch this joyride called LUCK BY CHANCE. It would be sacrilege to miss this one!

Sona [Konkona Sen Sharma] arrives in Mumbai with dreams of becoming a film star. She does whatever it takes, to make it.

Vikram [Farhan Akhtar] has just moved to the city leaving the comforts of his Delhi home. He is used to getting what he wants and is smart enough to know when to demand it and when to manipulate it. Gradually, Sona and Vikram develop a romantic relationship.

Rolly [Rishi Kapoor] is a successful though superstitious producer who only works with the biggest stars.

He is making a potential blockbuster launching Niki [Isha Sharwani], the daughter of 1970s superstar Neena [Dimple Kapadia]. The hero of the film, Zaffar Khan [Hrithik Roshan], is the superstar.

Zaffar decides to opt out of Rolly's film and that creates havoc in Rolly's life. Rolly decides to cast newcomers and finally, Vikram is shortlisted for the main role...

LUCK BY CHANCE picks up characters straight out of life and that's the beauty of this script.

The interesting part is that each of these characters has a story running parallel to the main story. Although the writing is foolproof, this review would be incomplete if one failed to acknowledge a number of scenes that are the hallmark of this enterprise... *Note the sequence when Rishi Kapoor breaking down after Hrithik has walked out of his movie. It moves you!

*On the lighter side, Farhan strikes a conversation with Dimple at a movie premiere and extols lavish praises on her.

* Much later, an angry Dimple instructs Isha to patch up with Farhan, soon after Farhan and Isha's debut film has been declared a success. Watch the moments when Dimple recalls her early years.

The sequence featuring SRK.

If Zoya's writing is superb, her execution of the written material deserves distinction marks. This may be Zoya's directorial debut, but she treats the difficult subject like a veteran.

Javed Akhtar's dialogues are remarkable. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's music is a mixed bag; the score could've been better. However, the choreography of the circus song is remarkable. Carlos Catalan's cinematography captures the right moods.

Farhan Akhtar is evolving into one of the most dependable actors of his generation. He's very real, very believable. No wonder, this character stands out. Konkona Sen Sharma is exceptional.

The supremely talented actress delivers a sparkling performance yet again. Rishi Kapoor is incredible. A performance that merits the highest praise. Dimple Kapadia is in terrific form.

It easily ranks amongst her most accomplished works. Juhi Chawla is first-rate. Isha Sharwani does her part well. Sanjay Kapoor springs a surprise. He registers an impact. Aly Khan is perfect.

Hrithik Roshan is truly wonderful. Note the sequence when he strikes a conversation with Karan Johar, only to realize that he himself had paved the way for Farhan in the industry.

Only an accomplished actor could've handled this sequence with aplomb. Amongst the A-listers who make fleeting appearances in the film, the one who registers the maximum impact is Shah Rukh Khan.

On the whole, LUCK BY CHANCE is an outstanding film in all respects.

A magnificent outing from the producers of ROCK ON!!, LUCK BY CHANCE is sure to prove an extremely lucky and rewarding experience at the box-office. Strongly recommended!

Source:SantaBanta.com