Exclusive Review of Ghanchakkar Movie

Here are the critical reviews of the much awaited Emraan - Vidya starrer, Ghanchakkar.

Ratings:2/5 Review By: Taran Adarsh Site:BollywoodHungama

With a plot that had the potential to transform into an engaging and outrageous entertainer, GHANCHAKKAR gets repetitive and tedious after Gupta introduces the four pivotal characters. The post-interval portions have their moments, but they are few and far between. The spectator gets immersed in the narrative, albeit briefly, when the finger of suspicion points towards Vidya. But the culmination to the tale throws a wet blanket. It would be unfair to reveal the twist in the tale, but all I can say is that the film should've ended on a terrific note, but it doesn't. On the whole, GHANCHAKKAR has splendid performances by its principal cast, but the bland and tedious narrative plays spoilsport. This one disheartens!

Ratings:2/5 Review By: Raja Sen Site:Rediff

The finest, most fascinating mysteries are the ones where we find the red herrings stashed away in plain sight all along. In Raj Kumar Gupta's Ghanchakkar, the true clue to the proceedings is barely hidden. What is exasperating is how good it is right up to the third act, right up to the point when the people plotting this clever and twisty story decided not to type out any more ideas and let the film remain an almighty mess.But despite all the merry tomfoolery, a film like Ghanchakkar depends more on the meat of the story than on its execution. And somewhere through the second half, it stops being funny and becomes inane precisely at the time when it should have showed off its intelligence.

Ratings:1.5/5 Review By: Saibal Chaterjee Site:NDTV

The fundamental concept of Ghanchakkar is intriguing all right, but it simply isn’t sturdy enough to bear the weight of an entire two hour-plus film. Ghanchakkar tries very, very hard to raise a few laughs. You might hear a chuckle here and a giggle there, but the comic situations are far too laboured to leave a lasting impression.Despite its surprise ending, Ghanchakkar fails to engage. It is overstretched, flimsy and ineffectual. Ghanchakkar is strictly for those that are easy to tickle and shock. One character, the one with the gun, sums it up best: “I don’t know what is going on and who is taking whom for a ride.” Heed the warning!

Ratings:3/5 Review By: Meena Iyer Site:Times Of India

For the viewer, part of the fun begins here. The constant sparring between Emraan and Vidya and the bickering between the three thieves is funny. But the pace is slow and when the situations and jokes start getting repetitive, you want to pull your hair. There is an unusual climax to look forward to. Yet, the ground rule for thrillers is that they cannot unfold at such a languid pace.

Ratings:2/5 Review By: Karan Anshuman Site:Mumbai Mirror

the first half soon puts the mood in order with some hilarious sequences and a decent plot that keeps the audience guessing how it's going to end.After this third film, one can only surmise that Gupta gets enthused with some terrific ideas and heads straight for the shooting floor without thinking them through entirely. Ghanchakkar is all very well as it flags off, but it's mostly downhill after it hits its high point in the first fifteen minutes.

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani Movie Review.

Review By Komal Nahta  
Dharma Productions and UTV Motion Pictures’ Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (UA) is a love story of two people as different from one another as cheese from chalk. Kabir Thapar alias Bunny (Ranbir Kapoor) is a carefree young man raring to go. He likes adventure in his life and dreams of roaming the whole world. He wears his heart on his sleeve but doesn’t believe in the institution of marriage. He lives with his father (Farooque Shaikh) and stepmother (Tanvi Azmi). His best friends are Avi (Aditya Roy Kapur) and Aditi (Kalki Koechlin) who are as fun-loving as him. Aditi loves Avi who is probably not even aware of this. Avi is also romantic at heart and loves to chase girls. The three are due to undertake a trekking trip to Manali as part of a larger group. Naina Talwar (Deepika Padukone), a serious and studious girl who used to study in the same school and class as Bunny and who is now studying medicine, joins him, Aditi and Avi on the trip as she needs a break from her studies.

Slowly but surely, Bunny and Naina grow very fond of each other during the trip even though they have almost nothing in common. Naina learns to live life to the fullest in his company. Just as she is, one day, about to confess to Bunny that she has begun to love him, the three friends get to know that Bunny has got a scholarship to study journalism in a university in Chicago. Since Bunny is a detached kind of person who would do anything to roam the world, he seizes this opportunity and leaves for Chicago. He gets busy in his world – first with his studies, and then, with his job. He keeps in touch with Avi and Aditi but only when he gets time from his busy schedule.

After eight years, he comes to India to attend Aditi’s marriage with a rich man, Taran (Kunal Roy Kapur). He meets Naina again and the old sparks are re-ignited, this time not just from Naina’s side but also from Bunny’s side. However, Naina holds herself back because she knows, Bunny’s dreams would keep him on the move in different parts of the world always while she, a family person, has her parents and clinic (she is now a doctor) to look after.
Does Naina admit before Bunny that she loves him? Does Bunny also love Naina as much as she loves him? Does he agree to sacrifice his dreams for Naina? Or does Naina chuck away everything and go away with Bunny? Do Bunny and Naina, two diametrically opposite people, live happily together ever after?

Ayan Mukerji’s story is nice and the underlying philosophy of unlike poles attracting each other is brought out beautifully and sensitively. He has penned a screenplay which is fresh, youthful and lively. The camaraderie between the four friends is excellent and their jokes are so fresh that the audience feels completely entertained in the first hour of the more-than-two-and-a-half-hour drama. The pace drops a bit thereafter but the dip does not threaten the commercial viability of the film. The twist of Bunny’s scholarship again makes the drama exciting. The post-interval portion gains momentum when Aditi invites Bunny for her destination marriage in Udaipur. The fun and frolic of the wedding celebrations once again keep the viewers thoroughly entertained but alongside that, the romantic (between Bunny and Naina) and emotional (between Bunny and Naina; and between Bunny and Avi) scenes give the drama a new dimension. That there is no melodrama in this film about relationships might disturb some people but the youngsters will lap up this subtle drama more than willingly. The dropping pace of the drama at some places may also come in the way of the cent per cent enjoyment of the film but that would be so in the case of a section of the audience only. The rest will clearly understand that the scripting could not have made the pace faster without sacrificing the romance and emotions to some extent.

In particular, the film has the following brilliantly entertaining parts: the jokes which the friends crack while on their way to Manali and also while they are there; the character of Lara (Evelyn Sharma); the action sequence in Manali; three songs and their extraordinary choreography; the easy-going nature of Bunny; Bunny’s relationship with his father; the scenes of Naina’s mother (Dolly Ahluwalia); the gradual transformation of Naina from being the studious and guarded girl to becoming the fun-loving and lively lady; the slow revelation of the true character of Taran, fiancé of Aditi; the tension between Bunny and Avi when the former returns to India to attend Aditi’s wedding; the wedding celebrations; the emotional turmoil in the lives of Bunny and Naina; the scenes showing the friends wishing each other a happy New Year; and several others.
Dialogues, penned by Hussain Dalal, are veritable gems and greatly contribute to the entertainment and emotional quotient of the drama. The dialogue writer has beautifully aided story and screenplay writer Ayan Mukherji in keeping the script youthful and contemporary.

Ranbir Kapoor is a charmer par excellence. He looks fantastic, acts marvellously and dances splendidly to reach straight into the hearts of the audience. This is yet another award-winning performance from the new superstar. His innocent face and his mature acting are a deadly combination. Deepika Padukone acts wonderfully. Her character has so much range as Naina transforms from the introverted, serious and studious girl to the easy-going and fun loving yet evolved person. Deepika adds a lot of layers to the character of Naina, making it so very interesting. Hers is also an award-worthy performance. Aditya Roy Kapur is just too lovely and extremely natural. He lends excellent support. Kalki Koechlin springs the biggest surprise by delivering a memorable performance. She is first-rate. Kunal Roy Kapur is cute and endearing, besides being very natural. Dolly Ahluwalia (guest appearance) and Evelyn Sharma shine in their respective roles and entertain beautifully. Farooque Shaikh stands out in a brief role. Tanvi Azmi makes her presence felt in a guest appearance. Poorna Jagannathan (as Bunny’s colleague) and Naveen Kaushik (as the trek leader) provide formidable support. Madhuri Dixit sizzles in the ‘Ghaghra’ song with her oh so graceful dance. Rana Daggubati leaves a mark in a cameo appearance. A special word about casting director Nandini Shrikent: she deserves distinction marks for her very effective casting.
Ayan Mukerji’s direction is sensitive and mature. If the light scenes are extremely enjoyable, the serious ones have depth. A special mention must be made about his expertise at leaving things unexplained at one point and then offering an explanation to complete them later. This leads the audience up the wrong path of thinking for a while before the record is finally set right, which gives the viewers a nice feeling. Instances in point: Bunny’s absence at the time of his father’s death, and the reason being explained later; Avi’s frustration with Bunny, and the reason for the same being revealed later; projecting Taran as a loser in the initial part after his introduction, and the gradual revelation of his true self; the unfolding of the relationship Bunny shares with his dad; and several other scenes.

Pritam’s music is such a major asset of the film that it wouldn’t be incorrect to call him a hero of the film. ‘Balam pichkari’ and ‘Badtameez dil’ are already super-hit songs and their pictuisations (both by Remo D’souza) are mind-boggling. ‘Dilliwali girlfriend’ is a good song and its picturisation (by Ganesh Acharya) is okay. The ‘Ghaghra’ song is fast-paced and its picturisation (by Farah Khan) on Madhuri and Ranbir is superb. The ‘Kabira’ song grows on the audience as it comes at different points in the film. ‘Subhanallah’ and ‘Ilaahi’ songs are fair. Amitabh Bhattacharya’s lyrics for all the songs are excellent and the man deserves kudos for that. Pritam’s background music is of a very good standard. V. Manikandan’s cinematography is splendid. The film is visually very rich due to extraordinary camerawork and the rich sets (by Amrita Mahal Nakai and Rajnish Hedao). Akiv Ali’s editing is lovely. Production values are grand.

On the whole, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani has tremendous entertainment value because of its fine drama, enjoyable humour, great music, lovely star value and fantastic performances. It will have a meritorious run at the box-office and keep the exhibitors very happy. Business in the big cities will be outstanding while it will go on declining as the size of the city decreases. Similarly, business in the good multiplexes will be outstanding while it will be lesser in the lesser multiplexes and in the single-screen cinemas. Overall, it will prove to be a supremely rewarding film for Dharma Productions and a paying proposal for UTV, the all-India distributor. As for the few distributors who have acquired the film for individual circuits, from UTV, they’ve done so at unbelievably high prices, and they will, therefore, make only moderate profits despite the huge merits of the film

Aashiqui 2 Movie Review.

Release Date    : 26 April 2013
Genre                 : Romance
Banner               : Vishesh Films , T-Series
Presenter      : Gulshan Kumar , Mahesh Bhatt
Producer  : Mukesh Bhatt , Bhushan Kumar , Krishan Kumar
Director             : Mohit Suri
Cast                   : Aditya Roy Kapur, Shraddha Kapoor

Rating:  

• Review-In Short:

An alcoholic singer helps a young and talented girl achieve her dreams before falling for her and realizing that the relationship is doomed...

• Review-Verdict:

Mohit Suri's story comes across more as a documentary on alcoholism with a few songs thrown in than a love story.

• Review-Story Plot:

Rahul Jaikar (Aditya Roy Kapur) is an irreverent and alcoholic rockstar, who doesn't take anything seriously except ensuring a steady profit for the alcohol industry. While on a trip to Goa for a concert, Rahul comes across Arohi (Shraddha Kapoor), a middle-class girl, who sings at a beer joint to earn money. Impressed with her singing skills, Rahul persuades her to come to Mumbai with him and grooms her to be a singer, while paving the way for his own downfall with his alcoholism. When Rahul and Arohi end up falling for each other, Rahul decides to walk away as he doesn't want Arohi's life to be ruined because of his addiction. What happens next? Will love save the day? To find out, watch the movie...

• Review - Performances:

Aditya Roy Kapur as the alcoholic Rahul gives a decent performance and his character has that believable aura of vulnerability that makes him endearing in a way. Shraddha Kapoor as Arohi is quite likeable too and her fresh looks are sure to win quite a few hearts. The rest of the cast performs passably.

• Review -Direction:

The Bhatt camp is known for making complicated love stories, but Aashiqui 2 takes the cake. The director doesn't seem too interested in explaining why Rahul seems hell-bent on drinking his way to an early grave and the audience is kept wondering till the very end about what is it that makes him have a death wish (atleast with Devdas, we knew the reasons behind his alcoholism). Moreover, after realizing that his heart beats for Arohi, Rahul doesn't think about turning over a new leaf like any self-respecting hero would, but instead chooses to push her away so as to not ruin her life (ever heard about rehab camps, Mr. Director?). Frankly, this reviewer couldn't figure out what the entire drama was about, especially when the reasons behind Rahul's alcoholic tendencies were not made clear at all. Like mentioned earlier, the film seemed more like a musical documentary made about the evils of alcohol abuse than a love story. The second half too keeps dragging on for quite some time and some editing would have surely reduced the severity of our 'hangover'. Moreover, the chemistry between the lead actors is more like that of a mentor and a protégé than lovers.

• Review-Music:

From the soulful tum hi ho to the sun raha hai na with the light rock feel, the music of the movie is simply impressive!

• Review-Final Word:

Watch the film only for the fresh lead pair and the music...

Aatma Movie Review by Komal Nahta

Cast: Bipasha Basu, Nawazuddin Siddiqui

Directed by: Suparn Verma

Review by: Komal Nahta

Ratings:  * 1/2 ( 1.5 )

Business Rating : * 


Wide Frame Pictures’ Aatma (A) is a psychological supernatural thriller. Maya (Bipasha Basu) is married to Abhay (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) but the marriage is on the rocks as he tortures her mentally and physically. They have a little daughter, Nia (Doyel Dhawan), whom both love. In fact, Abhay dotes on Nia.

Since Maya and Abhay can’t get along, Maya decides to divorce him. The custody of the child is given by the court to Maya, much to the horror of Abhay. He is dejected, disturbed and threatens Maya in the court itself before he is thrown out. Abhay meets with an accident the same day and dies. His spirit now starts troubling Maya and others with whom Nia comes in contact including her classmate and teacher. Nia also often ‘speaks’ to her dead father. While Maya is convinced that Abhay’s spirit is behind all the murders and strange happenings around her, the investigating police inspector (Jaideep Ahlawat) doesn’t believe her completely. Maya fears that Abhay would carry out his threat of taking away Nia with him and she is desperate to save her.

One day, Abhay’s spirit kills Maya’s sister, Akansha (Geetika Tyagi), but since the needle of suspicion points towards Maya, she is arrested and put behind bars. Maya tries hard to convince the police that it was her dead husband’s spirit behind this murder too, but her pleas fall on deaf ears. Meanwhile, Maya’s mother (Shernaz Patel) tries to ward off the evil spirit by having a pooja conducted at home by a priest. Not only does the spirit kill the priest (Darshan Jariwala) who is conducting the pooja, but also the mother herself.
Maya remembers that the priest had told her, she’d never be able to save Nia from Abhay’s reach while she was alive. So what is the way out for Maya? Does she manage to secure her freedom from prison and save Nia? Or is Nia taken away by her father’s spirit? Or is there more to the drama than meets the eye?

Suparn Verma’s story and screenplay are quite tame and hardly have any chilling sequences so necessary in a supernatural thriller. Elements of horror also fail to scare the viewers to the desired level. Verma has not cared to explain why Abhay was always so critical of his wife, Maya. It is also not clear whether he doubted her loyalty because he was critical of her or whether he became critical of her as he doubted her faithfulness. No doubt, some scenes do shock the audience but the overall impact of a thriller is missing. Suparn Verma has tried to add the element of divine intervention but even that is so half-baked that it doesn’t make much of a difference.

Sex, fear and drama – three important elements in a thriller, generally speaking – are either in short supply or almost completely missing in the film. Even music does not have the haunting effect. Dialogues, written by Sudarshana Dwivedi and Suparn Verma, are commonplace.

Bipasha Basu does a fine job and ably conveys the emotions of fear, anxiety, helplessness and despair. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is splended but gets scope which does not match his great calibre. Baby Doyel Dhawan is cute and performs well. Jaideep Ahlawat leaves a mark as the investigating police officer. Shernaz Patel is okay as Maya’s mother. As Maya’s father, Shiv Subrahmaniam is ordinary. Mohan Kapur hardly has any substantive role to speak of but he dutifully does what is needed of him. Darshan Jariwala is alright as the priest. Geetika Tyagi is okay. Tillotama Shome makes her presence felt as Nia’s teacher. Sharad Jagtiani (as Maya’s brother-in-law) and Padam Bhola (as Maya’s colleague) pass muster.

Suparn Verma’s direction is okay but he is unable to send chills down the spines of the viewers who, therefore, end up watching the film without getting too involved in the drama. Siddharth and Sangeet Haldipur’s music is functional, at best. Kumaar’s lyrics are ordinary. Sophie Winqvist’s camerawork is good. Jai Singh’s action and stunt scenes are quite alright. Not much thought seems to have gone into the sets (Sukant Panigrahy) as many look so similar to each other. Hemal Kothari’s editing is okay.

On the whole, Aatma lacks the excitement and chills of a thriller and does not even have haunting melodies or hit music to make up for the little entertainment value it offers. It will, therefore, not be able to make its mark at the box-office. Its poor opening will only add to its tale of woes. Its modest budget is the silver lining, though, if one may say so.


Plus Points:

• 1. Good acting

Minus Points:

• 1. Hardly any chilling and scary scenes
• 2. Ordinary music

Rangrezz Movie Review by Komal Nahta

Cast: Jackky Bhagnani, Priya Anand, Rajpal Yadav, Amitosh Nagpal

Directed by: Priyadarshan

Review by: Komal Nahta

Ratings:  * 1/2 ( 1.5 )

Business Rating : * 

Pooja Entertainment And Films Ltd.’s Rangrezz (UA) is the story of friendship, love, betrayal and revenge. Remake of the Tamil hit, Nadodigal, it is about three friends risking their lives to unite their friend in matrimony with the girl he loves.

Rishi Deshpande (Jackky Bhagnani), Pakya (Vijay Verma) and Vinod (Amitosh Nagpal) are bosom pals who live in a middle-class locality of Bombay. Rishi may have done anything else in life but he has enrolled to join the police force because he loves Megha Joshi (Priya Anand) whose father (Shirish Sharma) will not give her hand in marriage to him if he does not take up a government job. Rishi’s sister, Venu (Sakhi Gokhale), loves Vinod but she does not tell her family about it as they belong to different communities.

One day, Joy (Raghav Chanana), a childhood friend of Rishi, comes to Bombay from Lalitpur in Uttar Pradesh. Son of a politician-mother (Lushin Dubey), he is mentally so disturbed that he attempts suicide. He then reveals to Rishi and his two friends the cause for his despair – he loves a girl, Jasmine (Akshara Gowda), whom he can’t marry due to parental opposition on both sides. The friends take it upon themselves to help Joy. The four leave for Lalitpur and plan out a strategy to kidnap Jasmine and get her and Joy married. Since Jasmine’s father (Pankaj Tripathi) is also a very influential person, his men beat up Rishi, Pakya and Vinod but they somehow manage to kidnap Jasmine and get the two lovers married. However, they pay a heavy price for it. Pakya is so brutally beaten up that he loses his hearing power, and Vinod has to get his right leg amputated as a result of a truck crushing it in the mini riot that breaks out when the kidnap drama is on. Besides, the matter reaches the court.

Anyway, time passes by. Rishi, Pakya and Vinod now start helping the dhaba owner (Bachchan Pachera) who had helped them in their time of need. Two years later, the three friends get the shock of their lives when they realise that their sacrifices had gone in vain. What is the shocking thing they learn? What is their reaction? Do they leave it at that or do they go further into the turn of events?

The story (Priyadarshan) has a certain freshness about it but the screenplay, written by Mushtaq Shiekh, is so melodramatic and long-drawn that the youth may actually end up not identifying with this story about youngsters. The entire kidnapping drama is so heavy-duty that it greatly appeals while it lasts but the realisation then dawns on the viewer that it was too far-fetched. And the reasons for this realisation are two-fold: the intensity of love between Joy and Jasmine is just not established except through dialogues; secondly, the bond of friendship between Rishi and Joy is also not established for the audience to feel elated that Rishi and his friends had done so much for Joy.

The shocking twist in the tale after two years looks contrived because the screenplay writer has chosen to simply not weave a drama around it. Again, showing the three friends pursuing the matter even after the shocking twist looks a bit too much, if only because the twist in the tale was not pre-planned. Frankly, it is after the shocking turn of events after two years that the intensity and, if one may say so, futility of the kidnapping drama hits the viewer, reducing its impact. For, it occurs to the audience that a more subtle drama could have saved the leg of Vinod and the hearing power of Pakya.

Although the film is about youngsters, there is too much depression in the drama, something the youth will not approve of. The entire track of the outburst of Megha’s father right at the funeral of Rishi’s grandmother, as also his attempted suicide looks too contrived and, again, just too melodramatic to ring true.

On a broader level, the film about love is devoid of romance, has very little comedy and does not touch the viewer on an emotional level. Therefore, although some individual sequences do hold the viewers’ attention, the drama loses its impact in totality. That’s also because the audience is never able to completely sympathise with Rishi and his friends because their way of handling the situation doesn’t seem to be the best or the only way. The second half does not have the excitement of the pre-interval portion. Dialogues, penned by Manisha Korde, are good at places.

Jackky Bhagnani does justice to the character of Rishi Deshpande and acts well. Priya Anand is good but she hardly has anything to do. Vijay Verma stands out for the wonderful portrayal of Pakya’s character. He is first-rate. Amitosh Nagpal performs ably as Vinod. Raghav Chanana looks handsome in the role of Joy but gets very limited scope. As Jasmine, Akshara Gowda is quite alright. Rajpal Yadav is fantastic and his few comic scenes come as a very welcome relief. Lushin Dubey deserves distinction marks for her acting as the venom-spitting and manipulative politician-mother of Joy. Pankaj Tripathi stands his own as Jasmine’s father. Sunil Sinha, Sona Nair and Sakhi Gokhale provide the desired support as Rishi’s father, mother and sister respectively. Shirish Sharma is effective as Megha’s father. Milind Wagh also stands his own as Vinod’s dad. Milind Pathak has his moments as the carpenter. Rishikesh Deshpande is okay in the role of the hotelier in Goa. Bachchan Pachera leaves a mark with his restrained acting. As his assistant, Hardik Sanghnani is also good.

Priyadarshan’s direction is good but, unfortunately, like the script, the narrative style is of the kind which will not appeal too much to the youth of today, especially those living in the cities and frequenting the multiplexes. Music, composed by Sajid-Wajid, is nice. ‘Dil ko aaya sukoon’ has lilt and melody. ‘Shambhu Shiv Shambhu’ is energetic and inspiring. The ‘Govinda’ song is for the front-benchers. The ‘Gangnam style’ song (composed by PSY) is already a hit. Lyrics (Sameer) are meaningful and appealing. Song picturisations (Prasanna Sujit and Kala Master) are effective. Sundar C. Babu’s background score may be loud but it is also very effective. Santosh Sivan’s cinematography is splendid. Whether it is capturing high-voltage drama in the precincts of a temple or on the streets of a small town or in the lashing rains of Bombay, his camerawork is absolutely stunning. Action scenes, composed by Mafia Sasi and Allan Amin, are raw and remarkable. Sabu Cyril’s sets are authentic. Editing (Suresh T.S.) could’ve been crisper.

On the whole, Rangrezz is a film about the youth but its scripting and making will not appeal much to the youngsters. Given the dull initial it has taken, it faces an uphill task at the ticket counters.


Plus Points:

• 1.    Good acting
• 2.    Nice music
• 3.    Some firebrand sequences, especially the kidnapping drama

Minus Points:

• 1.    Too melodramatic for today’s youth
• 2.    Weak screenplay
• 3.    Dull second half

Exclusive Movie Review of Kai Po Che

Kai Po Che Movie Review By BollywoodFunda.

‘Kai Po Che’, Abhishek Kapoor’s screen adaptation of popular author Chetan Bhagat’s third novel ‘The Three Mistakes of Life’ (2008), till now had all the said novelist’s fans, the critics and the film buffs in waiting. The film’s release today has put an end to the wait, albeit on a sweet note.

‘Kai Po Che’ in the Gujarati lingo is used as an expression of victory during kite flying. Hence, the film explores the theme of holding on to one’s dreams despite the odds faced in life and also celebrates friendship. For those who have not read the book, the story is about three friends namely Ishaan (Sushant Singh Rajput), Omkar (Amit Sadh) and Govind (Raj Kumar Yadav) who are thick friends based in the early 2000 Ahmedabad (Gujarat). Ishan is a care-free, naïve, cricket-loving young man but despised by his father for sitting idle at home all workless. His free-spirited demeanour is characterised by his clothing - Capri pants worn with a simple tee, flip-flops and disheveled hair. His stark opposite is Govind, who is more practical and someone who would always think ten times before making a leap. Omi, on the other hand, is introduced as a person for whom Ishaan’s is the final word. As the story moves on, Omi’s character goes through a sea change only to come to terms with his real self at the end. 

Taking monetary support from Omi’s maternal uncle, the three friends open a sports academy cum sports goods shop to earn their living. When Ishaan meets a 12-year-old boy named Ali Hashmi and sees an immense untapped cricket potential in him, he takes the promising young sportsman under his wings. Thus, Ishaan gets the purpose of his life. He coaches the boy with utmost determination and an unrelenting faith. Sadly, things get sour between the friends when first, the 2001 Gujarat earthquake and then the 2002 post-Godhra riots leave a deep scar on their friendship with Ishaan taking a stand in support of Ali and his community, while Omi seething with anger over the death of his parents in the riots.

Of all the cast, with due respect to every actor in the film including the leads, Sushant Singh Rajput is a charmer in the film. This is his debut Hindi film but one thing is for sure that this man would be going places given the fact that he seems to be nothing less than a born actor. It was a good decision on his part to make a move from television to films because TV soaps anyway give very less scope to perform to the male actors. But this move to films on Sushant’s part would not have been worthwhile had he not landed with ‘Kai Po Che’ in his kitty. So, thanks to Abhishek Kapoor for zeroing in on Sushant and giving Bollywood a much needed breath of fresh air and good talent!

Amit Sadh and Raj Kumar Yadav have done their respective parts well. They appear believable, real and someone who the young male audience could relate to. Manav Kaul as Bittu Mama (Omi’s maternal uncle) has put in efforts to give strength to his character of political figure with shades of grey. And even Amrita Puri as Vidya (Ishaan’s sister) has done her job by balancing her part.

Keeping in tune with the Gujarati culture, Amit Trivedi - now also known as Bollywood’s one of the most preferred music directors - has created great music for the film. The numbers have been smartly put in the film without them deterring the pace of the movie. The shoot locations are well-chosen and there has not been a single stone left unturned to capture even the nitty-gritty of the book for the film’s screenplay. That is where the real beauty of ‘Kai Po Che’ lies – in the details! 

Post the success of ‘Rock On’, Abhishek Kapoor has reiterated the fact that he can make good films. And on our part, we can’t wait to see Gattu (as he is fondly called) come up with his next celluloid marvel!

Rating: 

Murder 3 Movie Review by Bollywood Funda.

“Vishesh Films is succeeding backwards”, is what Vishesh Bhatt feels, as claimed by Mahesh Bhatt in several interviews. The statements makes sense since the recent films of the banner have done roaring business (Raaz 3 was one of the biggest hits of 2012) but is abound with clichés and at places, cheesy dialogues and situations. It still made for an entertaining watch but at a time when the emphasis is on believable and straight-out-of-life cinema, how long can Bhatts continue with such films? At such a juncture, Murder 3, directed by Vishesh himself, comes as a whiff of fresh air. Logic still takes a backseat at places and cinematic liberties are used here and there. But the setting is more real, lousy and scary special effects are absent and thrill and shock value is tremendous, especially in the latter part of the movie. This one surely deserves a watch!

The story of the movie: The rich photographer Vikram (Randeep Hooda) is devastated after his girlfriend Roshni (Aditi Rao Hydari) breaks up with him and vanishes without a trace. He very soon finds solace in Nisha (Sara Loren) and she moves in with him, in his palatial house. Very soon, Nisha starts hearing eerie voices in the house. On the other hand, inspector Kabir (Rajesh Shringapure) who’s investigating the disappearance of Roshni, is of the view that Vikram is behind the whole matter.

Murder 3 is unlike Bhatt banner has attempted in recent times. The closest it can get to, in terms of international standards and a world cinema feel, is Anurag Basu’s Gangster (2006) although both films are diametrically different from each other. Also, it was a risk since Murder franchise is known for its lethal combo of sex and violence. Murder 3, on the other hand, effectively uses sensuality in the right doses and not even once does it get explicit (no surprise that the film has got U/A certificate). Even the violence isn’t gory at all. But the risk pays off, although the film could have been much better. The first half is plain average. Nothing much happens and the in-your-face cinematic liberties spoil the mood to an extent. For instance, Vikram’s bungalow was supposed to be in Mumbai and dating back to pre-independence era. It didn’t however seem so at all. But thankfully, things change in the second hour. Again, for few moments, one might question, ‘was such a twist really necessary?’. But as the film progresses, one realizes the twist of the tale works big time! Also, though there are songs, it doesn’t hamper the proceedings. The film is just 120 minutes long and director ensures that viewers remain gripped. The climax is quite unpredictable and the film ends on a surprising but justified note.

Randeep Hooda looks dashing in the new hairdo and keeps his performance restrained and mysterious, which works best in a film like this. Believe it or not, he is relegated to the backseat in the post-interval portions. The actor is proving his worth, film after film and it’s good to see that reputed filmmakers like Imtiaz Ali and Karan Johar have signed him for their big ventures. Aditi Rao Hydari looks a bit odd in the first half but dominates the second hour and how! A powerpacked performance for sure! Sara Loren too puts her best foot forward and looks very pretty and sizzling too. Rajesh Shringapure looks fine but his hair style is awful. Bugs Bhargava Krishna (DK Bose) doesn’t impress. Shekhar Shukla (Inpsector Amble) is okay. Karla Singh (Mrs Fields), Tonishaa Pawar (Niyomi) and Shraddha Jaiswal (Nisha’s roommate) were fair in their small roles.

Music is shockingly a letdown. Only Mat Aazma Re leaves a mark. Raju Singh’s background score as always was apt. Sunil Patel’s cinematography is decent and the locales of South Africa and Goa are well shot. Rajat Potdar’s sets aren’t convincing. A smaller and a bit more older-looking house would have been perfect for the film.

Murder 3 is an official remake of the Spanish film The Hidden Face and kudos to its writers for coming up with a novel and brilliant storyline. Vishesh Bhatt does great in his debut venture and instead of taking a tried and tested route, which he could have easily done, attempts to do something drastically different. Murder and Murder 2 were erotic thrillers but Murder 3 is a plot-driven fare with emphasis on drama, emotions and thrill too. Only if the rough edges and the first half were taken care of, Murder 3 would had been an outstanding endaevour!

On the whole, Murder 3 has a mediocre first half but shows it’s brilliance in the second hour with the interesting and unpredictable twist in the tale. The climax is quite surprising too and the film proves that Vishesh Films is out for a much needed makeover. Music is disappointing but performances are decent while Vishesh Bhatt comes up with a fine debut. The film is made on reasonable costs and will recover its investment but theatrical business might remain dull due to low buzz and absence of Emraan Hashmi. However, the film has its moments and watching it in a theatre will be no harm. Do give the film a try!

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