Bobby Jasoos

Directed by: Samar Shaikh

Starring: Vidya Balan, Ali Faizal, Supriya Pathak, Kiran Kumar

Released: 2014

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

I had the best will to love Bobby Jasoos. After all, it was meant to be about one girl´s ambition. A funny, light-hearted venture starring the wonderful Vidya Balan, it was all wrapped in bright colours and promised to supply me with some sweet (and very much needed) entertainment. However even with me feeling very gracious, love never really happened. There is still lots to like about the picture.

Bilkis, called Bobby, is truly set on her dream of becoming a successful private detective, and nothing, not rejection from a detective company, not stern disapproval of her father, can discourage her. And when an opportunity comes her way, she grasps it. With enthusiasm. So much enthusiasm she actually shows why the detective company has rejected her – Bobby has no inkling about what to be a detective is about. She is supposed to find a young girl for an old man. And she does not even stop to ask him why. Naturally this comes to bite her later, which, however, I had anticipated from the very beginning. Bobby does learn her lesson, but since we are supposed to really root for her and unlike the rest of the world appreciate her intelligence and talent, the damage is done and there are dents in the character which actually made me agree with those who keep telling her she needs to learn first before plunging into something. It was really this shortcoming of the main character, combined with a very simplistic “investigation” without twists, that lessened the enjoyment for me,

Other than that Bobby Jasoos is a pleasant enough experience. It has vibrance of colours but does not go overboard with it, and the setting and the characters exclude charming warmth which at no point runs out. It is not funny enough to be a full blown comedy, but remain light-hearted from start to end. The film only has one purpose – to please. And it does just that. All the actors do a commendable job, and Vidya Balan in naturally their Queen. She, for much part, carries the story on her shoulders and proves yet again she is simply mega-talented. Not to mention super gorgeous. All her "covers" are done to perfection and if I did not know, I wouldn´t have recognized her in most of them (I decided to to question how is Bobby doing all that make up and so, because such a question is pointless in this movie). After disappointing borefest of Ghanchakkar and half-baked Shaadi Ke Side Effects, Bobby Jasoos gives Vidya her rightful screen space. I suppose that after Ishqiya and Kahaani the expectations of her movies have rocketed sky high and it is difficult to match them. In comparison this film pales nearly to insignificance, still it is a huge improvement from the last two Vidya´s outings.

Ali Faizal was a pleasant revelation for me. Handsome and with a spark, he matches Vidya and completes her performance with his comic timing. I certainly would not mind seeing lot more of him in years to come. The bit of the necessary Bollywood glitz is added to the product thanks to several songs, which are aptly used and display cute chemistry the two leads share.

Bobby Jasoos is worth a watch, and if you are in the right mood, you are bound to enjoy it with all its shortcomings. Try, if possible, to forget all you´ve seen from Vidya before, and few things can stop you from having a good time.

Ishqiya

Directed by: Abhishek Chaubey

Starring: Naseeruddin Shah, Arshad Warsi, Vidya Balan, Adil Hussain

Released: 2010

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

It would be a blatant lie if I denied that the impuls for revisiting Ishqiya was the coming of its successor in the form of Dedh Ishqiya (which has been watched and immensely loved and will be reviewed at LENGTH so just prepare yourselves), but at the same time I can claim with a clear conscience that the first film was definitely one of my favourite films of 2010, long before any news about a sequel. Because it was quite different, yet somewhere along the line it still didn´t feel like a wannabe-artsy film. And mostly because the characters created within the Ishqiya world range from extremely entertaining to quite fascinating. What Abhishek Chaubey managed to do in his debut movie, many more experienced directors sturggle to achieve after years of work. And put me in an awkward position, because I have started writing a review and yet I still don´t know how to write about the film. Or what really..... Ishqiya is one of the films I genuinely enjoyed.... but don´t have that much to say about (seriously wait for my word-diorrhea that will come once I get to Dedh....)

A sun slowly rises above the hills, enough to colour everything in hues of beige and brown, but not yet enough to reveal the true colours of a village landscape somewhere in Uttar Pradesh, where the story takes place. The visuals throughout refrain from using too much colour, settling instead for very earthy tones, in which a wild flower or Vidya Balan´s white choli stand out and draw even more attention than they would otherwise. The attention given to a detail is wonderful. And the overal atmosphere created quite unique. As is Krishna, with her glorious braid and drool-worthy sarees.

Now, Vidya Balan is possibly the sexiest (as well as stunningly gorgeous) actress Bollywood has on its hands these days and she is thus perfectly cast as the female protagonist of the story. A great feminist figure she is – going afer what she wants, manipulating others without a blink of an eye and using all that has nature endowed her with, from wit and swift thinking to sinful seduction. And she is so good in that art that no wonder she has two uncouth crooks wrapped around her finger. Played by Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi, the uncle-nephew thieving duo Khalujaan-Babban, have made a sure entry into the golden book of Bollywood bromance. Excellent actors with wonderful chemistry, they essay characters who believe themselves to be a lot more cunning than they actually are, and that together with them both being easily swayed by a promise of love (which they are willing to follow with devoted puppy-eyes) makes them utterly endearing. In many way they are the soul of the film, even if Vidya is the center of it. There can be no complaints about performances, music or visuals.

How do you not love them?

The story seems to be going one way for most part and in the last 30 minutes takes a very unexpected turn (at least silly me did NOT see that coming). It takes quite a while before it picks up a decent pace, and the build-up is good, unfortunatelly the very end feels somehow incomplete. As if the writer didn´t really know what to do with the characters once the issue is dealt with and over. At times the viewer grows impatient for story to move on. And if this review so far feels rather incoherent, it is because the film too is incoherent to a certain extent. It takes patience to „get there“ and good will to believe it will be worth it in the end.

I hope we get more films like Ishqiya. More „tight“, but with the same precision and care placed into the characters. With more even pace but with equal importance given to little details and touches. With similarly impressive twists and even more women, who actually are people. Ishqiya world is very feminist-friendly, with men being part of it (and being loveable with their shortcomings) but never really catching a drift of what is really going on. Ishqiya world is a great space to be.

Ghanchakkar

Directed by: Rajkumar Gupta

Starring: Emraan Hashmi, Vidya Balan, Rajesh Sharma, Namit Das

Released: 2013

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

So... what exactly is Ghanchakkar? There is not enough fun for it to be a comedy (although that is what I primarily expected from the promos). There is not enough thrill for it to be a thriller. There is not enough drama for it to be a story about relationship trust. All that is kinda sprinkled all over, but ultimately does not make a difference. Ghanchakkar is not a film that would fall into a certain category, and if it was supposed to be masalla it fails to deliver.

It all starts with two not well-introduced and badly drawn characters (even after the film you just wonder who, where, how and why?) of a married couple Sanju (Emraan) and Neetu (Vidya). I suppose he is some renowned criminal because first thing you know he is offered a job of looting a bank. He accepts and does the deed, aided by two goons, and he is given the stolen money for safe-keeping, until the time comes. However when the time comes he claims not to recall absolutely anything and the goons, angry that he is trying to trick them, move in with him and his wife to help him remember. To their despair Sanju has met with an accident after the robbery and suffers from partial amnesia, that one day may progress to the point of him not recognizing anyone and anything.

How to rob a bank: Step 1

Somebody explain to me how sharing a flat with your possible victims helps to trigger a memory? How about taking him to the place where it all happened, trying to remind him of all the details? No. I think threatening his wife and masturbating over the phone will be enough. And Sanju, how about, when you think you have found the money, you open the suitcase to check BEFORE you deliver it to the goons? And director saab, how about some explanations before all that gore bloodshed that was definitely sickening but not even remotely funny, ten minutes before the end? Was there really a need for that happening anyway? Ghanchakkar progresses in the same line as starting your morning with Teletubbies and ending it with Dracula in Pakistan. Except there are no twists and turns. Yep, it is boring.

The film is centered around Emraan, with Vidya Balan playing the second fiddle. That itself, as unusual as it is, wouldn´t be of concern to me, if she actually had something to work with, but apart from screaming in frustration from time to time she is there only to model some atrocious clothes (was that pun at her off-screen persona intended I wonder?). Emraan.... what can I say? The dude is always the same, no matter what film he is at. He is not a „bad“ actor, but he seems unable to make his characters be different from each other and actually making an impact. The two actors playing the lame goons were better than the lead pair, but that does not really say too much.

I really expected more from this. Perhaps because of Vidya Balan. Perhaps because Rajkumar Gupta made rather good No One Killed Jessica. Perhaps because my standarts are set too high for any film really.... Ghanchakkar is nothing you could name. Except if you have your own „what the hell did I just watch“ movie label.

The Dirty Picture

Directed by: Milan Luthria

Starring: Vidya Balan, Emraan Hashmi, Naseeruddin Shah, Tusshar Kapoor

Released: 2011

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

What Bhandarkar attempted to do with „Heroine“ (and messed up), Milan Luthria did before him (and did not mess up). No matter if present or the past, the message is clear: it sucks to be a female filmstar. We all know that. It has been talked about for decades. And nobody is doing anything about it, not even The Dirty Picture. After all, as long as we get such tragic and sad stories of lives ruined in a pursuit of stardom, there will be material for film scripts. A story like that of the 80s actress Silk Smita, on which is the film based, though it doesn´t religiously follow her life or characteristics.

A village girl Reshma runs away from her home and mother to pursue her filmi dreams. However she faces rejection on all sides and with every rejection her enthusiasm dies a little and her frustration grows. Until she decides to go „dirty“ - taking up a highly suggestive dance number and completely knocking breath out of everyone. Sex sells and she quickly becomes a sensation. However after some time of doing raunchy, meaningless roles, it all becomes the same to her. Success is no longer sweet and Reshma, now known as Silk, is hoping to branch out of her sex Goddess image. And suffers a nasty blow upon realizing nobody cares for her in any other than her dirty avatar....

The transformation....

It is all definitely dirty, the first half more than the second, but the second actually shows dirtiness of human soul, which is ultimately much more vulgar than dirtiness of showing off of flesh. There is a definite feeling of sadness from the first moment, because you just know it is not going to end well. Somehow it just cannot. But all the sadness feels rather superficial, as way too much time is spent on lingering on the nastiness, and way too little time is given to the actual character of Silk. We see what is happening to her, but we have no idea how she feels, why she feels that way. There is no real contact between the viewer and the character.

The film does great on the visual level. The 80s are bright and alive and you would expect Jeetendra in white shoes prancing around Jayapradha to appear at any moment, and it wouldn´t look out of place. Especially the picturization of the famed Oh La La song (the best track of the album by the way) is bit of an visual orgasm with all the pink vermillion and painted pots and shirtless Naseer and drenched Vidya for me. It represents Indian cinema of the time perfectly – with all the over the top and larger than life factors. It is so much fun, yet never feels like disdainful scoff.

Vidya was excellent and owned the film completely. She was Silk and made her a truly 3D character, not a caricature. I appreciated that she was so real, with all the rudeness and boldness, but in the end just a normal woman with in need of appreciation and solid emotional ties. And some basic respect, which she did not get, because audience, back then and even now, has a difficult time understanding that a woman enjoying and displaying her sensuality does not equal a classless prostitute.

Emraan had really nothing to do and in what he had he seemed incredibly wooden, his voice over throughout the film was atrocious and without any change of intonation whatsoever. Him looking like Anil Kapoor and having pretty much same mannerism do not help him in my eyes. Naseerudin Shah is a pure gold as ever, and a wonderful cast choice for an aging 80s hero who is accepted as forever young, while his heroines are turning into „mothers“ after few years in business. The biggest surprise has to be Tusshar Kapoor in a role of his younger brother, who too has a thing for Silk (only up until the moment he realizes she has no intention to sacrifice everything for him and become a „decent“ woman).

Good, but still overrated picture, at least as far as awards and critical appraisal goes.

Kahaani

Directed by: Sujoy Ghosh

Starring: Vidya Balan, Parambrata Chatterjee, Nawazuddin Siddiqui

Released: 2012

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

Is anyone actually going to believe me that what happens in the end was actually my very first thought of how it´s going to be at the beginning? The revelation at the ending was a crowning jewel of Kahaani, but my own suspicion took away a bit from its impact, that would make it a really „wow“ film for me. Even so Kahaani is among the most quality stuff we have been served in a long while and it is probably the best movie of 2012 so far. It is different in more ways than one (from „usual“ stuff Hindi cinema produces). There are no lip-sync songs, there is no love story, there is, actually no dominant male hero. Not that I don´t love all those, after all why else would one watch Bollywood.

Vidya Bagchi, a heavily pregnant woman, arrives to Culcatta and with her priorities sorted out she goes straight to the police station, demanding the force starts looking for her missing husband. But as it turns out quite soon, this is no ordinary case. Not only the person is missing, but everything suggest he never existed either. Then again here is a woman pregnant with his child and with his photo and information one could not just make up. And things become even more mysterious when secret government agents step into it all, trying to convince Vidya to stop looking. However she is obstinate and determined and with a help of a police officer Rana, who is nurturing tender feelings for her, Vidya is slowly uncovering an elaborate plot of happenings and connections...

*One does not simply walk into Mordor* in Vidya Balan style

Kahaani has possibly the best (read the most „have a heart-attack dear viewer“) intermission scenes, which really has you cursing the pee break in the film, ever, and if there would still be the Best Villain award, then this year Rishi Kapoor would have had a serious competition from Saswata Chaterjee as „Namaskar. Bob Biswas. Ik minite.“ guy, who has to be one of the most freaky and scary cinematic bad guys in the world. Hidden in a plump body and behind strong glasses, there is a vicious and cold blooded killer hiding within a seemingly completely ordinary average insurance agent. 

Namaskar. Do not trust insurance agents. They might be like Bob.

Overall Kahaani is a very good movie that at times seemed too slow, but the ending made it all justified and definitely lifted it up. The suspense was there as well as thrill and grip, but it was not over done or over-dramatized. Up until I read some other reviews I didn´t really even think about plotholes, which seem minor anyway. It is a film that has you thinking, not just feeling – the latter being much more essential to Bollywood movies in general. 

In case you won´t find your hubby, I am here, fluffy, cute and in love with you.

Brilliant cast of largely unknown actors is dominated of course by Vidya, that gorgeous woman who had won me over a long time ago. Here she is definitely more sensitive than in pretty much overhyped The Dirty Picture and much much more moving than in rather boring NOKJ. Her performance deserves a serious praise, although yet again Parineeta stays unconquered. She represents so many elements within the film. Helplessness, inner strength, determination, and then also turning ill-treated and finally punishing the sinners, taking in a way a form of Goddess Durga, who is also present during the whole finale thanks to the setting of the movie. I really loved the atmosphere and portraial of Culcatta. I have never been to that city or India even, yet the movie provides what seems a very genuine representation of it. At times one can almost be under impression you can smell and breathe the air of the town, which thus itself becomes a performing artist. What is admiration worthy is also the fact that apart from being well cast and well acted, the film is also wonderful and polished from all technical aspects too. The camera angles, the lighting, the editing, blending of the music score, some really powerful yet not larger than life dialogues.... Kahaani is a film Bollywood can be proud of.

When your favourites disappoint

They say you only are a true fan if you are willing to suffer through your favourite´s god-damn-awful filmography. Bad films happen. To everybody from Dilip Kumar to Akshay Kumar. Sometimes they are not even really that bad, but somehow disappointing and weak. Some of such films of some of my favourite actors to follow.

Jodi Breakers

Directed by: Ashwini Chaudhary

Starring: Madhavan, Bipasha Basu, Omi Vaidya

Released: 2012

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

I tried to watch the film before, but turned it off after first 15 or so minutes, but then I told myself I may not want to be as harsh, after all Madhavan is my teddy-bear. Sadly his presence doesn´t save the film, and the character he plays is actually one of the most annoying loosers I´ve seen on screen. Bipasha is way too unbelievable with her innocent act and the two have no chemistry. The film has one of the dumbest twists (and resolves) ever. So he destroys somebody else´s marriage so his ex-wife can get a rich new husband and he gets his car back? Really? And I am supposed to root for this person? And frankly I didn´t see s single reason what would Sid need Sonali as his partner anyway, thus even the basic plot doesn´t really make sense. To top it all Omi Vadiya was completely annoying as a sex God from the high heavens. In one word: lame. Why was Helen in this?

.....

Paa

Directed by: R. Balki

Starring: Amitabh Bachchan, Vidya Balan, Abhishek Bachchan

Released: 2009

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

I guess some films are just overrated. After having a shock from rather awkward subtitles narrated for whatever reason by Jaya Bachchan, I was kept waiting .... and waiting for the awesomeness praised by the critics to appear, but it never did. The story deals with a very sad issue of progeria, a rare disease causing the body to age before its time – and that very rapidly. The main character, a twelve years old boy Auro, suffering from the condition, actually has a body of an 80 year old. And what more – he doesn´t have a father. Or rather, doesn´t know him. After all this father did not want a child and only because Auro´s mother refused to go for an abortion and left her partner was the child born. The fate however brings the family together again. Everybody in the film does an OK job. From Abhishek to Amitabh, who did not really understand what age he is trying to act. Instead of a 12 years old his handling of the character made Auro seem like barely 7 years old boy. He did well, don´t get me wrong, but nothing overly impressive. I had the same problem with Sridevi in Sadma, where she is supposed to act like 7 years old, but instead gives an impression of a four-year-old, and that does a hell lot of a difference. Vidya is the best of the lot, but is criminally deprived of deserved screen time by the male protagonists. If anything the movie should have been named Maa, because what I took from the film was really the assurance that love of a mother is above everything.

.....

Bhootnath

Directed by: Vivek B. Sharma

Starring: Amitabh Bachchan, Aman Siddiqui, Juhi Chawla, Shahrukh Khan

Released: 2008

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

Not one, but two favourites included – Shahrukh and Juhi – and yet... oh Mr. Sharma this is a perfect example of wasting great acting talent. When you have actors like this you don´t give all the screentime to a kid. Bhootnath is a fine film for children, but far from a great piece of cinema the director presents it till this day.

Shahrukh, the freakingly handsome in his white uniform sea cruise captain moves his wife and son into a new house, not caring everybody says it is haunted. He promptly leaves and his wife invests all her time to attempts to make the new living space more comfortable, while their son soon discovers the house is indeed haunted by a grumpy and dirty old ghost. In no time, they become friends. There are way too many question concerning the ghost (sometimes he can´t touch things, sometimes he can, he apparently eats and can shave and wash..... way too many supernatural powers for one sad soul if you ask me, and pretty much defying everything one would imagine when it comes to ghosts), but I guess children wouldn´t really mind. However the kids should not be too demanding. There is nothing scary or hilarious about the story and the situations shown. See, I don´t even know what else to write. Watch and forget movie.

Guru

Directed by: Mani Ratnam

Starring: Abhishek Bachchan, Mithun Chakraborthy, Aishwarya Rai, Madhavan, Vidya Balan

Released: 2007

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

It might have been the setting, the overall look of the film, which was visually very pleasing, it might have been a really good music - and it was definitely the great work of all the actors involved, that earned this movie such a high mark from me. I generally love films set in the past, and for whatever reason they are rather rare in Bollywood, which is only a reason more why to appreciate Guru.

The film opens in the year 1951 in a small Gujarat village, where young boy has both big dreams and strict unsupportive father. Gurukant (or Guru) because of that practically runs away from home, absolutely determined to make it big no matter what, and because he does not lack common sense, he enters the spice trade business in Turkey, learns everything there is to learn about making money and at that point he decides he´s worked enough for others and the time has come to work for himself. But big dreams cost a lot and upon his return to India Guru does not have financial resources to start his own business. 

Poor and ambitious groom.

He decides to take the quickest and most popular way to enrich himself – he gets married. He does not care at all if the girl in question does not like him, if she has tried to runaway with somebody else, if she is older to him, or even if she is ugly – and except for the last bit all those things are true. An so drop-dead gorgeous Sujata is married off to Guru, and in spite of not all that romantic beginning their relationship grows stronger with time, until by the end it is really the only stable thing in Guru´s life...

Rich and unimpressed bride.

Anyway – finally Guru has enough money, and because he´s bold, daring and not ashamed of not-that-completely-legal ways either, his business soon starts to progress. And it grows bigger. And bigger.... Enjoying popularity among thousands of people he provides with jobs, Guru ruthlessly pursues success. Bribing people and smuggling parts for polyester mills and other machines that fill his factories is a daily bread for him. But all this success is also a source of a serious rift that is created between Guru and Manik Dasgupta – aging but still ass-kicking Mithun Chakraborthy in a role worthy of his talent and once legendary status – a mighty newspaper publisher, who for years acted like a father figure to him, because „nanaji“ does not approve of Guru´s illegal means. His untiring attempts to reveal Guru´s illegal actions give me a reason for immense happiness, because that is where Madhavan (Madhavaaaaaaaaannnnn.... oooooooohhhhhhhh.........my teddy bear.... my chweeeeeeeeeett chweeeeeeett teddy..... that dusky colouring and those eyeeeeeeeeeeesssssssss..... I love youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu) comes into the picture, even if for a limited time....

The disco dancer of the 80s! YAY!

Abhishek Bachchan is astoundingly good as Guru, with all the changes that happen through the progress of time in the movie – from witty and stubborn youngster, through manipulative and arrogant businessman to ultimately depressed and helpless patient, he convinces the viewer completely. The film is his, and he proves that he is a very good actor. I believe a lot of him not being a saleable actor come from the lack of x-factor then acting skills, and many people also don´t take him seriously because of his father´s larger than life persona he, sadly and unfairly, has to compete with. At the same time Abshishek has given a fair share of bad and „lazy“ performances, and nobody will convince me he is not getting the lead roles still because of his family name and connections.

Abhishek´s physical "evolution" in the film was impressive - including grey hair and weight gain.

The role of Guru is meaty, there is a lot to work with, but somehow it wouldn´t be completely without supporting characters, that help to shape the image of the hero throughout the story. Already I have mentioned Sujata – Aishwarya, looking splendidly gorgeous (which, let´s face it, is the first thing that comes to your mind when she appears) and giving a great performance herself. Both those facts are reasons why I was a bit disappointed by the amount of screen-time she was given, in fact she hardly has had any role in the second half. Not fair, really.

Aishwarya as the woman behind the man.

I have already mentioned that Mithun Chakraborthy has not lost anything from his charisma or acting skill, and I was actually surprised how happy I was to see him on the screen. Madhavan, my teddy bear, was excellent as always. There is something incredibly likeable about him. And he is good. Period. His pairing with Vidya Balan (as Mithun´s grand-daughter slowly dying of multiple sclerosis), is very pleasant and his love for her incredibly touching. Their storyline gave the film a gentle feel and romantic touch, that somehow was amiss from Guru´s own relationship with his wife (where there was love, caring, devotion, but not much of a „romantic romance“).

With all due respect to Abhi/Aish, these two were THE jodi for me.

The atmosphere, the overall look and music, everything is done with much apparent care and together with performances and very human story creates an interesting collage, which at time, I admit is on the verge of boredom, but ultimately works.

Salaam-E-Ishq

Directed by: Nikhil Advani

Starring: John Abraham, Vidya Balan, Anil Kapoor, Juhi Chawla, Govinda, Shannon Esra, Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Akshaye Khanna, Ayesha Takia, Sohail Khan, Ishaa Koppikar

Released: 2007

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

Quite entertaining but without much impact. Non-demanding fun for everybody. Lots of great actors, lots of film references, lots of love and that of many forms. The six couples represent six stories that together have only one thing in common: being love stories in one way or another.

So we have:

1. John and Vidya in a Venezuelan telenovela style story: He is a Hindu, she is a Muslim. But they love each other and just celebrated their wedding anniversary. But then Vidya suffers a serious injury in a train crash, after which she partly looses her memory (yes, that part which included her husband). And now John is sad and miserable and he does all he can to help his wife regain the memories of love......
   
   
   
2. Salman and Priyanka in a typical Bollywood romantic comedy: She is a famous item girl desiring to be next Madhubala, a true heroine with memorable performances. And so she makes up a story about „Rahul“, her true love, to make herself interesting, gain attention and give an impression of her purity (fit for Indian heroine). But then a guy appears and claims to be her true love Rahul... and for the sake of fame she plays along....
   
   
   
3. Anil and Juhi in westernized drama about a failing marriage: They are NRIs living in London with their children. She takes care of the family, he spends his days in the office, where he obviously does nothing but sitting and watching the clock. Then he travels by tube, and one day his eyes fall upon a young girl. And the middle-crisis stricken man begins an affair with her, deceiving his wife......
   
   
   
4. Govinda and Shannon in a typical Bollywood romantic comedy no. 2: He is a taxi driver dreaming about one true love. She is a brash blonde American searching for a guy who promised to marry her, but now is in India to hunt for a nice India bride. Govinda and his taxi are more then helpful, but the groom is escaping all the time. And poor Govinda falls in love....
   
   
   
5. Akshaye and Ayesha in a modernized Bollywood romantic film: They are about to be married, but then Akshaye gets really cold feet and does whatever he can to ruin the wedding. None of those work. And when he finally makes peace with his marriage, Ayesha finds out something that makes her call the whole wedding off. And Akshaye realizes what a fool he is...
   
   
   
6. Sohail and Ishaa in south-indian-ish comedy: Just got married, both eager to make love..... and never succeding in it! First the house burns down, then some children disturb, then their car breaks give in...... Making love is not easy at all!
   
   
   

All the stories had a potential to be good movies on their own. They were funny when supposed to, they were sad when supposed to, they had beginning and end, they made sense. There was wit, fun, fluff, shirt-less Salman, some teary moments. But with six rather powerful plots full of wonderful chances there is hardly any time to explore them in depth. The actors did not really have a chance to show the real scope of the characters in the limited time they were given. Put all together they create a fun collage, but there is nothing truly remarkable about any of them. Pity. The editing was flawless though, practically seamless.

All the actors are good. Among the men Govinda with his perfect comic timing and priceless expressions stands out the most, among women it is Juhi Chawla with her sensitive approach who has the greatest acting proweness. Special mentions belong to Akshaye Khanna, who yet again proves his versatility, and to Vidya Balan. John, Priyanka, Salman, Ayesha.... all are more like an eye-candies (if they rock your boat, that is). Anil Kapoor without a moustache is a horrendous sight to behold. The most moving (read tear-jerking) story is that of John and Vidya, the funniest and cutest story is the one of Sohail and Isha, but sadly it is given the least footage and serves more like a fun cameo.

There is really not much to review. There are no strong ideas or innovative remarks that would rise in your mind. Enjoy and move on. That´s it.

No one killed Jessica

Director: Raj Kumar Gupta

Starring: Vidya Balan, Rani Mukherjee, Myra Karn

Released: 2011

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

Possibly the most awaited film of the beggining of 2011 released on 7^th January and it is rather non-bollywood-ish in the sense you will not find here any lovesick jodis running around the trees. But the sky high expectations do not really work here. It is a good attempt to make a different, and as possibly some cynical people might call more „real“ cinema, that sadly could have been better. No, in fact – it deserved and should have been better because of many reasons. Let´s get to the story first though.

In the night of 29^th April 1999 somewhere in Delhi Sabrina Lall, a rather dull, boring and more then ordinary girl, is woken up by a telephone call announcing her sister Jessica has just been shot. Sabrina hurriedly makes her way to the hospital, but thre is nothing she or doctors can do. Jessica dies as a result of her injury. The shaken family can now only ask „how“. Turns out Jessica, who used to make some extra money as a barmaid in a prominent disco club, was shot by one of three young men, to whom she refused to give drinks, because there were none left. The three did not want to hear that and after a heated argument one of them pointed a gun at Jessica and pulled the trigger. Seemingly a very simple, saddening case. There were over 300 people present in the club, the killer was detained almost immediately and so was the gun. What a shock it is then for Sabrina and her parents, when almost all the witnesses claim they were not there! And even more painful is a sudden change in the behaviour of Jessica´s friends, who are affraid and not willing to give any clear testimony.

Sabrina - art of being a grey mouse

Why? Well, the accused killer is none other then Manu Sharma, son of a rich and influential politician, who has no trouble saying that if his son is not innocent, he will be. And so the un-ending carrousel of lies, interrogation, manipulation, bribing and threats start to spin and does not stop for the next seven years. And finally in 2006 Manu is declared innocent, because there were not enough proofs. Sabrina, who has been fighting for justice for such a long time already, is spent and exhausted. And when her mother dies and father falls ill, she does not want to fight anymore. Unknown to her at first a much stronger and fierce fighter has appeared though. Successful journalist Meera, who once refused to invest her time into the case, because it seemed so trivial and simple, finds out after seven years that „No one killed Jessica“ and her sense of justice raises like a storm...

You all shall hate this guy..... And he´s not even the killer!

As you can see, it is truly a story with potential – and even more so when you know it is based on a real event. So it is somehow sad to add that the script is not at all that amazing. The film starts on a catchy note (with some really inovative and interestingly done opening titles) and grabs your attention immediately, bringing to you a rather turbulent and disturbing story of Jessica´s dying. However after first 30 minutes the tempo of the film slows down very much as we reach the judicial court. Only after an hour the true heroine (and maybe we could even say „hero“) of the film takes her rightful place. Rani Mukherjee as Meera is incredibly charismatic, oozing unboud energy and completely makes the rest of the footage hers. Vidya Balan as Sabrina gives a solid performance, but can come off as rather indifferent and apathical at times. There is nothing memorable about her. Unfortunatelly neither Sabrina nor Meera are flawlessly portraited characters. One understands that Meera is an independent and really brash woman with a vocabulary that could easily put every agressive drunkard to shame, but why is she like that, who is she really you never get to know. It would have been nice if she was actually given some background, but that does not happen. Sabrina looses her realistic feel in the moment when she declares she is too tired to fight anymore, because you cannot make a single difference between her at the beggining of the case and after it is ended. I don´t think the actresses are to be blamed though, let´s blame the script.

You don´t, really don´t want to make her angry. Unless, of course,  you want to enrich your swearing vocabulary.

The script also fails in the second part. How come that as soon as Rani decides to do something, she manages exactly what she wanted without a slightest problem? I was waiting for some twist, some trouble to arise, but nothing came. Obviously the politicians who put so much effort and money into bribing and threatening are not that bothered as Meera reveals their manipulative tricks and destroys their reputation. It is also somehow puzzling that Meera starts her own investigation without informing or even asking Jessica´s family first.

It is not a film that would deserve to be called a classic and a message that maybe not all is right in the state of India has been presented with much more conviction and insight in other films. Plus points to „No one killed Jessica“ go because of excellent Rani and an attempt of depicting an event that has caused so much controversy not that long ago. And then of course there is a brilliant soundtrack by Amit Trivedi. His „Dilli“ is going to play in your ears for a long time after watching...