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Review Report:Anamika

Cast: Minisha Lamba, Dino Morea, Koena Mitra
Direction: Anant Mahadevan
Music: Anu Malik



Director Anant Mahadevan returns this weekend with Anamika to complete the ‘A’ series trilogy after movies such as ‘Aksar’ and ‘Agar’. This time around not much has been said about the music of the film done by Anu Malik. Unlike Anant’s previous ventures the music played a key role in drawing the audiences to the cinema halls; but in this case does the movie survive without such mesmerizing music?

Here goes the synopsis…

When Jia Rao(Minisha Lamba), received a call for being an escort to Vikram Singh Sisodiya(Dino Morea) from the palatial Gajner of Bikaner, she hadn’t imagined that life would take a total turnabout. Her rendezevous with Vikram who had come to the city of Mumbai for a convention to turn his home into an international resort actually ended with Vikram proposing to her .She found herself hopelessly in love with him, despite the fact that Vikram was married and his first wife Anamika had died under mysterious circumstances.

Her arrival in Gajner wasn’t uneventful either. Mahajan the manager who seemed to know more than he should, Shekhar Rajput(Gulshan Grover) , Vikram’s brother in law a cop with an acidic tongue, Vikram’s doting sister, and Malini(Koena Mitra) the ever efficient governess were some of the characters who strangely influenced her stay in a place that hit her with its expanse, beauty and mystery.

And the biggest enigma was Anamika. Everyone seemed to be talking about her and how Jia could never step into the shoes of the charismatic socialite that Anamika was. Her efforts to live up to the foreboding image of Anamika ended up in creating a rift between Vikram and Jia .And the crunch comes when Jia is faced with the prospect of unraveling the secret of Anamika’s death…accident..suicide or murder?

Anant Mahadevan gets it entirely wrong this time. Firstly, ‘Anamika’ isn’t an untold story and is very much predictable. To add to all of that, there seems to be huge similarities between ‘ Anamika’ and Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Rebecca’.

The flow of events in the movie are so dull and the pace just gets you annoyed. At the cost of being a so called suspense film, the events of the film are simply dragged on and on.

No doubt the film has been shot at splendid locales of Bikaner, Bangkok etc but all of it falls flat as these beautiful locales don’t come in as a saving grace for your storytelling.

On the acting front, Dino Morea isn’t at his best and delivers a weak performance. Minisha Lamba seems to be struggling with her Hindi and is a complete let down from her performance in ‘Shaurya’. Koena Mitra is a complete waste in the film. Her role offers no substance and she just hops in and out at any point in the film. Bunty Grewal is irrelevant. The only person who does his bit with ease and conviction is Gulshan Grover. He delivers the punch as the cop and carries the desired aura.

The music of the film by Anu Malik is such a let down. The only track worth listening to is ‘Shagufta Dil’. The tracks though shot in Bangkok etc are very poorly placed and composed which is the biggest drawback for an Anant Mahadevan film whose ‘Aksar’ and ‘Agar’ are still remembered for their music.

On the whole ,’Anamika’ is a poor one from director Anant Mahadevan and the movie is further going to be affected by the ongoing IPL cricket. Looks like the bollywood draught won’t end anytime soon.

Rating: ½

Courtesy:IndiaGlitz

Review Report:Pranali – The Tradition

Cast:Nargis, Upendra Limaye, Raman Trikha, Sudha Chandran, Dippsikha, Vinay Apte
Direction:Hirdesh Kamble
Music:Kailesh Kher



Pranali-a never ending journey of a devdasi releases this week. The movie releases without much promotion or hype under Nikhil Mathur’s Harward Entertainments banner. The movie marks the solo debut of Nargis who was last seen in Garam Masala.

The story revolves around Pranali(Nargis) , a girl born in a small village and soon falls prey to the downtrodden systems of society. On the account of serving God, the child is offered as a Devdasi to the high priest in the village and soon becomes an object of lust.

Life becomes much tougher when Pranali gives birth to a girl and soon struggles to educate her daughter seeking a normal life for her. On grounds of being a sex workers daughter, the girl is refused admission in school.

Soon comes in an NRI (Raman Trikha) to do a research on Sex workers in India and soon engages Pranali and the gang of sex workers including Kanchi (Rohini Kapoor) , Salma (Vaidehi Singh) ,Chanda (Dipsshikha) and Akka (Sudha Chandran) into the battle for legalization of prostitution by the government.

Sounds interesting huh? Hmm…. Well , that’s what many believe and expect it to be one of those hard-hitting films. Though the movie tackled relevant issues, the execution and direction by Hirdesh Kamble is pretty poor. The story, screenplay and dialogues by Hirdesh Kamble and Manoj Pandey literally kill the entire film.

The movie is tremendously vague and the so called journey of the devdasi leads you nowhere. The movie starts off with the little Pranali and her encounter with the high priest , minister and from there to being a sex worker and from there moves to being a mother and then fighting as a social worker etc and finally the book release makes it a complete boring and vague mix of events.

To add to it all is the boring and dull Bhaigiri sequences including Upendra Limaye as the taxi driver which makes it completely pathetic. Upendra tries to carry the film off as the solo made lead in a film overloaded with women. Upendra even gets to swing to a song sung by Kailash Kher being a complete out sync track.

The movie keeps on dragging and truly becomes a never ending journey for the audiences. On the performance scale Nargis does show us that she has immense potential but the script in this case makes us overlook all performances even that of Sudha Chandran and Dipsshika.

Music of the film by Kailash Kher and his Kailasha band members Naresh and Paresh is such a letdown and the addition of songs in the film make you yawn. No comments on the other aspects of the film.

To conclude, Pranali comes across as a very poor launchpad for Harward Entertainments. With a movie being tremendously a never ending dull, boring journey; let’s hope that their next few ventures are worth a watch. Nargis no doubt is talented but needs to select her flicks carefully.

Rating : 1/2

Courtesy:IndiaGlitz

Review Report:Tashan

Film:Tashan
Banner:Yash Raj Films
Cast:Anil Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor
Direction:Vijay Krishna Acharya
Production:Aditya Chopra
Music:Vishal, Shekhar


Tashan’ , a movie kept totally under wraps without any media interactions or gigs of that sort by the team at Yash Raj Films; releases this week amidst a dry spell in bollywood. With the cricket IPl mania freaking the producers out, not many biggies dare to release their films unless you are from the Yash Raj camp.

Tashan marks the debut of Vijay Krishna Acharya , the man behind the scripts of Dhoom and Dhoom2. Vijay Krishna Acharya aka Victor, who has been associated with the smash hit status of both Dhoom’s, tries his bit at direction. So, is it as enthralling as Dhoom?

What happens when you throw two guys who hate each other together...

A cool call center executive Jimmy Cliff (Saif Ali Khan), a desi wannabe gangster Bachchan Pande (Akshay Kumar) add for good measure a beautiful girl Pooja (Kareena Kapoor) who can't be trusted... on a journey across spectacular India... a journey which will alter the course of their lives in more ways than one... a journey where even enemies need to trust each other if they want to be alive...

Trouble is, in this world no one can be trusted ever!

And to top it all there is the evil eye of Bhaiyyaji (Anil Kapoor)... a maverick gangster who enjoys killing people as much as he enjoys speaking English...

What you get is... TASHAN

Firstly, Victor truly does a fine job at making Tashan live up to its title. The movie is sleek and high on style. Right from the colours , costumes , hair styling , cars , dances , guns etc everything has got its style quotient. Don’t look for similarities between Dhoom and Tashan cause the only similarity lies in the syling which in turn vary in terms of an urban look in Dhoom to a rural,semi-urban,urban look in Tashan.

Victor does well at imbibing humour in a script that involves high action and rivalry amongst various characters in the film. The lacuna comes in the form of the storytelling and screenplay done by Victor himself. The brain behind Dhoom fails to tell a story that grips the audience. The storytelling particularly in the 1st half seems dragging and gets a lift only on the introduction of Bachan Pande (Akshay Kumar) .

The proceedings in the movie tend to get vague as the movie moves ahead right from the hollywood style road chase for treasure to a typical Hindi formula film of revenge and lost love etc. Nevertheless, the action and comic sequences keep you entertained.

The cinematography by Ayananka Bose is splendid capturing the locales of Greece, Rajasthan , Kerala etc in its true essence. Editing by Rameshwar S. Bhagat and art direction by Sukant Panigrahy is what further enhances the Tashan(style) of the film.

Music by Vishal Shekar and Choreography by Vaibhavi Maerchant are definitely entertaining and foot tapping enough but tend to barge into any portion of the film making the film’s Tashan take a dip.

On the technical front, the action by Peter Hein is supreme. Peter does a splendid job at making the action look no less than any Hollywood flick (atleast close to some of the finest action flicks). For those who love playing the’ Counter Strike’ game on their PC or Playstation will surely see the resemblance in the sequence where the prime characters in the film take on the team of cops.

On the acting front, Anil Kapoor as Bhaiyya Ji , The bad guy trying to learn English is funny but only at the initial stages of the film and eventually gets monotonous and boring. But, Anil does a good job as the villain from Kanpur.

Kareena Kapoor is ok as the smart, cunning Pooja but isn’t at her best. She does very little to prove her acting credentials and more to beat the likes of people who believe that she can never dawn a Bikini.

Saif Ali Khan really struggles to make a mark in this film. Just like any other Yash Raj Film, Saif relies on his antics of being a flirt etc. Saif does his bit of action, dance and shows off his biceps but after watchin Saif in Race , one would hardly find the character of Jimmy impressive except for his looks. P.S.-One gets to see Saif’s cute little son Ibrahim as Jimmy junior in the film.

The man who steals the show and elevates the film is none other than Akshay Kumar. Though he comes in much later on in the film, he impresses with immediate ease. He makes you giggle right through with his Bachchan Pande dialogues and leaves you awestruck with his acton sequences. It’s been a long time since Akshay has done a film that involves his forte-action and indeed the action comes as a complete treat. Whether it is Akshay jumping over barrels and climbing a building or whether it is Akshay simply running about in slow motion to the howling theme of Bachchan Pande, he rocks!

On the whole, the action, styling, and a few witty lines with a superb performance by Akshay Kumar makes Tashan a movie worth watching. Though the IPl has forced producers to push their release further ahead, no doubt a movie like Tashan is sure to find audiences specially the youth who are fed up of being at home glued to cricket and the subsequent ads that come along with it.

Rating : ***
Courtesy:IndiaGlitz

Abhishek- Aishwarya agian

Some years down the line Bollywood's most talked about couple most probably will be holding a record for the most number of appearances made by a real life B-Town pair as lovebirds on the big screen.

Ram Gopal Varma's latest offering 'Sarkar Raj' has not yet got released, but not itself the news of Abishek Bachchan and his Wife Aishwarya teaming up for an untitled movie of the master director Mani Rathnam is already attracting enough interest.

Seems like the directors get a spark of novel ideas, subjects, inspiration, great characters and all those other things that start of a film's journey from the creator's mind to the screen just by seeing this couple together.

Apparently the famous Director, Cinematographer Rajiv Menon who started off as a director with 'Minsara Kanuvu' starring Prabhu Deva and Kajol which came to B-Town as 'Sapnay' later on directed 'Kandukondain Kandukondain' a Tamil film with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in a key role is thinking of having the Abhi-Ash team in a film of his too.

Rajiv Menon who did the duties of the cinematographer for the film 'Guru' directed by Mani Rathnam narrated the story of the film to the star couple while they were in the sets of 'Guru'.

Abhi and Ash gave the go ahead signal to the director to work on the script after liking the romantic story.

The fates of the two movies at the box office in which the most wanted couple will be seen before Rajeev Menon's film gets to the floor will have an impact on the this future project.

But as the business in Bollywood goes, drastic changes can be made with box office fortunes kept in mind.

Courtesy:IndiaGlitz

Kareena, down south?

After Kareena toned down her muscles to emerge as the hottest lass in Bollywood, the Bollywood film makers are not the only one eyeing her.

According to the latest grapevine Kareena has been offered the heroine's role in a Telugu film opposite the superstar Pawan Kalyan titled 'Puli'.

A.R.Rahman is the music composer of the film and is said to be a big budget project.

Whether Kareena Kapoor can be seen speaking Telugu can be known in a few days time.


Courtesy:IndiaGlitz

Hrithik becomes dad again

Sussanne Khan delivered a baby boy yesterday (May 1) at Lilavati hospital in Mumbai. Daddy Hrithik caught the first glimpse of the new born baby at 11:45 a.m.

This is the couple's second child after their son Hrehaan, who is now two years old.

Courtesy:indiafm

Saif to work with Homi Adajania again

After Being Cyrus, Saif Ali Khan and Homi Adajania team up yet again with their second venture Thagi, an action flick which will be made under Saif's production house Illuminati Films.

Thagi, an action film is about a crook (thag) played by Saif who goes on a conning spree. When contacted Homi Adajania confirmed the news and said, "Yes, I am in talks with Saif about Thagi. But I can't disclose any more details at this point of time."

According to sources, Saif chose Adajania as his director because he feels their sensibilities match and work wonders together on screen. Thagi is going to be an out and out masala caper but with Saif and Homi's sensibilities.

Looks like, after his much appreciated act in Being Cyrus, Saif is all set to wow the audience with yet another maverick performance.


Courtesy:indiafm

Hectic Tuesday for Himesh...all thanks to the stars

For astrological reasons, Tuesday was a day of hectic activity for Himesh Reshammiya. There were two mahurats to attend one after another. He barely finished recording the first song for Mudh Mudh Ke Na Dekh Mudh Mudh Mudh Ke at the Empire Studio in central Mumbai when he had to rush to the suburbs for the first day's shooting of Kajraare.

Explains Himesh, "We had two mahurats on the same day due to astrological reasons. It was my Mahurat shot for Kajraare and my first day of shooting with my first female director Pooja Bhatt. Actually, we had launched Kajraare with the recording of a song on 29 November 2007. In addition, we also launched Mudh Mudh Ke Na Dekh Mudh Mudh Ke on Tuesday with a song recording."

Former Femina Miss India, Niharika Singh, who's Himesh's leading lady in Mudh Mudh Ke ….adds, "It's being directed by a new duo named Seema-Sudhir. And you've to hear Himesh's title song. It's fantastic."

Niharika is also Himesh's leading lady in John Mathan's Love Issshtory. "That shooting starts on May 11. Mudh Mudh Ke… starts in June. I play an NRI who runs a cafĂ© with her dad," informs Niharika happily.


Courtesy:indiafm

Chak De girl Shilpa Shukla steps into international cinema

Chak De girl Shilpa Shukla is all set to enter the international cinema with a film titled Extrospection which will be directed, written and produced by Manan Singh Kotohora. It is said that the film is based on Satyajit Ray's Charulata but set in contemporary times.

The film will be shot in New York with Shilpa playing the lead role of Charu. With all praises for Shilpa Shukla, Kotohora said that he was taken aback by the actress' performance in Khamosh Pani and Chak De India. Hence, she was his natural choice for the film.

Kotohora's another project titled When Kiran Met Karen, which is based on the issue of lesbianism, is in under post production. Extrospection is expected to go on the floors this year.


Courtesy:indiafm

Anupam Kher pays a tribute to an Idol

Not too many people know this but when Anupam Kher came to Mumbai from Simla, there was one journalist whom he idolized. "And that was Behram Contractor, better know as Busybee. I'd read his columns in Simla and marvel at the way he'd describe the minutest topographical details. In his interviews, the environment truly defined the personalities. Such journalism is, I'm afraid, becoming obsolete. Like other forms of entertainment interviews and columns are all about instant gratification."

On Wednesday evening, Anupam got a chance to pay a tribute to Busybee. "I've been asked by his wife Farzana to read excerpts from a new anthology of his articles Best Of Busybee. All I can say is that it's an honour. She was aware of my admiration for her husband and asked me to read out his prose," says Anupam who would've been a journalist if he wasn't an actor. "The closest I come to writing is through the syndicated news service Bollywood News Service which I started last year. I also plan to write my memoirs shortly."


Courtesy:indiafm

Vidya Balan to star opposite Abhishek Bachchan

The ad maverick Balki's first feature film Cheeni Kum made a dynamic dent in audience's minds. It also made him a lifelong Amitabh Bachchan fan. Having gotten masterly performances out of Tabu and the Big B in Cheeni Kum, you'd expect him to recreate the same magic in his next feature film.

But no. Balki is on to a different route for his second film. His next film entitled Pa which begins at the end of the year features real-life father-son Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan. And no Tabu! This, in spite of her brilliant performance. "But that's because Pa has no room for Tabu at all. This time the story is a father-son one. Amitabh has no love interest in the film. And sorry about that. Abhishek does have a girl though." And for the first time Junior is being paired with the petite and lately out-of-sight Vidya Balan.

Says Balki, "We've already approached Vidya and she's more-or-less agreed. I can see her as a pair with Abhishek, can't you?" Vidya comes into the picture through her sister Priya who works with Balki at Lintas. "In fact, it's Priya I know well. I got to know Vidya only when we started talking for Pa," says Balki.

After repeated pairing with Preity, Rani and Priyanka, Abhishek is on the look-out for fresh collaborative opportunities. Vidya Balan is someone the Bachchans have admired from the time the Big B saw her in Parineeta and then worked with her in Eklavya. The Big B had compared Vidya with his favourite actress Waheeda Rehman. Both father and son adore Waheedaji.

So is Balki looking at the prospect of directing a new pair? "I don't look at it that way. Vidya suits the role. I've known her from her ad days. Though we haven't done any ad together, she has done ads for my company Lintas."

One questions remains. Why don't encore- projects happen with Tabu even after powerhouse performances the first time? Madhur Bhandarkar's Chandni Bar and Balki's Cheeni Kum led to no second project. In fact the only directors whom Tabu has worked with more than once are Priyadarshan and Gulzar.

Courtesy:indiafm

 

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