KHILADI 786

Movie Review: Khiladi 786
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Himesh Reshammiya, Paresh Rawal
Director: Ashish R Mohan
Producer: Akshay Kumar
Music: Himesh Reshammiya

OMC Rating : (2.5/5)





Akshay Kumar ... Khiladi 786
Himesh Reshammiya ... Mansukh
Paresh Rawal ... Champaklal
Crew
Ashish R Mohan ... Director
Akshay Kumar ... Producer
Himesh Reshammiya ... Music Director
What can be said about a film where a couple named Mili and Bhagat conspire to bring their employer's empire down?

Mili? Bhagat? Get it?

Khiladi 786 is the kind comic orgy done in shades of green, orange and pink, which doesn't require us to strain our brain. The kicks and grunts, guffaws and chortles, the antics raillery and tomfoolery flow out unstoppered like an uncapped toothpaste tube.

The formula is simple. And stark. Get the audience to laugh at any cost. And some of it does work quite well. Shukriya.

We have a hero. No, make that a super-duper-hero, who flies across the air, pounds automobiles to a pulp with his bare fists, breaks down a jail cell's stone walls with a flick of his manly fist, gets goofy or gooey-eyed depending on his co-star on screen.

Akshay Kumar's crazily improvised performance as a sham cop borrows dollops from Salman Khan's Dabangg and Akshay's own Rowdy Rathore. The derivative derring-do doesn't diminish the impact of the italicised antics that range from the arresting to the exasperating.

Sample this. Asin (back in fetching form for the first time since Ghajini) loves a lout who is chronically incarcerated. Each time the jailed loverboy (Rahul Singh, well-cast effectively played) is about to be released, he's sent back packing for some unintentional crime or the other.

Aa ab 'lout' chalen?

The script seems to be written by someone who loves Akshay Kumar's humorous heroics and his emphatic but spoofy hijinks. Both the traits are amply accentuated in the script. "Khiladi 786" ultimately becomes a showcase for its insanely successful superstar hero's talents. Akshay, as we all know, loves to play the Punjabi Devdas. He did it effectively in Vipul Shah's Namastey London, where he stepped back gallantly to let his wife Katrina Kaif make a fool of herself with an undeserving boyfriend.

Exactly the same triangular situation crops up in the second-half of "Khiladi 786", when midway through the anarchic hilarity, Akshay decides to play the bleeding teary-eyed martyr "gifting" Asin to the aforementioned jailed jerk.

Mamta Kulkarni in the early 'Khiladi' film "Sabse Bada Khiladi" had done the airheaded lovergirl running after the wrong man. Back then, Akshay stood guard over Mamta with the same steadfast loyalty as he does for Asin.

Some things never change in our cinema. Heroines may come and go. Heroes live on forever.

A sense of continuity runs through all of Akshay Kumar's comedies. He doesn't do anything here that he hasn't done before. The trademark goofy grin and the self-deprecating humour are back. Here, the hero is desperate to get married. That's a sporting part whose subtext screams, 'Look, I am such a big star and I play a character who can't get a woman to marry me, ha ha.'

It's all done in fun, with plenty of unzippered zest and a comforting absence of vulgarity. The ensemble cast, particularly Mithun Chakraborty and Raj Babbar, catches on to the shrill sur of a music that suggests a blend of parody and homage to the Formula Cinema. So, we have long-lost brother of the hero showing up in the climax with a mocking mawkishness that Manmohan Desai would have approved of.

The music by Himesh Reshammiya is splendidly in-sync with the film's wacked-out mood. He often uses standard background effects from old Hindi films to remind us that we are laughing at conventions that never grew outdated in our cinema.

Oh yes, Reshammiya also plays an important part in the film as a hopeless inept wedding planner. It's good to see Reshammiya doing a Gujju act. He was born to play Mansukh.

As for Akshay Kumar's 'Khiladi' act, he can do the parodic paces blindfolded. Adding adrenaline to the antics are the crashing, tumbling somersaulting cars, which provide thrills in a very Rohit Shetty way.

Incidentally, one character played by Sanjay Mishra thinks he looks like Amol Palekar. And bursts into "Aanewala pal jaanewala hai" from Hrishikesh Mukherjee's "Gol Maal".

Wondering if Mishra got the wrong "Gol Maal". And did he mean Ajay Devgn instead of Amol Palekar?

"Khiladi 786" is an oddball of a dhamaka that blends slapstick with stunts. It is farcical fun from first frame to the last. Go, have a blast. ... Story/Writer

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Talaash

Cast: Aamir Khan,Kareena Kapoor, Rani Mukherjee ...
Director: Reema Kagti
Producer: Ritesh Sidhwani
Producer: Farhan Akhtar

OMC Rating : (3.5/5)






Movie review of Talaash (No Spoilers). The Reema Kagti-directed Talaash may not be high on action and pace, but it’s a taut thriller with a suspense that hits you like a lightning bolt. 

The thing about an intelligent suspense thriller is that the viewer has to give it their all. It demands attention. No character in it -- however insignificant at first glance -- is dispensable. Every dialogue can have some hidden connotation, every tenuous link can be a lynchpin, every hint a potential red-herring, and, topping it all, a plot that plays well with the possibilities, and teases, titillates and tantalizes a viewer no end. Talaash is one such thriller that leaves you teetering on the edge of your seat. But it does so slowly, caressingly, like a beautiful harlot in bed brushing her nailpainted fingers over your forehead only to disappear - poof! - when you open up your eyes.

Talaash isn’t a perfect whodunit, but in an industry bereft of intelligent thrillers, it’s sure as hell a darn good one. The story centres on the death of a movie superstar by what looks like a car accident on a seaside Mumbai road. As Inspector Surjan Singh Shekhawat (Aamir Khan) and his deputy (Raj Kumar Yadav) try to crack the case, they come across a few loose ends, a few inexplicable clues and connections involving a slew of characters like the deceased actor’s close friend, or a pimp with stashed booty, or the pimp’s limping errand boy (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), or a streetwalking prostitute (Kareena Kapoor). The needle of suspicion even wavers at Inspector Shekhawat himself. 

Shekhawat and his wife (Rani Mukerji) haven’t got the closure on the death of their adolescent son by drowning. The guilt Shekhawat harbours in his heart for his son’s death is the wedge in the couple’s once-happy now-joyless marriage. It keeps him awake at nights and her seeking solace in the séances of a psychic medium (Shernaz Patel). 

It’s an intriguing web that the writers Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar weave. It has greed, blackmail, extortion, murder, suppressed grief, guilt, anger, and above all the suspense to knock the daylights out of you. Mind you, there would be some people rubbishing it as paranormal tosh, but a little allowance on the part of a viewer will make Talaash work like the best thriller seen in Bollywood for ages.

Kudos to the entire Talaash team for that, not the least the director Reema Kagti for a confident handling of a story that has wheels within wheels. Reema’s screenplay opts for gentle flow over speed, for brains over brawns, for emotions over action. And she extracts terrific performances from the leading cast of Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Rani Mukerji. Aamir is the grieving, seething, guilt-stricken cop who’s at the same time alert and smart. Kareena is the coy tart, given to subtle seductions through her eyes and words more than anything outright risqué. Rani is the depressed housewife, a role she could have played even in half sleep. On the sidelines, Nawazuddin Siddiqui is the scene stealer with a limping walk and scalding glare.

Thankfully, the songs by Ram Sampath are never intrusive in the screenplay but are segued seamlessly into the plot. The cinematography by K. U. Mohanan lends a distinct nocturnal mood to Talaash, the interplay of light and shade itself lending a quality to the characters. The dialogues by Farhan Akhtar and Anurag Kashyap are at times bawdy (Kashyap’s pen apparent there), at times layered with meanings. They acquire weightage particularly in retrospect once the suspense unravels. And what an unraveling it is. 

Just one request. Don’t reveal it to your friends. Let everyone trip on being hit by this lightning bolt of a suspense.

Rating: ***1/2

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LIFE OF PI

Movie Review: LIFE OF PI
Cast: Tobey Maguire, Yann Martel, Grard Depardieu, Frenchman, Irfan Khan, Tabu
Director: Ang Lee
Producer: Gil Netter, David Womark, Ang Lee

OMC Rating : (3/5)





A much-awaited film released amidst a lot of buzz, Life Of Pi, is thought-provoking too. It makes you debate the existence of God and ponder over human values.

In a way, that is the crux of the film, as Ang Lee sets out to convey this message through his protagonist Pi Patel, in a visually powerful and aesthetic film.

In a poignant, yet, simply told story, of animal instinct vs intrinsic human values of trust and friendship, which involuntarily tugs at your heart strings, Lee seamlessly amalgamates God's three creations - man, animal and nature.

Pi is crestfallen as he witnesses his companions, the zebra, hyena, an orangutan, and many more gradually lose their fight for survival and he is left with Richard Parker, a Royal Bengal Tiger, as his sole companion.

Pi, who seeks a safe shore after the ship-wreck, is actually in search for answers to several deeper questions.

The 17-year-old Pi's trials and tribulations with Richard Parker, on a 26-foot life raft, after he loses his entire family in a storm aboard the Japanese freight ship en route to Canada, take up the maximum screen time.

But as a viewer you're not complaining. Engrossing and a visual indulgence, you enjoy every moment, save a few, stretched with cinematic liberty and fantasy.

There is a right balance of drama and brilliant visual effects as Pi's struggle unfolds as a never-ending saga on screen. Lee's depiction of the relationship between Pi and Richard Parker, subtly teaches us several lessons.

When in Pondicherry, as the owner of the zoo, Pi's father had given him a graphic lesson of how "Animals will always be Animals." But the humane young Pi could not readily accept it. The truth in his father's statement rings clear, when at the end of their ordeal, Richard Parker, having reached his habitat, moves ahead, without casting a second glance in Pi's direction. Although Pi does not term this act as "ungrateful", it haunts Pi, leaving an indelible scar on his mind.

The entertainment value may be low during parts of Pi's voyage, but Ang Lee compensates for it in ample measure by the rich technical excellence he uses. Whether it is the turbulence of the storm, or the flying fish or innumerable meerkats lining an island, Lee holds you completely.

Suraj Sharma, as an adolescent Pi, steals the thunder from all other veteran actors, in an honest and spontaneous portrayal. Irrfan Khan is flawless as a narrator and older Pi, reliving his early days in Pondicherry, and narrating his ordeal on the Pacific.

The teary-eyed Pi seeking meanings in Richard Parker's betrayal is touching. Tabu as the mother effortlessly sails through her role, but it is her husband, Adil Hussain, whose true-to-life delineation as the owner of the zoo, conversant with life's lessons and eager to have his sons imbibe those, is convincing. Ayush Tandon, the youngest Pi, is adorable and confident.

It is Lee's film all the way, without a doubt, but director of photography Claudio Miranda and production designer David Gropman deserve a special mention for the marvel they have together created. The animation has been cleverly integrated, giving it a real feel.

The screenplay by David Magee, based on a novel by Yann Martel, may have its own interpretations of religion, with which one may not agree. But, the life's lessons taught are truly universal. And that is what Lee has beautifully encapsulated in "Life of Pi". "A soulful film with a universal appeal" is after all what Ang Lee set out to make.

Source: apun ka choice

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