The Lunchbox – The Real Taste of Cinema…Don’t Miss it

Disclaimer – Get carried away by all the praises about this movie. Unfortunately, it’s not biased at all!

A simple story can be a great story. Every story doesn't need to have highs and lows, action and drama, romance and comedy. There are some stories which don’t have any of these but they are great stories. The Lunchbox is one such rare piece in the world of cinema.

The backdrop is the running and busy Mumbai, but it is never forced in the movie. There is a common working man Saajan Fernandes played by Irfaan Khan who is about to retire from his work next month and then live peacefully in Nasik. A housewife and mother named Ila, played by Nimrat Kaur is trying to revive the love in her married life.

They connect to each other through the Mumbai’s famous Dabbawallas who wrongly delivers the lunchbox meant for her husband to Irfaan Khan.

There are letter exchanges between them but more importantly it connects the different human emotions of life and the small joys that one misses in life.

The film has few other characters which make you feel good about the life you have and are crafted so carefully that you don’t find a single flaw in their character.

Irfaan Khan has established himself as one of the best actors ever in the Indian cinema and he seems just irreplaceable from the stone faced yet emotional Saajan fernandes.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui as his trainee has blended truly in his role of a young, street smart and honest man.

Nimrat Kaur is another spontaneous actor who fits so well in the lead actor role.

Hats off to Ritesh Batra for giving us such a movie which taste will linger over so many years. The film never forces itself on the viewers and it never stretches away or makes your heart full of emotions. It just teases you with right proportion of human emotions like the best lunch you can ever have.

It’s sad that this film has not been nominated for the Oscars Foreign category from India, as it’s undoubtedly one of the best Indian films of all times.

There is nothing wrong in this film and it deserves a 5/5 rating.

Don’t miss this film.

Phata Poster Nikla Hero – Don’t expect too much, just sit back and enjoy

Phata Poster Nikla Hero Movie Review

Phata Poster Nikla Hero; the title itself suggests that this is a typical Bollywood masala. A lot of veteran Bollywood directors don’t like to experiment much with the subject and follow the regular formula of a Bollywood hit; that is a mix of comedy, emotion, romance and action. Phata Poster Nikla Hero is a regular kind of film from the ace director Raj Kumar Santoshi who has earlier given the cult comedy Bollywood movie like Andaaz Apna Apna and films like Ghayal, Damini and Shaheed Bhagat Singh.

PPNH is about a young man; Shahid Kapoor who has dreams of becoming a hero in the films while his widowed mother played by Padmini Kolhapure nurses the dream of making him an honest police officer.

His fate brings him to Mumbai and then the film follows in the footsteps of Munna Bhai MBBS and Dabang. However, the director is honest to accept about the inspiration from Munnai Bhai MBBS in a scene.

The film has some of the most accomplished comedy actors like Sanjay Mishra, Saurabh Shukla and Mukesh Tiwari who will make you laugh with their unique style. However, the films loose a bit in the screenplay area as most of the humour is created through one liner than the situational scenes.

The confusion drama doesn't hold for long and this is what it prevents the film from being an average movie to a good movie.

Shahid Kapoor has returned to the screen with his comfort area which is comedy and he does it well. Ileana looks good, though there is not much for her to act. This is a return movie for yesteryear successful actress, Padmini kolhapure and she has tried hard to act and look like a mother.

Zakir Hussain as a corrupt but stupid police officer does exceedingly well in this humorous role. He is another versatile actor who has done well in different kinds of roles.

The film doesn't bore you and neither its long, but it lacks the strong punch of Dabang or the feel good factor of Munna Bhai MBBS or the crazy comedy of Andaaz Apna Apna.

It’s an average movie from Rajkumar Santoshi which doesn’t disappoint you but doesn't delight you. Overall, it’s a decent family watch in the weekend over popcorn and colas. 

Rating : 3/5

Talaash....Answer to Different Cinema lies in this

I am writing this review after 15 days of the movie being released, but I have still not been able to get over this movie; even though I have watched it twice.
Many readers would think me crazy that why Talaash has impressed me so much?

I would not have been able to answer this question correctly; if had I not seen this movie for the second time.

Talaash starts with the dirty yet beautiful screenplay showing the underbelly of Mumbai. The scene where a man is shown walking with a guitar in the night, pimp, customers and prostitutes are standing outside the neon lit shady bars and an old lady sitting on the footpath and just staring are mixed together to show the dark side of Mumbai in the night.
The story is good and the screenplay is such that this can be used as an example to teach the students of cinema.

All the actors in Talaash have played their role close to reality. Aamir Khan is a normal cop who is as puzzled with the case as all the other cops is the beauty of his character. I doubt that any other current star could have done justice to this role. Rani Mukherjee as the Aamir Khan's wife and Kareena Kapoor as a prostitute are other examples of perfect casting in the movie.

I would love to make Special mention for the two other actors - Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Rajkumar Yadav. They are the new breed of class actors and they both leave their mark even in a small role.

Talaash is not an out and out suspense thriller, in fact it’s a Suspense and Emotional drama with paranormal angle attached to the whole film.
Can you think of any other Bollywood cinema where emotional scenes are as strong as the suspense of the movie?

Aamir Khan is a grief stricken father who has lost his 8 year old kid and is a restless human being. He is investigating the accidental death of a young Film star and is in the search of the answers to his death. He meets a prostitute named Rosy, played by Kareena Kapoor who not only provides him information about the case but also soothes his grief and pain.

Rani Mukherjee plays the role of the disturbed wife of Aamir Khan and they as a couple are not able to bring joy to their life because of their child's death in an accident. The emotional scenes between the couple take you to another level in the film.

However, when the film ends, you will find that the answer to the death of the Film star is not as important as the answers to Aamir Khan's grief and guilt.
That's where the story scores points; also I feel that the pace of the movie has been deliberately kept a bit slow, as increasing the pace of the movie could have confused the audience.

All the characters in the movie have been carefully moulded and there is a very line between them being an evil and good. The simple love and friendship story between the pimp Nawazuddin and an age past prostitute looks real and keeps you thinking even after you have walked out of the theater.

The music is good and I have started respecting Ram Sampath even more after Satyamev Jayate music. I love the background scores especially Muskanein jhoothi hai and Jiya lage Na; though all the other songs are good too. The best parts of these songs are that they are not forced upon you, but they help you to get in the rhythm of the movie.
Talaash is not a perfect movie and I would also not say it’s a cult movie.
I would say that this movie should be watched because of the story, screenplay, background music by Ram Sampath, class acting by all the actors and a bringing in a perfect mix of mainstream and art treatment.

I didn’t like the suspense of Talaash in the end and I wished that Reema Kagti and Zoya Akthar could have written a slightly different climax. But No movie is perfect and you can ignore this deficiency to watch a good cinema.
However, if you are bogged down by the climax, than I doubt that you will like the movie. Also, don’t hope for an edge of the seat thriller; as I guess it was never meant to be made like that.
So go and watch Talaash; enjoy the cinema which is set in the dark but will show light to the different kind of cinema.
My rating is 3.5 out of 5

Singham – Bollywood masala that will taste good if you have a taste for it

Though, bit late in writing the review for Singham but it’s not that bad if you do a right thing a bit late, but you do it. So here, I go…
Bajirao Singham played by Ajay Devgan is a police inspector in a small village on the Goa Maharashtra border which accidentally is his own village where has grown with people and lived his life. He is tough cookie with large biceps, robust moustache and strong voice. But at the same time, he is nice, humble, emotional, and romantic and loves his people, country and job. All in all, Singham is an idealist cop and a perfect human being.
Jaykant Shirke played by Prakash Raj is a goon cum politician who is the king of Goa and has power, police and money to influence things and even lead to an honest police office do suicide.
The movie set in the backdrop of rural Maharashtra and Goa with many popular Marathi one liner used in the movie revolves around just these 2 characters and rest all of them are only supporting cast. Though Kajal Agarwal as the leading lady of the film looks good and acts reasonably well too.
Rohit Shetty, after his series of Golmaal comes out with a cat out of bag by bringing in action movie, but that doesn’t mean he is going to compromise on his dialogue style and the car blowing scenes. These are copyrights for Rohit shetty and not restricted to Golmaal.
The ill fate of Prakash Raj brings him in contact with Ajay Devgan and this starts the series of bull fight between the hero and the villain. What makes it exciting is that they both get chances to win over each other though the end as usual is won by the hero of the movie. This also makes it different from the hit movie Dabang where one character ruled the whole of movie and this makes Singham interesting too.
The verbal volleys, fight scenes between the two makes the movie exciting and doesn’t let you move away from the movie.The weak point of the movie are the songs which are not good enough to make you hear it and also extends the movie length by few meters. Also, the climax is a bit extended as the director tries to bring in some comedy into the climax scene which makes the movie spicy but it’s a bit long.
Overall, I liked the movie more because of excellent acting by the Villain Prakash Raj and Ajay Devgan and yes the dialogues are good though some time these sound senseless by literary terms. At the end, if you love bollywood masala flavored by some really good acting then go and watch Singham and you will like it.Not to forget to mention that I do like the end credit style by Rohit Shetty.

Poonam , Poonam ki Jawani , I am from Venus , Main Tere Haath Nahin Aani !!!

It’s been a great World Cup for all of us, a memorable year for all the Indians. Celebrations are on and on with celebrities on the road basking in the new found glory after a gap of almost 3 decades.
Lately, I always want to practice writing humour, sarcasm and try to tickle the funny bones of myself. Sometimes I succeed and many times I fail, but who cares till the time I enjoy experimenting it.
And, I think the 20 something model from Mumbai enjoyed it too. After all she is young, sexy and bit of crazy too.
So, who the hell is Poonam Pandey, where does she hail from and what are her missions and objectives. I gathered some information about her with the aid of CBI which I would love to share with the readers.
I can assure you guys that CBI really worked this time 
She is an alien from the neighboring planet Venus and is on long term leisure cum business trip to the Earth. She was supposed to land in Antarctica but her space ship fuel had got finished and she had to land in India a year back.
She quickly realized that in spite of her awkward style, no one was noticing her. She had this feeling that she is more beautiful than any other women on earth but still people aren’t noticing her.
She was fond of Indian Cinema and actors and was also researching on the topic “Who is hotter – Munni or Sheila?
Since she had already done some modeling with Queen Fisher, now she was keen to meet the Indian stars and work with them. She started going around studios, Bandra Band Stand and Juhu every morning and evening looking for an opportunity to catch with the stars. Once a funny incident, she was chased away by Salman Khan’s dogs as she was star gazing in the night at Bandra.
One day, she was having her dinner at a local dhaba and she was watching the TV program “The Big Toss” on India Tv. She really enjoyed watching Rakhi Aatank and Veena Mallika playing the big toss like finding the bat and ball and analyzing the game of cricket.
She had heard so much about Rakhi , that she was her idol. She thought that why not I become a Rakhi Aatank. Well, but I don’t understand even “C” of the Cricket so what can I do now.
Then there is also this 6 Pack Women “Madira Bedi” shouting and yelling on Times Now every time the Indian team wins the cricket match. So, she thought that there is a lot of scope for females like her to do well in cricket and World Cup is a big platform.
She was thinking hard, but still her brain was not working, well for obvious reasons that she doesn’t have it. One day, while she was taking a stroll on the Alibaug beach, she met a thin guy who looked like a monkey and was acting like a monkey too, jumping and showing his yellow teeth.
She realized that he was none other than her friend from Pluto whom she had met during one of the Intra planetary Film festival in Jupiter.
Ohh...No Tinku, how are you, it’s so long...Remember last time we had met, but where the hell is your tail, dear?
They exchanged pleasantries and the monkey, sorry the actor told her that he is a big star now in the film industry and now people now him as Tinku Pandey. He also informed her that a song has been very popular on his name “Na Mane re Tinku jia” from the movie “Yamla Pagla Dewaana”.
She told him about her concern that she wants to get popular and is not finding any ways to do so.
Bhakti Kappor who was also shooting with Tinku Pandey over heard their conversation and chirped in with his idea. Well, you don’t need to do anything to become popular, it’s so damn easy!
Just make an announcement that you are going to do a full bare show for the Indian Cricket team, if they go on winning the world cup.
We will have two benefits out of this, you will not only become popular but will also help Dhoni and Team does well in the tournament. You will become the darling of whole nation. Just imagine, you are there on every TV channels, every movie director is queuing to sign you for their movies, AAOOO.
Even Rakhi Aatank will fear you, you will become the next Big Boss, you can also even replace the most irritating anchor Manchali Puri Singh whose teeth weighs more than your weight from “The Comedy Circus”, added Tinku.
Poonam Pandey acted on this idea and suddenly she became the most searched girl on the internet. She was there on every TV channels sharing her noble idea of doing ‘the in thing”.
India finally went on to win the World Cup, but Poonam Pandey was not seen anywhere, not traced to where she was hiding. But our very own CBI finally tracked her whereabouts and came to know that she was airlifted from her house on 2nd of April by the aliens.
She was engaged to an angry man from Neptune, who is also now a flop actor in the TV reality shows and is popularly known as none other than Rahul Gajanan.
Rahul though now married couldn’t accept her doing the bare act in front of the Indian team and this jealousy led to her being taken away by the aliens and finally deported to her own planet “Venus”.
Those who all missed her adventures in the Indian team are now heard singing “Poonam Poonam ki Jawani , I am from Venus , Main Tere Haath Nahin Aani!!
Apologies, if I hurt any one’s sentiments through this mindless piece of humor and thanks for bearing it with your patience.

IPL -4 Auction – Ganda hai par dhanda hai yeh…

Disclaimer – I love watching IPL and this article is just trying to make a humor out of the whole IPL hoopla…nothing personal against anyone and no sentiments attached. Your feedback is welcome whether it’s a dash of sweet or is a pinch of salt. I love them both!

There was a lot of excitement to watch the IPL-4 Auction live on TV, courtesy SET MAX. I was getting restless to watch the whole thing and to get myself prepared to watch the whole bidding process live, I got a can of diet coke (sorry,oh-la-la-lu-le-loo..argh..), masala peanuts and a friend who has an amazing knowledge about cricket statistics.
However, my excitement soon fused out after watching the expressionless face of the host who was facilitating the bidding process. His pronunciation of Indian names like Mur-a-lli Kart-ick was good enough to make one’s head bang. With due respect to his credentials as I am sure he must have been a good qualified host and would have done many bidding processes in past but I just found him a bit boring.
I wonder why they didn’t hired Mandira Barbadi for handling the auction process as she might have created some waves in the bidding with her “Top” comments.
In between the chit chat, there was our very own Desi Paaji passing his expert comments and analysis on the cricketers bid and at the same time thinking of “I wish I would have played IPL”.
But we all know that once the “pulp is squeezed from mango” there is no fun in buying that mango. One of the prominent disciple of this fundamental adage is “Tees maar Khan” not the Punjabi Munda but the very own KKKK….Kolkata Badshah who didn’t retained Dada in his team.
Effigies burnt, my Bengal friend got emotional on FB, sports journalists treating this as “shocking” and what not. Lately, it is also doing round that CBI is going to conduct an enquiry as why the fiery Dada was not taken by KKR…
I just hope that rising onion prices is at least not linked to this :)
My friends suggested that Kochi ka Ghochi should bid for fiery Dada and appoint him as the captain but they seemed to be busier with acquiring wicket keepers and bowlers in their team than Batsman. Anyways, it’s their money and their mind and we are just spectators watching the mega event.
To keep the strong tie between Bollywood and Criket going there was this yogini Shilpa with her business associate cum hubby, Raj, and Priety with Ness looking at print outs and staring at laptops as analyzing spread sheets or they might have been looking at some interesting screen saver running there. With all these bollywood tadka, I regret why the sultry nagin “Hissss” is not part of any IPL team ; may be next season we might get to see her revealing her cricket brains if we get a Haryanavi team...Ke hon lag raha Tau…
After the auction ended, I became really happy that the drama is over and I will not be forced to discuss who is going to which team and so on and finally I would get to hear and read some good cricket news other than the IPL auction. Unfortunately this happiness remained really short as tug of war for poaching uncapped players has started now. These players who were performers in IPL but didn’t get a chance to be in the national side seemed to be loosing on the money front and are heard singing this song to their franchisee-
Auction to gaya , Millions chala gaya,
Ek baar to ab humein khelne do…
Give me more money,
Give me more perks,
I want to play up once again...
Let’s see what unfolds of this IPL saga this year…minus the Modi and lovable Dada…and now all of us including our cricketers get out of this IPL bug and focus on the World Cup solely.
Read another sattire on IPL - http://amitsinha69.blogspot.com/2010/04/indian-female-league-new-venture-by.html