The evil ‘Baazigar’ is back

Farhan Akhtar considered a representative of ‘fresh’ or ‘new age’ cinema, has always impressed through his perspective of style, technicalities & uniqueness in presentation. Besides, he usually avoids verbose marketing / promotion and rather lets his work speak for himself.

The idea behind Don (2006) was to recreate a modern version of Bachchan’s 1978 version, as perceived by Farhan. Although it received mixed responses, the overall treatment was appreciated by the audience. With Don 2, Farhan ‘ don’ s the director’s cap almost 5 years later, triggering rocket high expectations & excitement among his fans.

The plot begins wherein Don after having escaped scot free previously , has now taken over Asian underworld. He then decides to take on something he left unattended, which could otherwise prove fatal. He subsequently drafts a master-plan involving few acquaintances, popular public figures & couple of experts to execute the same. The transformation of the plan into reality through series of twist-n-turns, treachery, deceit and complications is how the plot unfolds thereon.

Barring few sequences, every time when you feel things are getting monotonous / predictable, there springs up a surprise (including some special appearances!). This pattern continues almost till the climax, though some people might be difficult to digest too many twists in the tale, owing to fast pace of the film.

Technically, the film is outstanding, Jason West’s cinematography being the USP. Action scenes by Matthias Barsch are notable. Shankar Ehsaan Loy do well with the background score, but the soundtrack isn’t as impactful as Don (2006). Dialogues are witty, satirical and crisp.

Shah Rukh Khan is at one of his ‘evil’ best. The actor rejuvenates his anti-hero forte (Baazigar, Anjaam) wearing the right kind of attitude throughout the film. Besides Ashutosh Gowariker & Shimit Amin, it’s now Farhan Akhtar who succeeds in bringing out the ‘restrain’ & ‘ unconventional-ism’ in his performance. Experimenting with different looks adds further to the innovation.

Boman Irani , Nawaab Shah and Aly Khan are superb. Kunaal Kapoor does a commendable job, and pleasantly surprises at times !

Priyanka Chopra & Lara Dutta play their parts well, though you wish to see more of them. Om Puri provides adequate support.

Overall, a sleek, stylish and ‘evil’ entertainer.

It’s Silk All the Way – Movie Review: The Dirty Picture

The film industry (be it Bollywood or South), is known to be a ruthless, cruel place for aspiring actors from a non-film background, esp. those from tier II & III cities. Today, there are various platforms & opportunities available for aspirants to showcase their talent, unlike the 80s & early 90s, wherein they had to keep running from pillar to post for years together, just to get the right break. Even after tasting a bit of ’initial’ success, it is not so easy to maintain stardom throughout . However, despite the unpredictability, risk & complications involved, people’s fascination & infatuation towards the film world still remains the same over the years !!

Milan Luthria’s ’The Dirty Picture ’ is the story of ’Reshma’ (Vidya Balan) a small town girl who comes to Madras (now Chennai) with dreams of making it big. After having undergone loads of struggle & encountering couple of perverts, she finally manages to get her hands on an ’item’ song with superstar Suryakant (Naseeruddin Shah) , which brings about a turning point in her life. Reshma re-christened ’Silk ’, soon becomes a rage, owing to her sleazy onscreen antics and off screen chemistry with Surya !! Here begins her journey of ups & downs vis-a-vis the people she encounters / interacts with,during her career.

The story follows a straight-forward style of narration, packaged with power-packed dialogues (Rajat Arora, continues his winning streak after Once Upon A Time In Mumbai) . Certain scenes do seem quite sleazy (not vulgar though), but definitely not forced onto the narrative. Similarly couple of bold dialogues may not go well with a certain section of audiences. The characters in the film are well etched. Their uncanny resemblance to certain real life celebrities is cinematic liberty taken purely to add a realistic feel !!

The first half is crisp, tight & interesting. However, the second half seemed a little too dragged. Here it appears as if the writer (Arora) is trying to cover-up missing content, with too many ’one-liners’ & punchlines, which tend to get over the top. The editing (Akiv Ali) could have a been ’tighter’. Music director duo Vishal Shekhar have done a fabulous job in recreating the magic of the 80s. ’ O la la’sung by Bappi Da & Shreya Ghoshal is a true ’masala’ masterpiece !! ’ Ishq Sufiyana’ is a another wonderful, melodious track.

Coming to the performances, it’s Vidya Balan’s show all the way. The actress infuses all necessary elements & emotions into her character, thereby proving her ’ unconventionality ’. The scenes where she’s lonely, and recollects her past are brilliantly executed & performed. Naseeruddin Shah is top notch as ’Surya’ the ageing superstar. His appearance, dialogue delivery, attire, action & dance sequences are hilarious !! He’s one ’helluva’ actor who can carry any role with ease & grace. Emraan Hashmi plays his part (Abraham – a serious film-maker) with maturity & subtleness, taking digs at himself & further continuing his serial kissing movement !! Nevertheless, his character of ’loving’ to ’hate’ Silk wasn’t that easy to play. Tushar Kapoor tries his best, but gets overshadowed by others’ extraordinary performances. The actor needs to raise his bar. Other actors Anju Mahendroo, Rajesh Sharma, Mangal Kenkre provide adequate support.

Overall, a bold story, aesthetically handled (barring few scenes, dialogues) & well executed. One more feather to Milan Luthria’s cap.

Rating: ***1/2