Fun and Romance all d way ….. Jab They Met!!!!

The Promos were enough to suggest that “Jab We Met” is a one kind of Khichdi of many movies. But we’ve seen in past that skillful treatment of hackneyed storyline churns out a winner and if treated miserably, it turns out a big dud at the box-office as all the situations and so-called twists and turns were more-or-less predictable. This Imtiaz Ali’s flick falls in which category, to know this lets start our Journey from Mumbai to Bhatinda…

The Voyage on and off the Track: The story kicks off with a Train-Journey starting from Mumbai and ends up at Bhatinda via a roller-coaster ride with lotzz of fun. The interactions between a complete babbler, Kareena and a poised-looking laconic guy played by Shahid were really funny. The way their relationship shapes up from complete strangers to special-bonded friends looks real on-screen. Through-out the movie you will see the glimpses of many other movies. But the credit must go to Imtiaz Ali for re-creating the magic with the sequences and situations seen umpteen times on-screen. The pace of ‘Jab We Met’ Express slackens a bit in early part of the second half but it catches up and compensates for the lost time and reaches to the destination well on time with a smile on the faces of all the passengers, read- Audiences. Imtiaz Ali proves that Chopras and Johars don’t have the copyrights-reserved for sugary-romance and can be showcased in a splendid manner without the shooting in foreign locales and Designer suits.

Pritam on the Roll: The most under-rated Music Director of recent times is Pritam. It seems he believes in the mantra of “Work will Talk” as you hardly see him in the limelight yet he keeps on delivering the blockbusters one after another. He has shown in his previous compositions that he uses the Sufi singing with panache and in this flick he has shown that he has Punjabi folk too in his repertoire. Nagada Nagada and Mauja hi Mauja gives the testimony of the same. While former was sung by the arguably the best singer of our times- Sonu Niggam, the latter is crooned by Mika who sings in his peculiar nasal style which makes the lyrics hard to understand, but its such a peppy track that its topping the charts for some time now. Aao milo Chalo and Yeh Ishq Hai has been plunged deep in sweetness by the melodious voice of Shaan and Shreya respectively. Aaoge Jab tum by Ustad Rashid Khan and Tum se hi by Mohit Chauhan (lead vocalist of ‘Silk Route’ fame) makes their presence felt. Both of the songs are good and can be enjoyed in your i-Pod but one feels, in the movie it almost stagnates the pace of the events.

Finally they MET: I’m not talking about the rumors surrounding them in real life but the reel life chemistry which is quite evident for the first time on the silver screen. They looked stunning together and their body-language was confident. Shahid Kapur has done a commendable job of shouldering the movie as a solo hero. Not only he looked sweetie-cutie in the movie but also played the role of a frustrated and irritated industrialist with élan. He has done justice to the emotional scenes as well and he’s just mind-blowing at any kinda dance, and that’s no secret. Pawan Malhotra, Kiran Juneja and Tarun Arora does their titsy-bitsy roles with ease. Ageing Dara Singh has a one-liner that he reprised through-out the movie and each time it’s a total knock-out punch. Kareena Kapoor leads the pack by-far. She is just fantabulous as a loquacious chatter-box and as a self-proclaimed shrewd Punjabi girl. It would be an understatement if I call whole first half totally dedicated to this Kapoor-gal. In second half, she portrayed emotional and comparatively serious facets of her character with finesse. Surely, this movie will add one more feather to her, already garnished, cap.

Harjeet’s Verdict: If you are in love OR ever had a love-life OR waiting for love to blossom OR got betrayed in love OR don’t believe in love, then Go watch “Jab we Met”.
Or else……yesss, you know that….Stay in Peace!!!!

Take a "Thrill" Pill and Justt Chill !!!!!

Going by the initial promos of the movie and reputation of today's Jodi No. 1 for Comedy movies, if you are expecting another laugh-riot from the Priy-Akki combo then you would be in utter disappointment. Again, if you expect a horror flick as per the present publicity of "Bhool Bhulaiyaa", then again you will be left burning your hands in disgust. Before you guyzz draw some negative connotation about the movie, let me assure you that I'm reccommending this remake of Rajni's Blockbuster "Chandra-Mukhi". To make myself clearer, lets move inside the haunted Haveli of "Bhool Bhulaiyaa"

Tickling Bones and Chilling Spines: The movie is basically a Thriller with few doses of Horror sequences and under-current of comic scenes. Creating a balance between horror and Comedy is one helluva job and I must confess Priydarshan has accomplished this endeavour with ease. He is surely backed-up with a script that is a mega-hit in Southern India, but re-creating the movie as per Bollywood's Audiences' taste is a commendable job done. The suspense and the intrigue was well created and comedy scenes were made funny by the sheer brilliance of Akshay Kumar who for me is the most improved Actor over the last few years.

Haunted Music: The background score plays an indispensable part in any of the Thrillers and Ranjit Barot does justice to the same in Bhool Bhulaiyaa. He made it sure that you are at the edge-of-your-seat once light goes off in Theatre. As per songs are concerned: Labon ko Labon se starts before you settle down inside the theatre and so can be easily ignored, Allah Haafiz and Lets Rock Soniye are other songs in the movie that almost slows the pace of the movie but thankfully these songs were cut short and looks a part of the plot. The chartbuster of Pritam Hare Ram Hare Krishna, crooned by Neeraj Sridhar clearly comes from no where in the movie, but its such a peppy-track that hardly a soul will make a fuss about it.

Priy's usual troop and a Surprise Package: As always, Priydarshan has dozens of characters in the movie and majority of them are the usual faces, namely, Asrani, Paresh Rawal, Manoj Joshi, Rajpal Yadav and all have played their part with ease without any noticeable brilliance which can be associated with any of these proven actors. Shiney Ahuja has nothing much to do in the movie and he was well within his limitattion. Ameesha Patel has been left with sobbing and shouting her heart out through out the movie. Akshay Kumar, as I said, is the one of the most accomplished actor in Bollywood today and he has shown all the facets of his character with an exceptional grace. Last but not the least, we all know that Vidya Balan is the most sought-after actress in tinsel-town but her stupendous performance in Bhool Bhulaiyaa will take her into different genre all-together. The way she has portrayed her complex character is highly commendable and we should look forward to some scintillating performances from her side in near future.

Harjeet's Verdict: If you have a sweet-tooth for sour movies, if you love to be horrified while laughing and vice versa, if you believe in the third world atleast for the sake of fun spanning three hours, Go watch Bhool Bhulaiyaa.
Else, as I always say: STAY IN PEACE.

I, Me and Myself

harjeet Rakhra
Originally uploaded by Harjeet S. Rakhra

I, hereby posting the Film-Reviews that I'll write moving on. Just to kick-off the Blog I've added my last Review of "Chak-De India"

Hope U'll like it!!!!

A Tribute to our National Game....CHAK DE!!!!!

I, hereby posting all the Film-Reviews that I've penned till date. Leave ur valuable comments and suggestions!!!

I presume the title of my review is baffling for few...Yes!!!! To keep records straight HOCKEY is our National Game though our country eats, sleeps and breathe Cricket. There are handful of movies based entirely on cricket and few more on the backdrop of this game but this is first full-fledged movie taking Hockey as its prime subject. So lets toss the ball into the hockey turf :

16 Beauties and Beasts: Referred as "Rakshson ki Sena" these 16 gals from every corner of Indiamakes up a dream combo of experience and youth, exuberance and patience. It’s difficult to concentrate on each and every character so the focus was primarily on 5-6 gals throughout the movie. Going by the characters they enacted, Priti Sabarwal dons the role of a forward in the team & adds to the glamour quotient of the movie, Komal Chautala another forward is the pocket size dynamo that will catch your attention with her hardcore Hariyanvi accent. Balbir kaur, typical punjab gal, using heavy Punjabi lingo and taking on the Bulls with the horns. Vidya, the Captain and Goalie of the team and most experienced and arrogant-self Bindiya makes up the top five protagonists of the dream-team. All of them have done commendable job in their respective constraints and deserves accolades for their endeavor. None of the players looked as if they are acting, but it seems that they all the trained athletes (few of ‘em certainly were).

The Coach: SRK is back after a short but well deserved hiatus. He left the silver screen, limping, with a walking stick in his hand and came back, all charged up, with hockey stick as his companion. If his last release (KANK) has Chucked his super stardom a bit then this flick will surely do a Chak de Phatte to him. Its refreshing to see him moving away from his usual running around the trees and romancing the bollywood's beauties in his designer suits amidst foreign locales. Instead, he portrayed the character ever-so-efficiently giving all the desired expressions through his eyes. The grey stubble embellishing his new suave look will give something more for his fan following to go ga-ga over him. Personally I would prefer him to enact the characters in the likes of "Swades" and "Chak de" than doing the run-of-the-mill flicks like "Main Hoon Na".

Chak de India: The title track sung by Sukhvinder is played through-out the movie in back ground along with "Chak de-- Ek hockey doongi rakh ke" and goes well with the mood of the movie. The music and Background score by Salim Sulaiman are flawless and deserves full points. Shimit Amin as a director has raised himself to another level with this classic and expectations would be sky-high from his coming projects. For a patriotism driven flick, the dialogues makes its soul but one feels punches could have been more effective at some places. But there are few mind blowing dialogues as well, for me the best one was when SRK was taking a dig at the most popular sports in India and said: "Hamari hockey me Chhakke nahi hote". Its a fast paced moving and hardly gives time to think, but at the same time gives ample of opportunities to smile. Till the climax you will be totally engrossed in the Hockey matches, which again were well conceived and equally executed, as if you are actually watching a Hockey World cup.

Harjeet's Verdict: “Chak de.....India” is “Lagaan” of sorts with Hockey Backdrop. If Lagaan has rewritten history books, this one will surely add a page or two to it.

Chak De.....India!!!!