Film Review : Knock Out

I havent seen Phone-Booth, so whether the film really copies scenes or dialogues I aint sure at all. Now coming to the film, the story of Knock-out deals with a person(Sanjay Dutt) whose identity is unknown and on one particular day, he decides to make a random call at a phonebooth when Bacchu(Irfan Khan) is there. And then starts a series of orders which if not followed could lead to death of Bacchu. Why, all such acts are done, and where does it eventually lead to, is what the story is about.

The best thing about the film is that its short and the songs are kept away thankfully from the narration. Actually, if one notices, the film's narration very much follows the path of A Wednesday, the only difference being that Knock out is much more a entertainer then a thriller.

Mani Shankar does well as far as direction goes, he is let down by average writing and poor dialogues. Editing is proper. Screenplay is good, there is just one way story and no additional hiccups to lessen the impact.

There are some over the top scenes, like the audience keenly appreciating the tv coverage or clapping. One may argue it as cinematic liberty but it looked kinda of funny to see.

Performances wise,

Sanjay Dutt is good, not at his best though.

Irfan Khan is amazing, even though the hairstyle looks a bit wierd but his acting is bang on. Love the sequence where he dances on the ringtune.

Kangana Ranaut's dialogue delivery is bad in the film, cant understand what went wrong specially when she is having a very good run of form. Leaving that apart, she was fine as she portrayed the role of a journalist desperate for a breaking news.

Sushant Singh was good to start with but his later part was full of overacting. He needs to restrain himself, he has been very good as a actor in past.

Gulshan Grover is fine in small cameo. Apoorva Lakhia is stylish in his debut special apperance.


Overall, Knock Out works only in terms of entertainment that it keeps providing despite some poor writing and funny dialogues, For instance "Not accepted" made to "Note Accepted".  Aneways, its not that bad a movie as it has been made out by everyone, if not in theatre watch it once on T.V.


Rating : 2.75 Out of 5 

Film Review : Aakrosh

Two CBI Officers, Siddhant(Akshay Khanna) and Pratap(Ajay Devgan) are given the case of 3 medical college students who have gone missing. They start their investigation, but the village where those 3 boys were seen last doesnt co-operate with them. The people have a fear that stops them in helping or giving any clue to the officers. To make the matters worse, the police they deal with is highly corrupt, with the charge inspector being Ajatshatru(Paresh Rawal). How, these cbi officers gather proofs and solve this case is what this drama thriller deals with.

The film starts on a serious note, with the credits shown along with the real incidents in form of newspaper news. The story takes its time to get to the culmination, though a drawback here is that we as a audience are certain where it will go except for some twists here and there. But, what we are trying to see is how it reaches there.

Even though the film was told to be a entertainer, one feels that the subject of Honour Killings could had been used more as a message striving film then a thriller, as in the end the film doesnt quite thrills you even though it has quite much entertainment value throughout.

Still, the film works mainly due to the performances of the leads, great action sequences and screenplay that keeps you involved though it does test you at places, because the editing is improper. The entire car chase sequence including the train stunt was excellent, while the Roof chase so much reminded of the "Black Friday" Cop Chase.

Some Dialogues are powerful and worth to be remembered, specially Ajay's take on Confidence and the main one on Diwali.

The pre-climax looked pretty stupid to me, but thankfully the scene it was leading to made the proceedings look good.

Among Performances,

Ajay Devgan, excels in a role that's pretty much tailormade for him. Another film added to the list of very good performances by him.I specially loved the scenes where he shows his anger, or the light sequence where he questions a co officer if Siddhant would had really shooted.

Akshay Khanna, is a touch loud. Also, the camera zooms too much on him which doesnt look good. A decent performance in the end I would say.

Paresh Rawal is excellent as a corrupt policeman. Though, we have seen him do such roles with ease in past, but we would anyday prefer to see him in these roles rather then the comedy ones.

Bipasha Basu is hardly there for few scenes, and she looks out of touch in those scenes too, leaving asides Saude Baazi song where she is excellent.

The rest cast is the typical Priyadarshan regulars, who didnt do anything worth a note.


Saude Baazi is used very badly in the narrative, although one would love to see it purely due to the romantic clips and the melodious music that runs through the song. Isak se meetha is used very well, Sameera Reddy doesnt come close to match Beedi Jalaaliye.


Overall, Aakrosh is good enough one time watch in theatre. Priyadarshan does try to get into a serious cinema  but not able to give full justice to it. Nevertheless, worth a try then those silly comedy films.


Rating : 2.95 Out of 5

Amitabh Bachchan : The Living Legend

Amitabh Bachchan turns 68 today. He has been and will always remain my most favourite Actor. I think there would be very few celebrities who would deny the fact that Amitabh deserves all the praise and love of the nation. To start a career with over 10 flops, and still coming out triumph in such a way, is some achievement.

Even though I have loved him in all genres, my favourite without a doubt would be Angry Young man roles that he did, a tag that he was later recognised with. One of great achievement of Amitabh is, the kinda of roles he is doing at this age. When likes of Jackie, Dharmendra etc are finding it hard to impress the audience on a consistent basis, Amitabh is easily been able to do that, with exceptions of few flop films.

Here are My Top10 Fav Amitabh Films :


Deewar ("Aaj khush toh bahut hoge tum")

Don ("Don ko pakarna mushkil hi nahi namumkin hai")

Agneepath ("Aaj shaam 6 baje maut ke saath apna appintment hai, appintment, english bolta hai, haain")

Trishul ("Main 5 lakh ka sauda karne aaya hoon aur meri jeb mein paanch phooti kodiya bhi nahi hai".)

Zanjeer ("Jab tak baithne ko na kaha jaaye, sharafat se khade raho".)

Kabhie Kabhie ("Guzar rahi hai kuch iss tarah zindagi jaise isse kisi sahaare ki aarzoo na ho".)

Sholay ("Tumhara naam kya hai basanti.")

Aankhein ("Sach, bahut hi ajeeb o gareeb hota hai yeh sach.")

Mohabbatein ("Mujhe badlaav pasand nahi hai Mr Raj Aryan, I dont like changes".)

The Last Lear ("Cut is a director's word. For an actor, there is nothing called Cut.")

Films like Abhimaan, Namak Haraam, Chupke Chupke, Hera Pheri, Shaan, Yaarana, Lawaaris, Namak Halaal, Satte pe Satta, Shakti, Shahenshah, Hum, Paa etc misses out in Top10. Hmm, thats some list!

I can watch Deewar's bridge sequence between Amitabh and Shashi that has the famous dialogue "Mere paas maa hai" or the sequence in Agneepath with Amitabh and Police Comission having dialogue "Vijay dinnanath chauhan poora naam" numerous times, with exactly same positive effect.

My most favourite song ever also happens to be Amitabh Starrer, "Rote huye aate hai sab" from Muqaddar ka Sikandar. Very well used on Amitabh riding bike in that song. Though, main credit goes to singer here.

Leaving asides some bad films that he has done in his career, which every actor does.. Amitabh's work is truly exceptional and add to it his brilliant hindi dialect during interviews or the KBC Hosting. 

I wish that I could be regular in reading his blog posts, and also lots of films that I am yet to see starring him. 

Happy Birthday to the greatest actor from Hindi Films Industry. Keep it going! Looking forward to your hosting at KBC4 tonight... 

Music Review : Jhootha hi Sahi

Cry Cry : Rashid Ali and Shreya Goshal
Very Different composition, a song that takes place as a conversation between lead actor and actress, where John trying to tell Pakhi that we people keep crying over small things, past life and etc etc. Rahman gives the song similar treatment as Tu hi meri dost with Rashid Ali over first major half of song and later Shreya joins in taking it to the end. Also, special mention to the trumpet(if I got it right) used in the song. The song though a fun based, has got a very good feel in it. It easily goes into the cheer you up kinda songs.

Maiya Yashoda (Jamuna Mix and Thames Mix): Javed Ali and Chinmayee
Its hard to review religious songs. Aneways, Both versions are quite similar except for some addtional beats used in thames mix. Chinmayee impresses the most in both songs, her  voice very much suits Pakhi. Its clearly visible when you listen song with Pakhi face as vision. Rahman does well but its not a song that I would remember much in a longer run.

Hello Hello : Karthik 
A very tough song to compose. But nothing is tough when its Rahman the composer you got. The reason its tough is the fact that he uses telephone tunes and rings during the song along with the background instruments and vocals of Karthik, and they all together gel so well. Composing a song having that many variations can so easily go wrong, but not the case here. Only thing that does bug though is the use of "Hello Hello" lyrics a bit too much during the song. Otherwise, Karthik the singer and Rahman the composer impresses immensely here. Also, a mention to the lyrics, "Mujhse zara baatein karo, halki zara raatein karo, suraj ki pehli kirno se meri zindagi ko bharo".

Do Nishaaniyaan : Sonu Nigam
Typical Slow Addictive song from a rahman album. Keep listening it, until you fall in love with it. I would still say that it could had been better in terms of lyrics, though composition is brilliant. Kinda of romance with feelings and emotions through later stanzas. I think this is the "Kahin toh hogi" of Jhootha hi Sahi, which will grow more on you after film.

Pam Pa ra : Shreya Goshal 
Its very rare when a shreya goshal solo track from a big album doesnt create any impact. And add to it the fact that the main background pieces from the 1st theatrical trailer are from this song only. But this song just doesnt impress, no matter how hard you try to. Only thing that I liked was all the background pieces that run throughout the song. The song would most probably be used after 1st phone call of Pakhi to John, when she shares her sorrows. May look better with visuals, as a audio not much.

I will be waiting : Vijay Yesudas
Combine "Tu bole(jaane tu ya jaane na) and Pari(saawariya)" and you get this song. No, I didnt mean that its a copy or inspired from them. Just that, the feel and rhythm of the song goes on the lines of those two songs. Its a touch slow but the mood is setup very well with the arrangements that the slowness never comes across. And then the trademark Rahman's use of just background in the final 1 min of the song without any vocals gives the song a very nice end just the way it started. Yesudas voice is very pleasant to the ears.

Do Nishaaniyan Reprise : Sonu Nigam
Sad version of the song, around 3 min long. Impressive, especially the lyrics "Main kaabil hi kab tha, teri chaahto ka.. hai jaayaz yeh tanhaaiyan". The background setup is exactly same as the original song, except for some additional background to make a emotional effect.Also, a alaap by sonu in the final portion of the song.

Call me Dil : Rashid Ali 
Final song of the album, and guess what, here is the Best Song of the album. Just like "Rehna tu of Delhi6", Call me dil touches your soul. The song has the protaganist i.e John trying to convey that he may be a lier but his heart never lies. The song if used in the narration of the story in film, then would most likely be very emotional. Very good rendition by Rashid Ali, but full credits to Rahman and the lyricist for making this song special. "Pooche dil mera, kyun yeh saza, dil toh nadaan hai" .. If one may recall, Rahman added the title track on special request, which in this case is Call me dil only. So, special thanks to Rahman that he convinced Abbas for this song.


Overall, Jhootha hi Sahi, is not a typical Rahman album yet its a typical Rahman album. It falls short of last Rahman-Abbas combo Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na but as a new fresh album, Jhootha hi Sahi lives upto its reputation. Give it a long try, as the songs takes a while before making you like them a lot.


My Picks : Call me Dil, Cry Cry and Hello Hello.


Rating : 3.85 Out of 5 

Film Review : Crook

Mohit-Emraan pair didnt completely rock last time with Raaz the mystery continues. They were awesome in Awarapan but didnt get audience support then. So, whats up this time around with CROOK.

The story of Crook does deal with Australian attacks on Indians, racists and stuff. But it also has few other plots going, like Jai(Emraan) thoughts on his father, Suraj(Emraan) trying to settle in Australia finding ways to obtain the passport through shortcut formula or Arjan Bahwa having a hatred towards Australians and their culture. 

The starting of Film is good, infact more often then not Emraan Hashmi has best entry scenes. The narration of the film is very good, to manage so many plots simultaneously isnt easy. But, the place where the film lacks is that it just doesnt engage you totally, it keeps you there but always keeps missing out. Except for few scenes, one would end up not loving the sequences, its limited to just a certain liking. Writing needed to be much better then it was. 

What's worth though in the film is the direction skills of Mohit Suri, I for certain have liked his work a lot in past films. Only problem I find in his direction is that he ends up overdoing some scenes, a kind of over sensalising the scene. The interval sequence for eg shows how good a director he is, while the climax which does looks good ends up getting over done. 

There is good chemistry between Emraan and Neha, but the romance doesnt really come out that well. Also, I dont know why one bald guy is repeated in every Vishesh films, he was there in Raaz tmc too. Aneways, every camp have some regulars. 

Dialogues were kinda of okay, there were few very good ones in between, rest were pretty much normal. Editing was good.

The film gives away a very good message in the end that One should always identify the bad side instead of ignoring it. Though, this message was there in Delhi6 too. But, what was good is the way this message comes across. Wish Arjan Bahwa character was properly written then it could had been a deeper impact too. 

Songs are very well used, whether its dreamy "Kya" , or the romance build up through "Tujhko jo paaya". And then, there was "Challa" to bring in a shift to the story. "Tujhi mein" catches the emotional content of the film. Also, background score at some places were worth a note, especially my personal favourite in the climax where "Tujhi mein reprise" version's final few seconds piece is used as the film ends.

Performances wise, 

Emraan Hashmi continues to be good in acting department, leaving asides 2-3 scenes where he could had been better. 

Neha Sharma looked very confident as a debutant, the lipstick style representing Angelina Jolie to some extent worked on her. As a newcomer, she was pretty good. 

Kavin Dave impresses in a cameo, he was there in IHLS too. Though, people will find making fun of him in climax, but its more so due to overdoing emotions by suri then kavin's fault.

Gulshan Grover is hardly there for 1-2 scenes. Arjan Bahwa was touch too loud, infact I would go on to say that he was miscasted in this role. 

Supporting cast i.e Goldie, Nicol and Russel did a nice job. 

Crook may have been weaker in writing but it excels in direction and the message it gives in the end. Wish, it was bit engaging too in the end.

Rating : 2.90 Out of 5 

Film Review : Robot

Important thing, I am not a fan of Rajni at all. Infact for that matter, I dont prefer Kamal Hassan either. Still, I went to see this film due to excellent reviews it was getting. And I was totally satisfied in the end with film or more than satisfied.


The story is about a scientist (Rajni) who makes a look alike Robot, which is very powerful and can be used in a good way for betterment of the country. But his Guru (Danny Denzangpa) has some other evil plans in his mind which if succeeded can destroy the country in a minute. The film takes us through the journey of Robot, who comes into this human world and how it tackles human emotions, makes mistakes, corrected upon by scientist and falls in love too.

One of best thing about Robot is, that its not too much predictable. There are some twists and turns that keeps you guessing, atleast you are given surprises at various stages, whether its the disapproval by Guru scene or the fire sequence or the making of simultaneous robots or the climax getups.

Editing is one aspect that Robot fails, its a extremely long film especially when one can notice places where audience are bored, such scenes should had been removed. Also, too many songs come up at places where they are not required at all.

Special effects were very good, especially the various climax getups shown, all were worth a watch in theatre.Screenplay was good, keeps you guessing, mixing plots of scientist-aish with aish-robot and scientist-robot before danny's role comes in. Also, there was a emotional feeling put in too. The dismantle of robot was quite a emotional scene.

Performances wise,

Rajni and Aish were brilliant. Aish looked stunning. Danny was nice. While the two workers in scientist lab were quite irritating.

Overall, Robot works a big way. It entertains, though you need patience to sit 3 hrs but a good screenplay quite much makes up for that.


Rating : 3.75 Out of 5

Film Review : Khichdi the movie

I have always been amazed by the comedy of the characters in this serial. And when a film was made on it, I knew it would work except a little doubt whether they would make a mistake of putting songs into narrative. In the end, they didnt do such a mistake.


The narration of the film is done by two small kids of family who tell a story about their family. How much duffer and brainless their family is and keep presenting various funny incidents that includes meeting god, court scene, murder, marriage and some drama too.

There is just 1 song in the whole film, and that too makes a fun watch even though at first you would feel it wasnt needed, but the lyrics and funny picturisation makes up for it.

Both halves were equally good, cant single out one.

Performances wise ..

Supriya Pathak(Hansa) was at her best again .. specially her lines "hello hi .. khaana khaake jaana" and "haaye main toh thak gayi bhaisaaaab".

Rajeev Mehta(Praful) was amazing, though at starting scene I felt a overconfidence kinda of face but as the scene progressed the thought went away for full film. Ofcourse, my fav was "Culture hansaaaaaaaaa... culture" and then those funny explanations. And that signal to babuji he does.

Janmadas (Himanshu), I always liked him due to his accent that he brings and same the case here.. very good and well done specially because the film actually revolves on his character only.

Nimisha (Jayshree) was probably weak link of film.. didnt like her performance much whether its due to old character or its her not being able to mingle up that well with the rest characters.

Anang (babuji) was very good, the same confusing and irritated and yet himself doing funny things too.

Kirti was beautiful.. she looked like a perfect duffer kinda of girl for himanshu .. acting wise she was nice, hardly had too bigger role.

Parminder family cameos were great ..

Farah Khan was okay, little bit overdone though I loved that scene .. yeh daal nahi :d ..

Satish Shah was superb in a special appearance ..


Dialogues were good .. Direction was excellent, never tried to do too much. Screenplay was amazing, loved the way they told the entire story and included so many aspects of comedy scenes.

Overall, Khichdi has all the ingredients to make for a fun and timepass comedy film. Not sure if it makes for a repeated viewing or not but its totally worth a watch once especially if you are fond of Khichdi since T.V days.


Rating : 3.60 Out of 5