Oyy [Views]

My 2nd regional film. Took 2 years, to see 2nd one .. Again on a occasion, this time its KarvaChauth. ..

I wont say that I loved it as much as bommarillu. But I enjoyed it a lot, and it was very emotional too.

The story inspired by A walk to Remember. Its about how two people, Siddharth and Sharmili collide having different ways of living, different ways of seeing life. Its about love at first sight for Siddharth and then how he tries to succeed in it.

I only wish the female lead was someone else, she was a let down even though at many places she looked so cute with her spects but the places where she had to look beautiful or something, she lacked it. In a way, I felt she doesnt have the screen presence.

Aneways, Siddharth is the magic man in the film. Great performance, specially the one where he gets very emotional in hospital or the one in the climax.

I didnt like the side angles at all, its required in every film. But here, it was not gelling well with main plot. Abhishek angle was good, but it was stretched specially the scenes at ship were somewhat boring.

The screenplay was good, narration and all was impressive, with good quotient of humour that involves the lead pair. Songs are very well used, and I liked the music a lot too. Songs sung by karthik, kay kay, shreya, sunidhi. Yuvan as music composer is quite good, he composed few songs in Striker too.

The climax is very touchy, also love the 1st song where they establish two different thinking characters. Some great moments, like the 1st meeting of siddharth with sharmili or the plant scene or the night scene .. Or the two places at same time one. And few more ;) ..

Overall, Oyy is worth a watch for Siddharth mainly and the story which is somewhat emotional though not new.

Film Review : Jhootha Hi Sahi

Abbas Tyrewala gave a movie that had everything in it to fall in love last time i.e Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. So, expectations are high, not just for me but for every person who went on that tag to see the film. And surely, most of them would had been dissappointed. For me, yea he didnt live upto the mark set, but still the film has some very good moments despite of the fact that its a very weakly handled film.

The story is of Sid(John Abraham) who lives with his friends and runs a book store. One random day, his number gets mixed with a suicide helpline resulting in no. of calls at night. And he happens to talk with Mishka(Pakhi Tyrewala), turning to save her life. How he starts getting attached to her, coincidently meeting her with some other name and then how he handles his lies to manipulate her, and fall in love. But what will happen when she will come to know that the person she meets and the person she talks on phone are same.

The concept of the film is really good, that always had me wanting to see the film. But the treatment is very poor. You would like a screenplay that holds you for 2 hrs 30 mins, but here thats not the case, and add to it Abbas tries so hard to bring humour at places that appears forced. Jaane Tu worked because it was natural, it had humour where humour could be placed and then there were serious scenes with no jokes around. Here, its hard to find any serious scenes, and if you do find them you dont connect to them easily.

Also, what works against the film is the fact that the story is kept real, whatever happens in the film does happen in real i.e girl loves her bf, parts away as he ditched, then falls in love with new guy, old bf comes back, she goes back forgetting new love and then again back to new love. All this does happen in real but no one will like to see this on screen, a better screenplay may have helped but more than that writing could had been changed removing the angle of Madhavan from the story.

And the faults dont end there, character sketch of Mishka and Aliya(plays sister of Raghu) are extremely poor. You tend to laugh at the reason Aliya gives for her non-marriage, though I feel her reason would have looked pretty fine if she wasnt shown pregnant. While Mishka as I said, her character is hard to show sympathy with due to the fact its way too real. Even the Climax is much overdone, one can say Jaane Tu was filmy too but still you could accept it the way it was filmed, here it went a touch above it with that stupid thing.

The feel of the film and dialogues is very youth eccentric. Editing could had been better to avoid some dull moments that comes in the screenplay.

Still, among all this, there are lots of things that are worth to be liked, Sid's reply to 3rd caller(the writing again was terrible here, why were the callers especially 1st two made to sound like idiots), Sid's meeting with Mishka at book store, constant use of  'Ajeebs' and 'Tauba' by Aliya, 3 rules of dosti, Ankur-Sid scene, and specially the conversation between Sid-Mishka in restaurant.

Songs are pretty well used, I am waiting sounds so pleasant and lovely with such good background kept, very well thought of. Hello Hello is used more in the narration of story, one of my favs. Cry Cry, the conversation song between both is superb. Pam pa ra looks better with film then as audio. Do Nishaaniyaan again narrates a part of story, romantic and little funny too. Call me dil could had been used, but then its already a long film. Maiyya Yashoda was fine, nothing impressive.

Performances wise,

John Abrahim was superb, I would rate this among his top5 performances, pity that despite such good performance the film ended on wrong note. He looked awesome, acted awesome, there were few places where he did go wrong, but itna chalta hai. I specially love when he says "Thora" to Mishka outside dvd store or when he replies to Mishka about his stammer at restaurant.

Pakhi Tyrewala had a average debut. She was way too inconsistent, sometimes in looks she looked or appeared very old, whether its make up person fault or thats how it is. Even in acting, she was overdoing some expressions. Also, there was a lack of chemistry between her and John. She needs to work a lot on herself as a whole for future. She was one of the main weak link of the film.

Raghu Ram was pretty good, except for his Musharraf scene that was overdone, his character was very well written and enacted.

Manasi Scott was nice, Anaitha Nair was wasted, hardly got 2 scenes. Alishka Varde despite poorly written role impresses with her acting and mannerisms.

Prashant Chawla, Omar Khan and Geroge Young were decent.

R.Madhavan was irritating mainly due to worst written character of the film. Except for just one tiny dialogue in climax, there is nothing to like in his role.


Its important that you tend to feel for a character when he/she isnt happy, is going through some rough phase etc but that happens very less in this film. Except for one scene i.e Sid-Ankur one, there is simply nothing, all thanks to the treatment of subject.

Overall, Jhootha hi Sahi fails due to poor writing and screenplay that makes things look silly then real. Abbas joins the list of directors who made a awesome debut film and a average 2nd film. Watch Jhootha hi Sahi only for John's performance and few good scenes here and there.


Rating : 2.55 Out of 5 

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