Film Review : Break Ke Baad

What Happens when your partner demands some privacy, when your partner asks for a break in a relationship? But the question is, does relationships require space or a break ? Thats what the film is mainly based on.

Abhay Gulati(Imran Khan) and Aaliya Khan(Deepika Padukone), are childhood friends. And as is the case, their friendship turns into love. Aaliya is a girl who does what she feels is right while Abhay is more of reserved and calculated kinda of person who isnt sure what he actually wants. One day Aaliya takes the decision of taking a break from love relationship which Abhay finds wrong. How will Abhay convince Aaliya or will he allow Aaliya to take a break and what if she never comes back? The rest story deals with this.

The opening credits is very innovative but way too lengthy, a point comes when you want the film to start instead of credits going on and on. The references made to old films like Kuch Kuch hota hai or Pehla Nasha song etc were very well done. Infact, to speak of 1st Half was almost upto the mark.

It was the 2nd half that takes the film to a low. The director makes the proceedings look confusing and silly. And the attempted funny sequences by forcing a stupid character(shahana goswami's brother) doesnt help either.

As a debutant, Danish Aslam does fine work. He surely had a good concept in hand, but couldnt do complete justice to it. Screenplay was interesting. Editing could had been better.

Climax was very stupid, there was a chance to give it a totally different ending or even if the regular ending was to go by, the scenes should had been properly written.

Music was well used except for Dhoop ke Makaan which should had been used only once. And there was a clear situation to use Dont worry track which would had given the film some emotional angle.

There are few good sequences in the film like Abhay-Aaliya drunk scene, Aaliya's  Birthday, Aaliya and her mother arguement, Abhay's mother insisting him to move on.

Performances wise,

Imran Khan was pretty average. He himself keeps saying that he isnt that good at acting and that is visible too.   After a good performance in his last film, he sort of dissappoints here. The scene where he uses Punjabi accent sums up his acting in the film.

Deepika Padukone was excellent, probably among her best performances ever. Without a doubt her best this year. There were the usual scenes still there in film where she overacts, but those were very far and few.

Sharmila Tagore is superb, even in a small supporting role. Shahana Goswami is good. Lillette Dubey is very good, specially the pre-climax scene with Imran. Good to see Naveen Nischol in a film probably his first film after Khosla ka Ghosla, he was good as expected.


Overall, Break Ke Baad has very few good moments in the film which mainly come in 1st half only. Watch the film for Deepika Padukone if you are her fan, otherwise its a pretty below average film.


Rating : 2.35 Out of 5 

Film Review : Guzaarish

Ethan(Hrithik) who has been living 14 long years a life of quadriplegic decides to file a petition in court on his death. It comes as a total surprise to the few people who are part of his day-to-day life. Ethan was a magician, whose one magic trick went wrong and as a result the accident happened. How does he justify everyone about his sudden demand, and does he have the right to ask for his death or not .. Guzaarish deals with all these aspects which is known by the name of Youthanesia.

The main thing that could decide how much you like/love the film would be how much you agree with Ethan on his demand and also the way its granted/denied.

The typical aspects of Sanjay Leela Bhansali film can be well seen, as we have the excellent sets and great cinematography. Though, must admit they were at a lesser scale this time around as compared to previous films.

The film's beginning again with a alarm clock's background(seems to be trademark of Bhansali films), has a Charlie Chaplin written song "Smile" that really sets the mood for the film. The pace of the film is steady, mainly on the slower side and at some places extreme slow. But, good editing keeps that factor unnoticeable.

Also, the music is used so differently when you think of Saawariya, maybe its the effect of bashing last time around or the demand of Guzaarish script was to keep songs usage to a minimum.

What actually doesnt work in the film is the presentation of the supporting actors, their characterisation was fine but they werent put onto the film in the way they should have. There was lots of comical situations put up unintentionally, be it Devyani's(Shernaz Patel) conversation with Sophia(Aishwarya Rai) or the combine hug scene in the climax. Even Father Sameul(Sanjay Lafont) was portrayed in a way that it looked he might be a villain. Also, Yaseer Siddiqui's(Ash Chandler) sudden change of heart was hard to accept. Neville D'Souza(Makrand Deshpande) entry at a sudden notice wasnt required at all, SLB could had done away with this character's part in screenplay.

If we do ignore these small flaws, then the main point that comes is, Do we agree with Ethan that he has the right to die, and what are we really wanting, do we want him to live or do we want him to die.. I am sure many will remain confused, which shouldnt happen. This goes mainly to the narration I feel, we are shown points from both parties and there is never a clear feeling given as to which way is right. Or maybe Sanjay says everything through Devyani's one dialogue "Only those people can understand who goes through the suffering, no one else can understand".

There are some sequences in the film that brings a lump to the throat,

• Ethan's reply in the courtroom scene held at his home.
• Ethan's song "What a wonderful world" at the funeral.
• Ethan fighting with the leakage of raindrops in his room, and title song in background. 
• Ethan asking Sophia to walk the steps to him as the lover, and background of Mazo Saiba.


The last two especially should enter the Best Scenes ever column of many people. 
                                                                                                                                                                        As a Director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali falls short of his great work in Saawariya. Yet, he gives lots of good moments in the film and its mainly the way he narrates the story that ends up giving a feel of something is missing. Editing and Cinematography are excellent. Great use of Songs and very good Background score. Good use of thunderstorms at many places. Even the rain falling down is very well used to portray that particular situation in Ethan's life. 


Performances wise, 
                                                                                                                                                               Hrithik Roshan gives a very good performance, though not flawless this time as was the case in Kites. At many places, his dialogue delivery reminds of Koi Mil Gaya. Now, whether that was done deliberately by SLB or it just comes out that way, only SLB can tell. Leaving asides that, Hrithik's performance is really worth a watch. Especially, the scene where he wants to vent his anger out, or the one where he is sitting with a hat on in front of courtroom at his home and you wonder if we are watching Jesus Christ look alike. 
                                                                                                                                                                    Aishwarya Rai is excellent throughout the film, be it as a caretaker of Ethan, or her frustration at Devyani or the anger in the courtroom and the finale Mazo Saiba. And as always, She looked extremely beautiful, probably the most in any of her films this year.
                                                                                                                                                                    Aditya Roy Kapur(Omar Siddiqui) has to be told by someone about his hairstyle which is hard to see now. Infact in the film, there is one scene where he looks so much better and then he goes to his trademark style in final scene. His performance was good though, though he never had any key solo scene in the film. 
                                                                                                                                                              Monikangana Dutta(Estella) had only one dialogue scene, but a important one as far as SLB's narration is concerned. She was quite good. 
                                                                                                                                                                    Shernaz Patel, was very good if you leave the mannerisms that SLB gave her character to have, as they turned out to be quite comical. 
                                                                                                                                                                     Nafisa Ali(Ethan's mother) was superb, her scene in the courtroom especially is worth it. 

Overall, Guzaarish is a film that makes you think about Youthanesia whether you would agree or not with Ethan in the film is a different thing. The film has lots of flaws but its the feel and some great moments that keeps it good till the end. In terms of entertainment, the film has a bit more than Saawariya had. Its Hrithik-Aish performances and  the message that you come out of the theatre "Life is short, break the rules, forgive quickly, love truely, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile". 


Rating : 3.45 Out of 5 

Film Review : Golmaal3

The film is about 2 families, one consisting of Pritam(Mithun Chakraborty), Madhav(Arshad Warsi), Lucky(Tusshar Kapoor), Laxman(Kunal Khemu) and other one consists of Geeta(Ratna Pathak), Gopal(Ajay Devgan), Daboo(Kareena Kapoor), Laxman(Shreyas Talpade). How they get linked to each other through co-incidences and develop hatred towards each other, but they aren't aware of their parents past which will have a affect on them.

There is too much of one-liners in the film, forced comedy trying hard to make you laugh and it works too if I take into account the people in theatre though not the case with me. The car destroying or boats too is getting a touch too much. The characters of Puppy, Daga and Teja played by Johnny Lever, Sanjay Mishra and Vrajesh Hirjee were interesting in parts, average writing was the culprit here.

The plus side remains the performances especially Kareena who seems to be in total form here. The songs are nice but they lack that appealing effect, in a way there was no chartbuster song in the album.

Screenplay is good. Direction wise, All the Best was way better entertainment film then this one. Editing was good. Dialogues are poorly written.

Ale and Apna har din are the best used songs in the film. Disco dancer and yaad aa raha hai fail to make a mark while the title is used as credits.

Ajay Devgan is good, the look goes very well on him.. he infact to some extent has less screen presence, still he shines in his part. Kareena Kapoor continues her good run as far as her performances go, the character suited her image a lot or maybe the character was written with her in mind.

Kunal Khemu has this habit of trying to speak funny lines/phrases that end of wierd or very wierd. He was quite good. Shreyas Talpade and Tusshar Kapoor were fine. Tusshar's role is getting monotonous to some extent I feel, wont be bad to omit him in next series. Arshad Warsi was very good, for a change his role was very well written and properly used too, otherwise he is mostly seen overplaying his character.

Mithun Chakraborty didnt impress me at all. Even his disco dancer looked bad. Ratna Pathak was impressive as always.

Johnny Lever was quite good. Sanjay Mishra's role could had been much better.


Overall, Golmaal3 despite good performances and screenplay fails to deliver just because it simply over-tries to entertain you and bad writing makes the matters worse. But since the film is doing well at boxoffice, Golmaal4 with almost similar treatment would come too. Only thing I can say is, maybe this film is meant for the aam janta, but not the film lovers especially not me atleast.


Rating : 2.40 Out of 5 

Film Review : Action Replayy

Kishen(Akshay Kumar) who is married with Mala(Aishwarya Rai) has a not so happy married life. His son Bunty(Aditya Roy Kapur) wants them to be happy but that is possible only if their past life is changed. With the help of technology i.e time machine, he decides to go back to past and make all the changes. But, what hurdles he will have to face while doing this, he isnt aware of.

The starting part of film is quite slow, first 15 minutes you wait for something to happen as the proceedings look dull. The film gets going once Bunty reaches the old era. 1st half is good but its the 2nd half and the makeover of Kishen that takes the film to a high along with the catchline "Awaaz Neeche" that is bound to get your laughs.

What the film suffers from mostly is the fact that the direction has lots of loopholes. Such loopholes can be ignored in slapstick comedies but not here. For instance, no one questions the dress style of Bunty, how are Kishen and Kundan(Rannvijay Singh) singing without a mike or headphone anything and yet easily listenable. Even its hard to accept that Mala cant find that there is a difference of voice when it comes to singing of Kishen, but that still be ignored when we can see Kundan singing in 2 voices. And then the continuity error with the hairstyle of Bunty that keeps changing with every new scene.

Writing was good though with some flaws. Screenplay was very good and interesting. Editing wasnt upto the mark. Costumes were very good, Aishwarya Rai looked so beautiful.

Music is very well used. Zor ka jhatka comes at a surprising time but rightly placed. Out of rest songs, the medley was the best for me. Comprising of 4 songs, it was superbly choreographed. Also, nakhre was a good watch too.

There are some very good scenes like the climax one or the pre-climax awaaz neeche scene, the pre nakhre and post nakhre scenes, the back-story of kishen told to Bunty, and many more.

Performances wise,

Akshay Kumar does really well. Whether its the old age character, the geek character or the stylish retro character. He looks at ease in all the three. My fav though would be stylish one and yeah add the old one's final scene, that was very good.

Aishwarya Rai is excellent. She is one actress who is constantly bashed for the reasons we all are well aware of. She is wonderful in a role that shows her mean side, specially note her expressions when a new Kishen ignores her.

Aditya Roy Kapur was good, there were few scenes where he gives you a uninteresting image but that goes pretty quickly. Though, I dont really like his hairstyle, quite wierd. Better use the short hairstyle he had in some parts.

Rannvijay Singh suited the negative shade role. He was better then in London Dreams I feel.

Kirron Kher and Om Puri were good in small cameos.

Randhir Kapoor, Neha Dhupia and Rajpal Yadav were fine, they all had very short role.


Overall, Action Replayy is worth to see mainly due to the performances and screenplay that keeps you involved. The film has the dose of entertainment if you leave starting 15 mins aside. Its definately Vipul's weakest film in comparison to Namastey London and London Dreams but as a new film, its definately good watch.


Rating : 3.40 Out of 5 

Shahrukh Khan : Special

Happy Birthday to Shahrukh Khan who turned 45 this Nov2nd. He has always been no.2 all time fav actor of mine, ofcourse no.1 is not Aamir Khan but Amitabh Bachchan. So, here I am going to conduct a different kinda of interview where questions will be asked by me and answered by me only, and every question will be related to Shahrukh. Lets start!


How did your love for Shahrukh Khan started ? 
Hmm, it started during the release of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. I remember how I use to madly watch the film daily, infact 3 times in 3 days I saw it on T.V. Another funny incident is that, one of my school friend told that the film is like dil toh pagal hai due to which I didnt have much craze to see the film. But somehow luckily I made mind to see it when it was coming on T.V and rest is history. Since then not only I have loved watching Shahrukh films but also my love for hindi films or madness for hindi films started.

How was his performance in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai ?
Very Good, he has always been excellent when it comes to portraying romantic characters and this one comes in top5.. actually no.1 shahrukh's romantic film for me.

What do you like the most about Shahrukh ? 
His dedication towards his acting. He is a very hard-working actor as read in many interviews of various directors. He himself said it too that he loves everything about acting. Most important, he enjoys it as a profession. Also, I love his sense of humour seen at many award functions or talk shows like koffee with karan. I love the fact that he is daring, if anyone says anything wrong about him, he wont keep away from giving a hard reply. In all, he is a perfect person... though smoking is one aspect he could have a control on.

Do you consider yourself a Shahrukh Fan ? Have you made any collections regarding him ? 
I would say that I am a fan of his work. I aint like the normal Shahrukh fans who will start abusing you if you say anything against Srk. I do believe Shahrukh has his shortcomings like he aint good at action roles. I like many other actors too, so its hard to say which actor I am fan of. But still after Amitabh, the name I take is of Shahrukh only. Regarding collections, I havent done anything of that sort. Though, I would love to have a poster of Shahrukh probably a romantic one with Kajol.

People say that Shahrukh is a over-rated actor, he is not versatile.. What you say ?
Its their opinion. Though I cant really respect it because the truth is, he is a versatile actor. You can say that he does romantic roles a lot but then those romantic roles have many different shades. Except for 2-3 times, he has mostly done different roles. Ya, I agree films like Swades, Chak de India etc fall completely in different zone but then that is the case with other actors too. So, people have just made it a excuse to show their hatred towards Shahrukh, nothing else.

You didnt like Don.. If original Don was done by someone else than Amitabh would you still have not liked Shahrukh's Don ?
Yea, I still wont have liked it. Though, I dont think anyone else would had done full justice to old don other than Amitabh. But even if someone did, the point is making a new film with same old story and add to it same songs and dialogues. How can then you expect to like the new film when the same stuff you had really loved with other actor-director combo. Its hard not to make comparisons in such cases. Shahrukh surely made the Don look stylish but new dialogues/situations would had been better. Leaving asides the climax and aaj ki raat song, there was just nothing new and exciting about the film.

Which are the over-rated and under-rated films of Shahrukh ? 
I wont say over-rated. Over rated is a touch rude word but there are films which I feel didnt deserve to be Blockbusters or Super-Hits like Om Shanti Om.. I never liked its 2nd half so it was a good watch and deserved Hit tag at maximum. Then, Dil toh Pagal Hain, it was a good film but the melodrama was bit on the higher side.
Among under-rated films, its Dil Se .. I think its flop film, one of best films I have seen ever, among my personal top10. Then, Kabhi alvida na Kehna is under-rated too, people couldnt understand Dev and Maya characters unfortunately and hence film didnt work. And lastly My name is Khan, this time people had funny excuses to dislike film, some said such message films have come before while some were busy finding comparisons to terrorism films.

Which are your Top5 Shahrukh Films ? 
In order it would be, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Chak de India, Dil Se and Veer Zaara. Rest films are close too.

And your fav Top5 songs filmed on Shahrukh ? 
This one is tough but I will answer it. In order it will be : Tu mere Saamne (Darr), Zara tasveer se tu (Pardes), Chaiyya Chaiyya (Dil Se), Humko humhi se chura lo (Mohabbatein) and Tere liye (Veer Zaara). Also, Special Mention to - Abhi ishq ke imtihaan aur bhi the Background Theme from Dil Se, one of my all time favourite and amazingly used in film at various places.

Which actress looked best with Shahrukh apart from Kajol ? 
Rani probably, films like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai,Chalte Chalte (me yet to see it,opinion based on photos), Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna. Preity probably comes next with films like Kal ho na Ho and Veer Zaara. Even Aishwarya was wonderful in Mohabbatein. Also, many debutant actresses have got great start to their career like Mahima,Deepika etc.

How did you find Shahrukh as a host in Kaun Banega Crorepati ?
I hardly saw the shows then, but I did see 1-2 episodes to know how he was. I will say that he was very good but the format dissappointed me like gale milna and all stuff. Also, Shahrukh was too friendly in the sense using "Tu" or "Tum" with elders too which didnt look good on screen.

Which are your Fav alltime three scenes of Shahrukh ? 
Firstly, Dil se Climax scene where Shahrukh asks Manisha to take him with her, brilliantly executed and performed. Second, Pardes climax as here Shahrukh's shows his anger to Amrish Puri who he respects and is like his Dad but is unaware of truth regarding his own son which he shows there. Third, Kuch Kuch hota hai dance scene between Shahrukh and Kajol, it was very romantic and lovely use of title tune in it.

Which was the last Shahrukh film that you loved ? 
My name is Khan. It was very well directed film by Karan, excepted for the final 20 mins that were hurried and not properly told. I specially loved the message of film - There are only 2 kinds of people, good and bad, nothing else, no other division.

Do you think Shahrukh has aged up now to do certain roles ? 
Not really, though his smoking surely is having some effect to his face. Salman and Aamir do look younger then him. But, these artists can use make-up and live a character with ease. Only thing I am waiting to see is, will Shahrukh follow the steps of Amitabh after 15 years and succeed or not in the roles he gets at that age.

What would you like to see in Future from Shahrukh ? 
Probably, few more films like Dil Se, Chak de India to keep the haters impressed! .. And possibly one film atleast on the lines of Darr, its been a while since he did a negative role (Don was remake, so doesnt qualify). Also, I hope his relations gets back to normal with Salman otherwise a film with Salman wont happen in future too.


With that, the interview comes to a end. In the language of Rab ne bana di jodi, "Self Interview" comes to a end.

Happy Birthday to Shahrukh once again! ;)

Film Review : Rakht Charitra - I

Pratap Ravi(Vivek Oberoi) comes to know about his Dad's death. Soon his brother dies in quest for revenge. Now, the honours get on Pratap to revenge against the wrong. How he plans the murders, what reactions he gets as a result. And how he enters politics, all this is what Rakta Charitra - I covers. 

The film boasts of everything that one can expect from a Ram Gopal Verma Film - Loud Music, Wierd camera angles,  Lots of Extreme Close Up Shots etc. Though, have to admit Ramu does limit himself from all this in the film as there are very few scenes where we see the suspense kinda of camera angles. 

There is way too much of violence, blood, killings, but then we were warned in advance not to enter the hall if we are Kabhi khushi kabhi gham lovers. Since I loved that Karan film, I am expected to dislike Rakta Charitra going by Ramu's theory. Unfortunately, not so the case. I quite liked the film. But the major credit would go to the trio of Vivek Oberoi, Abhimanyu Singh and Shatrughan Sinha. 

These 3 actors keep you hooked towards the next scene as the next proceeding in the film would have a effect on one or the other. And all the three are powerful in terms of their expressions, and some dialogues too like "Topic over" trademark Shatrughan Sinha's dialogue in the film. When a director loves taking extreme close up shots, what becomes most important is the expressions and mannerisms of the actors, and here that works quite a lot. 

Having said all this, there is Ramu's usual stuff seen in scenes like camera movement towards Jayalakshmi Reddy in two scenes, one when Gomti comes to her for help and other one when she is cooking in kitchen and Pratap Ravi enters the home. Also, there's a scene where the camera is given a complete 360 degree revolution. Ramu wont stop experimenting with camera. 

Direction wise, it was a good attempt by Ram Gopal Verma. Though, its not his perfection yet. Screenplay was impressive. Dialogues were good, editing was fine. Climax was good, though the person narrating the story was a turn off, someone with better voice should had been used. 

Performances wise, 

Vivek Oberoi was superb, confident and totally into his character. Though his opening scene when he tries to style a bit and then with the actress date made me feel that he might not be that good. But, after that scene, I couldnt notice any problem with his acting. I specially loved his look in the latter half of the film. 

Shatrughan Sinha, though had a small role in this part, probably will have more in next one. Still, he makes his part get noticed, firstly due to his look which even after knowing beforehand that its him I had to see few more scenes to confirm its Shatrughan only. And then, his powerful acting.. he should do more films or roles like this, Amitabh could get a competition then. 

Abhimanyu Singh for sometime in film reminded me of Gulaal, probably because his 1st dialogues comes after quite a delay and the mannerisms, costumes were similar to Gulaal. He portrayed the evil role very well, special reference to scenes between him and Ashwani kalsekar. Only thing I wish though that there was one scene between him and Vivek in the film but script didnt demand that I guess. 

Sushant Singh, Aashish Vidyarthi, Ashwani Kalsekar and Rajendra Gupta were good. Darshan Jariwala was slightly over the top in the only scene he has in film. Srinivas Rao Kota was a bit irritating, he had a funny pose, always tilting towards right while standing. 

Music was below average, except for the title song which also was too loud, the other song used was unbearable. Background Music was good though. 

Overall, when you come out of the theatre, you are bound to think about the film a lot which in a way confirms that the film does succeed, specially the performances of main leads. Though, it wont be liked by those who dont like too much of violence, blood etc. For rest, the film would be a good watch. 

Rating : 3.45 Out of 5 

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.