Movie Review: Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani

Following is the reaction of some girls sitting behind me while watching this film:

Girl 1: eh wooooow! Look at Ranbir! He’s so cuuuuute.. !

Girl 2: Madhuri chaan diste na! (Madhuri is looking so good)

Girl 3(on a joke):  Hooow dumb!

All Girls (on seeing Ranbir Kapoor with a beard post interval): eeeeeeeeeeeewwwwww… chiiiiiiiiiiiiii

If you even remotely resemble these types of creatures then Ye Jawaani Hai Deewani is for you.

Directed by Ayan Mukherjee(yes. he’s the director of Wake Up Sid) this film is completely opposite to his earlier venture. While the previous film was a mature piece of work, his new film is a glossy commercial khichdi that slaps you with every other Bollywood cliché that you might have witnessed.

I don’t even need to describe what the film was about. If you have seen films like Hum Aapke Hai Kon, DDLJ, Swades, ZNMD, Dil Chahta Hai then you’ve seen 90% of the film.

To be frank, I wasn’t expecting any ‘serious film-festival type’ movie either. This movie has been marketed as a fun commercial film that is coming-of-age.

So does it live up to its promise? YES. To some extent.

The first half is littered with scenes that strike a chord and the chemistry between the leads Ranbir Kapoor (super-skinny!), Deepika Padukone, Kalki Koechlin, Aditya Roy Kapoor is good.

The foot-tapping score by Pritam is refreshing.

But having said all that, this film is so boring and predictable overall!

The problem with this film is that it pretends to be something that it isn’t. It tries hard to convince us that it’s a film about dream, ambition.. and yada yada.

So it unapologetically stops every few minutes for some unconvincing melodrama and stilted dialog that seem to have been picked up straight from films like ZNMD, Dil Chahta Hai etc.

The characters here are over-the-top and the only people that stay on ground are Bunny and Naina's parents (excellently played by Farooq Sheikh and Dolly Ahluwalia) and Deepika Padukone(in the first half).

Rest is all Commercial-Cinema-From-Urban-India. So we have huge Shadi Baarat sets and glossy dance numbers. We have people drinking wine instead of water all the time.There are advertisements within the film. And a trekking group is full of gorgeous babes and handsome men who never break a sweat.

The actors have done an OK job. But its Deepika Padukone that surprises with her restrained performance as Naina. With her subtle expressions in the first half she manages to be the only relatable thing in an ‘oh-so-adorable’ group of friends.

Final Verdict: Marginally fun with some hilarious zany one-liners but deathly boring otherwise, it’s an overlong melodrama that goes on and on and on and on and on and on (yup. It’s that lengthy!)

Movie Review: Bombay Talkies

An Indian anthology film by the four big names in Bollywood!

Dibakar Banarjee, Anurag Kashyap, Karan Johar, Zoya Akhtar!

Yummy! :)

“Bombay Talkies” is a film consisting of four short stories by the aforesaid Bollywood directors celebrating the centenary year of Indian Cinema and the beginning of a new era in modern cinema.
 

The film starts off with a short by Karan Johar( Ajeeb Daastan Hai Yeh) that deals with homosexuality.  Actors Rani Mukherjee, Randeep Hooda and Saqib Saleem have done a terrific job of portraying their characters. Refreshingly understated unlike any other Karan Johar films, this segment starts off with a sequence that sets the tone for Bombay Talkies.  And believe it or not, this film is bold, sensible and dark and surprisingly comes close to being the best of the lot. I wish he continues making such beautiful films instead of the usual candy floss glossy drivel that he’s so known for manufacturing.

The second short film is by Dibakar Banerjee (Star) which is adapted from the original Patol Babu Film Star, a short story by filmmaker and writer Satyajit Ray. It revolves around a failed theatre actor (played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui) struggling to make a living with a depressed daughter and a cheerful and understanding wife. Dibakar Banerjee is well known for movies like LSD and Shanghai. He’s also well known for choosing a perfect cast for his films.

So when a powerful director like him clubs with a powerful actor like Nawazuddin Siddiqui, you already know what to expect. :) The duo just nails it to perfection. The lump in your throat that you get towards the end of this segment is testament to the fact that both the director and the actor are the best in business.  This short film is simple and yet delivers an emotional heft that any film lover cannot and should not miss. ‘Cinema for the classes’ at its best. :)

Post interval Bombay Talkies dips down a bit and doesn’t carry the complexities of the first two films.

The film continues with a short by Zoya Akhtar (Sheila ki Jawaani) which is about a school-going child who unlike other kids of his age dreams of becoming a dancer Sheila (Katrina Kaif). Child actor Naman Jain of Chillar Party fame and his father played by Ranvir Shorey do extremely well. The story however seems to be inspired from a Hollywood movie named Billy Elliot and though aptly executed, it ends on a pretty contriving note. Yet it’s a sweet film that would manage to put a smile on your face.

And then comes the fourth and the last one by the great Anurag Kashyap(Murabba). This short film is about an Allahabadi youngster who is sent to Mumbai on a mission by his bed-ridden father, to get Amitabh Bachchan to take a bite and bring back the half-eaten murabba. The whole idea sounds fine but the execution is underwhelming as there is nothing new. Actor Vineet Kumar Singh does well but the film gets repetitive after a point.

As the credits roll, a song showcasing all Bollywood actors lip-synching to a blotched tune shows up on screen. After witnessing all those mature shorts, this monstrosity is cringe worthy and all it does is make you quickly move to the exit door.

Final Verdict: Very good cinema for the classes. Boring cinema for the masses.