Hindi Film Reviews 2008

Brief reviews of current Bollywood films as they appeared in the Independent Weekly.

Hindi Film Reviews 2007 * Hindi Film Reviews 2006 * Hindi Film Reviews 2005

Screenings at the Galaxy Cinema in Cary, NC * Also, a brief archive of older Hindi films

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New: July 19, 2008:

Kismat Konnection. Once again, Shahid Kapur’s dazzling smile and snake hips adorn a whisper-thin romantic plot. This time, he is Raj, an aspiring Toronto architect who seeks a contract to design a shopping mall that will destroy a community center important to a bunch of twinkly elders, and managed by Priya (Vidya Balan). A kooky oracle (played by the always delightful Juhi Chawla) leads him to believe the cantankerous Priya is his lucky charm. The lead pair have zero romantic chemistry on screen. And, oddly, the hero’s clothes are cuter than the heroine’s; Vidya’s once again trapped in an alarming dowdy wardrobe and her role is a rehash of one of her better movies, Lage Raho Munnabhai. Entirely predictable and thoroughly harmless, Kismat allows three leisurely hours to bask in Shahid’s adorableness. Someone please help him pick another movie as good as Jab We Met!

*

Love Story 2050. The reliable reincarnation plot gets a new spin as Karan (Harman Baweja) hops a time machine to look for his true love, Sana (Priyanka Chopra) in the future. After an interminable drippy puppy love story, year 2050 appears after the interval (Fritz Lang’s Metropolis layered with a glaze of candy-colored Blade Runner). What follows is a mega mash up of every sci fi movie ever made. Yet, at heart, Love Story 2050 is still Indian, most fabulously in a futuristic night club, where robots do “the robot” to “Milo na Milo.” The CGI is the best ever in an Indian movie, miraculous considering the $12 million budget. The film launches Harman, who tries really, really hard; the film is lovingly produced, directed and written by his father, and co-stars his real life girlfriend. If only you had a time machine to skip ahead to the So Bad It’s Good half, the Mumbai of tomorrow.

*

Ghatothkach. A loveable roly poly boy with magical powers, the half prince half demon Ghatothkach, makes jungle mischief with his elephant pal Gajju. A Disney-esque frolic aimed at the 4-10 demographic (complete with McDonald’s tie in) it has songs and dialog dubbed into English for us, but also versions for audiences who speak Hindi, Tamil, Telegu, Bengali, Kannada and Malayalam. The film, one of only a handful of cartoon features from India (using both hand drawn and computer techniques) premiered at Cannes. This animated episode from the Mahabharata has its cute moments, but the overarching plot rivalry between the powerful Kaurava and Pandava clans becomes increasingly complicated for those unfamiliar with the epic. And, after the interval, cute Ghatothkach suddenly grows into a fat, mustachioed man whose love for food prompts him to occasionally grow two extra heads. Those parents wishing to expose their tots to a different cartoon culture might enjoy sharing the magic of the 'Angalika, Bangalika, Jangalika, Rangalika' spell—as Indian families surely will.

*

Jodhaa Akbar. Amidst a spectacle of 16th century Mughal empire power and glory, director Ashutosh Gowariker (Lagaan) personalizes a complicated web of princely state conquests and alliances by focusing on an apocryphal love story between the Muslim emperor Akbar and his Hindu princess, Jodhaa. Historical movies can be a bit stiff, the actors muffled by their weighty costumes and historical gravitas. Hrithik Roshan as the emperor (introduced broncho busting an elephant) and Aishwayra Rai Bachchan as the fiery Jodhaa, inspire sighs in midst of all the pageantry. Stunt coordinator Ravi Dewan orchestrated 5,000 extras, 250 stunt men and a screen full of elephants and camels into startling battle scenes—real life is cheaper than CGI in India. Hrithik reorients his dancing skills for some thrilling swordfights worthy of Errol Flynn. Neeta Lulla created a stunning array of embellished clothes and weighty ornaments; Akbar even wears his pearls into battle. The music by A. R. Rahman is mostly an underscore, with few lip synced songs. Jodhaa Akbar is gorgeous, but has a political agenda, too: Hindu-Muslim unity alone guarantees the future of an enlightened state. Both faiths have some divine inspiration along the way, but Akbar does not find his so fragile that it’s threatened by Jodhaa’s. Muslim hard-liners will eventually be exiled to Mecca, where they can presumably meditate on their duty to Islam. When the glow of national religious unity reflects from the faces of two of the most gorgeous people on the planet, who can say no to World Peace Through Bollywood? An expensive film by Indian standards, the $10 million project was released with a record 115 prints in American theaters. Judging by the lines at the Galaxy Cinema, this 3 hour 38 minute epic will likely land in the USA top twenty and sell a lot of snack bar samosas in the next few weeks.

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Krazzy 4 (Crazy 4) Shrink Dr. Sonali (Juhi Chawla) treats 4 wild and krazzy guys; Irfaan Khan (The Namesake) for OCD, Arshad Warsi for anger management, Rajpal Yadev, deluded that India has not yet gained independence, and stand-up comic Suresh Menon as a mute. If it wasn’t a surprisingly literal swipe of 1989’s The Dream Team, which starred Michael Keaton and Christopher Lloyd, one would suggest that in the US, all these institutionalized patients would be at home taking their meds. The main attraction is three steamy item numbers one by “Miss Spicy Mix” Rakhi Savant (OCD Irfaan tries to wipe off her tattoo with his hankie) supple Hrithik Roshan (see below) and the Badshaah of Bollywood himself, Shah Rukh Khan. For a knuckleheaded comedy, it could be much worse.

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Race. Two ruthless half brothers (Saif Ali Khan and Akshaye Khanna) clash in this sun baked film noir set in tropical Durban, South Africa. Mix in two femmes fatale (Bipasha Basu, Katrina Kaif) plus a shady police detective (crowd pleasing Anil Kapoor) and his ditsy assistant (Samara Reddy) and you have the formula for a flashy masala film with horse race hanky panky, speeding cars, explosions, catchy disco numbers and comedy cameos. By the end, you’ll be so stunned by the action scenes staged by stunt director Allan Amin and Abbas-Mustan, the hyphenated team of popcorn movie mavens, the pulsing music and the glam stars that even if you can’t follow all the double crosses, you’ll no longer care. Not art, but fun…and you’ll be singing “Touch Me Zara Zara” on the way to your car.

*

Tashan (Style) A cherry-red Mercedes convertible, the radio lurching between AD/DC's "Highway to Hell" and the old Hindi film love song "Kabhie, Kabhie," swerves across a sun-seared desert track. Likewise, the life of Jimmy Cliff, a call-center English tutor (Saif Ali Khan), has run off the road. The beauteous Pooja (Kareena Kapoor) summoned him to give language lessons to her boss, the ruthless Bhaiyyaji (Anil Kapoor) and now he is flummoxed by both greed and passion. The power of English as a tool of social mobility is a comic subplot: Bhaiyyaji admires Jimmy in mangled Hinglish ("man is harami (scoundrel) but talks just like George Bush"). Later, a small town hoodlum (Akshay Kumar in top form) arrives to steal the movie. The second half drags, and the prolonged climax has so much carnage (although clearly a joke) that it takes a bit of fizz out of the cola. Why the reviews of this movie have been so dismal puzzles me: sure, it doesn't make all that much sense, but, more than Race! Still... thoroughly enjoyable, as Vishal and Shekar's thumping score and Aki Narula's witty costuming add to zany Tashan's style.

*

Sarkar Raj (Godfather’s Kingdom) “Power cannot be given. It has to be taken.” So, idealistic mobsters Subhash Nagare (Amitabh Bachchan) and his son Shankar (Abhishek Bachchan) believe. Director Ram Gopal Varma’s biggest hit of recent years was Sarkar, an overt homage to The Godfather. This sequel of sepia shadows, massive close ups and portentous music adds Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (Abhishek’s new bride) as the CEO of a London based company entering the nexus of a battle royal over rural electrification. No longer interested in the usual criminal pursuits, several ruthless factions shed blood while tussling about providing (and skimming profits from) electricity. The first half lags as an extended debate over proposed power plant sites and the second half’s action arrives both too abruptly and too late. Amitabh and Abhishek are excellent as expected, and Aishwarya surprisingly adept in her understated role. The Nagres are dogooders, but still bloody gangsters, profiting not from drugs, but from the new revenue streams of economic development.

*

Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic (A Little Love, a Little Magic) An activist judge saddles Ranbeer, a callous industrialist (Saif Ali Khan) with four orphans, after he accidentally kills their parents in a car wreck while texting instead of driving. Chaos ensues until an angelic Mary Poppins (Rani Mukherji) arrives. TPTM is a remake of a beloved 1993 movie, Hum Hain Rahi Pyaar Ke starring Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla, itself an homage to the Cary Grant-Sophia Loren Houseboat. There are echoes of The Sound of Music, too (and its Hindi avatar, Parichay) and a vital incident is purloined from I Married a Witch with Veronica Lake. As with all "reimaginings" a de rigueur remake ramp up ensues, more anger, more tears and more people falling into swimming pools. The kids want revenge—after all, Ranbeer did kill their parents! Eventually, they realize that it was fate, and Ranbeer merely the instrument. There is a magical museum visit, which includes joining Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violent protests against the British tax on salt, promises of future economic equity with the museum sweeper, and an Indo-Pak cease fire along with the computer animated dancing dinos; typically, more ambitious than an American kidpic. Rishi Kapoor seems to enjoy his cameo as God, and Amisheea Patel is quite funny as Ranbeer's shallow girlfriend. Rani and Saif have made better (Hum Tum) and worse (Ta Ra Rum Pum) together; the screen positively glows when they’re together.

c.moviediva2008