Movie Review: OMG Oh My God..is not worth devoting time for

Okay, first things first…OMG Oh My God is not meant to be a comedy. Yes, I know it has Paresh Rawal as its lead and it brings Paresh Rawal and Akshay Kumar together (‘God’ only knows for what reason) so it should be one..but it isn’t..which itself is a pity

Once you are clear on that, you still shouldn’t go in with high expectations. Despite a promising premise, the film is let down by consistent over-dramatization and typical over-simplification. What could have been interesting and invigorating intellectual debate quickly becomes over-the-top and clichéd and just plain ordinary

There are touches, here and there…for eg. the beautiful use of the key ring and other props make their subtle point in the subtle manner they should. The court scenes are also well depicted though again here, the over-dramatization spoils it for the viewer. The trouble is that in these scenes the director, has already made up his mind which side he wants the audience to be swayed by the end of the scene and that completely spoils it. Further, the plot turns and the writing just isn’t interesting enough and one just waits for the movie to turn to the clichéd drama you know it would, sooner or later

In the acting department, you get treated to a great performance by the dependable Paresh Rawal who plays his part with great aplomb and comfort and keeps you interested. His character of Kanjilal the protagonist, is also well explored and well presented. The other character of interest is that of Mithun Chakraborty who does a great job as well. Akshay Kumar could have had the most interesting role but while it intrigues in the beginning his role becomes pretty one-dimensional.

While the movie can be seen to have great message and meaning, the issue is that all this is forced on the viewer rather than letting them decide for themselves. If only, this movie could have been more subtle in its approach than it proclaims in its title, it could have truly been a Godly product. As it stands though, there is nothing heavenly about OMG..Beyond this, May God show you the right path..

Movie Review: Heroine..she shines, the film doesn’t

After insightful and well presented movies like Page 3 and Fashion, a Madhur Bhandarkar movie is expected to be focused on a particular industry and hell bent in exposing its dark underbelly. Heroine seeks to be no different. Yet, while we expected this, what we didn’t expect was for all the other cliché's his movies are known for to be put together in the same movie!! And therein..lies its fall

If there is one thing any audience would love in any movie – its a fresh presentation. A tale where they don’t know what to expect and plot turns that keep them interested. Thanks to all of his other exploits, Bhandarkar’s Heroine has none of those. Add to that the fact that it is far too long and makes no real impact,  makes dirty digs at other bollywood actors and actresses and is ultimately a sad product. One of the worst ending sequences I have seen in any of his movies, an area where he has known to demonstrate class elsewhere (Page 3 – mere liye party khatam ho chuki hai..) looks like they were in a hurry to announce the final pack-up and decided to proceed with whatever they had till then

If Heroine is saved somewhat, its all thanks to a superlative performance by Kareena Kapoor who makes the central character (Mahi Arora) her own and despite her rather confusing and irritating personality you still want to root for her. Mahi’s deep agony and constant struggle comes across perfectly in every scene and Kareena’s performance truly shines amidst all the other fake glamour and glitterati. All the others play their part well enough too for the movie to have been a decent watch

However, the long runtime, the painfully familiar sequences and uninspired writing make for a rather bad outing for this supposed expose on the underbelly of Bollywood. Watch it only for Kareena’s performance..else there’s nothing much you’ll miss anyways

Movie Review: Barfi…offers some delicious bites

I know this comes in late but it was still due and for some reason if you still haven’t seen Barfi..I’ll only say that you shouldn’t miss it. Barfi is one of those rare Bollywood treats that they don’t dole out as often as one would like. In a nutshell, it offers you some delightful moments, some wonderful acting and an excellent presentation with minimum words being spoken

In many ways Barfi is a celebration of life – joyous, light with a spring in every step. Innocence and simplicity rarely come across so beautifully on the screen. This is one of those rare movies where you are bound to have a smile plastered across your face throughout the first half while you watch chaplin-esque comedy sequences brilliantly portrayed by Ranbir. Then just at the right moments it touches a chord and you see the emotion behind all the laughter

The fact that the protagonist is dumb and mute is used so exceedingly well in the film that an otherwise simple sequence of frames takes on great meaning and delivers tremendous impact. There is a touch of directorial class about a few of such sequences and I am pretty sure Barfi can be regarded as Anurag Basu’s finest till date. Music has been used wonderfully well and though the songs are melodious, its the background music in all the scenes that keep you interested

If the film falters, surprisingly, its in the plot. While it sets up well, the storyline isn’t exactly what you would have liked - taking the focus away from the wondrous lives of Barfi and Jhilmil into familiar clichéd grounds. To be fair though, you couldn’t really figure out another way the story could’ve been taken forward. That and the fact that its a little too long, (the age old Bollywood vice) and could’ve done with some snappier sequences and less predictable dialogues especially in the second half are the minor blemishes that you need to bear with

As for the performances, well that’s the main force that makes Barfi the movie it is. Its gonna be hard to find competition to Ranbir soon the way he’s going. With no dialogues, its supposed to be all expression and express he does – every single twitch, raised eyebrow or just a plain old smile – it all comes out perfect. In fact, such is his impact that you barely notice Jhilmil (Priyanka) despite her having done a more than credible job. However, she proves equally effective and does complete justice to the difficult character of Jhilmil. Ileana D’Cruz make a confident entry to Bollywood; she has a very expressive face and that works beautifully for her character

Barfi, thus, offers a delicious treat – don’t go looking for plotline and story – this one is for the performances and presentation alone and in that regard, its a rare gem