Maan Gaye Mughall-E-Azam

Ratring: ** Sanjay Chhel has penned a number of comic fares. Obviously, when Chhel takes charge and decides to helm a project himself, you expect his film to be one wacky ride. Indeed, Maan Gaye Mughall-E-Azam is wild in parts, thoroughly enjoyable at times, but you don't exclaim 'maan gaye' in the end. Maan Gaye Mughall-E-Azam prompts you to break into guffaws. Even the one-liners -- Chhel's a pro at it -- are dipped in wit-n-humour. Plus, the camaraderie between Paresh Rawal, Rahul Bose and Mallika Sherawat is superb. Lekin kahani mein problem hain… Chhel tries to pack sooooo much in one film. Love triangle, patriotism, terrorism, songs, the theatre group's woes… the outcome is clearly erratic and inconsistent. The comedy works, not the terrorism angle. Chhel seems inspired by JAANE BHI DO YAARO, but this inspiration could've done with a gripping screenplay. Another sore point is the absence of good music. To sum up, Maan Gaye Mughall-E-Azam is, at best, an average fare. Watch it for the humour and also bravura performances by its lead actors. Circa 1993: St. Louise, near Goa, is on a high alert due to illegal activities like RDX and arms landing at the coastal area. Set up in the same town is Kalakar Theatre Company, a theatre group of self indulgent dreamy actors who are always left with no choice but to perform the same age-old period play 'Maan Gaye Mughall-E-Azam' every time. One fine day, they get to know that an underworld don is planning a bomb blast in the country. The drama company gets into the act to save the entire city from this blast. Maan Gaye Mughall-E-Azam takes time to come into form. But when it does, the humour is unstoppable. Sure, you may find the theatre group's drama (Akbar, Salim, Anarkali) amateurish, but it works big time. In fact, the audi will reverberate with wild laughter at several places. But the writing lacks meat and that takes away the sheen. The pace picks up, drops, picks up again, drops yet again unfailingly. Humour is the highpoint of Maan Gaye Mughall-E-Azam and Chhel hits a boundary there. Ditto for his dialogues. Anu Malik's music is lifeless. Barring the title track, the remaining numbers are simply add-ons. Madhu Ambat's cinematography is fair. Maan Gaye Mughall-E-Azam belongs to Paresh, Rahul and Mallika. Paresh has mastered the art of making people laugh, but when you watch him in this film, you realize the tremendous potential this terrific actor possesses. Watch his take on Akbar or step in as Kay Kay's double; he's in top form. Mallika stands on her feet despite a giant called Paresh Rawal. Scrutinize her as Anarkali at the outset and later, as an aspiring actress; she's fantastic. Rahul Bose is known for serious and intense roles, but he breaks the shackles with Maan Gaye Mughall-E-Azam. His timing is perfect. Surprisingly, Kay Kay isn't in form this time. Pawan Malhotra does very well. Zakir Hussain doesn't get scope. Ditto for Tanaaz. Manoj Joshi is wasted. On the whole, Maan Gaye Mughall-E-Azam is an ordinary fare, laced with great humour at places.

Chamku Movie Preview

Where does one point a finger when one isn't quite enthralled to listen to the soundtrack of an album, let aside commenting later on whether it is good or bad? Is it due to 'thanda' vibes that the cast of the film gives (Bobby Deol, Priyanka Chopra)? Is it due to the title, which makes one wonder which genre does the film belong to? Is it the promotion, which gives a strong sense of 'deja vu' with routine mushy song and dance numbers? This is why even as Monty Sharma arrives with his second soundtrack after Saawariya and Sameer joins him as a lyricist, there aren't any expectations with Chamku when one plays on the music. However, there is a surprise at the very beginning of the album with 'Aaja Milke' indeed making you hear the number more closely. Starting with Shreya Ghosal, this song about togetherness of the two lovers is aided not just by some good singing but also Indian arrangements, which is the hallmark of Monty Sharma. Reminding of the kind of work that Sharma has done on the songs for Sanjay Leela Bhansali films; 'Aaja Milke' turns out to be a decent composition even though Shail's limited presence is on a duller side. Richa Sharma is heard next in a kind of number with which she is associated most - a sad painful number with a classic Indian touch to it. A situational track meant for the background score, it doesn't quite seem that 'Kithe Jawa' would be placed for it's entire 5.5 minutes duration in the film. Of course, Richa is good as she always is but the song by itself is hardly the kind, which would have listeners, excited enough to give it a hearing beyond the movie. Surprisingly the number is heard twice with 'Bin Daseyaa' being the title for the 'remix version'. Has Monty Sharma tried to create a 'Dola Dola' [Ismail Darbar] here with 'Gola Gola'? It seems to be the case as he gets a similar mood and style for 'Gola Gola' which is basically a 'Holi' number revolving around 'bhang' and the works! Abhijeet Bhattacharya and Vaishali Samant come together for this yet another 'desi' number in Chamku but here too, there isn't much that one ends up looking forward to. However, there are some hopes of the song getting a few eyeballs if supported by eye catchy choreography and picturisation. Longest track in the album comes next which lasts close to six and half minutes. Titled 'Trance', this one completely changes the mood and flavor of the album and takes the listener to hardcore Western arrangements. Saleem Shahzada, Soumya Raoh and Anaida come together for this fast paced number which is set truly as a 'trance' number and comes with a possibility of being played in nightclubs with the round of drinks and flashy lights in full force. A number which has lyrics in languages other than Hindi as well, 'Trance' again comes with a core situational appeal though one wonders where exactly could this be fitted in except for some dramatic action sequence! In the same slow mannered pace as 'Kithe Jawa' comes 'Dukh Ke Badri', which appears to be set in a village in the cow belt from where the film's lead protagonist comes. A number with a rustic feel to it, 'Dukh Ke Badri' is about looking positively in life and expecting better things to arrive. Sung by Kalpana, Parthiv Goel and Shail, it won't quite make a listener to put it on a repeat mode and in fact also forget 'Aaja Milke' which incidentally turns out to be the best of the lot. In nutshell, Chamku is a forgettable album which is clearly one of the weakest from the house of Vijayta Films. The songs by themselves may not to be a terrible hear but for a commercial film like Chamku, they just don't create any excitement. There is absolutely nothing that one takes back home after listening to Chamku and one wonders if it may just have been a better outing if only it was a song less affair.

Kidnap Movie Preview

From Sanjay Gadhvi, the master-director of mega blockbusters like Dhoom and Dhoom: 2, Kidnap is a high-octane edge-of-the-seat drama about a power tussle between a young boy and the father of the girl he kidnaps.

Sonia (Minissha Lamba – Bachna Ae Haseeno) lives with her mother, Mallika (Vidya Malvade – Chak Dey India) and grandmother because her parents divorced when she was ten. A week before her eighteenth birthday celebration, she gets kidnapped.

The abductor, Kabir (Imran Khan – Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na) is interested in speaking only to her father, Vikrant Raina (Sanjay Dutt), an affluent New York-based Indian businessman, with whom he has an old score to settle.

Vikrant returns to India to retrieve his daughter from Kabir’s clutches but has to carry out a series of daunting tasks set out by Kabir as a condition to rescue her. At the end of each task is a clue that helps Vikrant in coming closer to Sonia.

Is his mission as easy as it seems? How far will a father go to save his daughter? What redemption is there for Kabir at the end?

Sanjay Dutt’s first release of 2008, co-starring the latest teen sensation, Imran Khan, Kidnap makes for compelling viewing as the big festival release on Eid. It features music by Pritam.

Aashayein Movie Preview

Cast: John Abraham, Sonal Sehgal, Girish Karnad, Farida Jalal Directed by: Nagesh Kukunoor Aashayein is the story of an angry, confused, compulsive gambler who discovers new meanings of fortune and life through a dramatic turn of events. At a party celebrating his big gambling win, Rahul proposes to his girlfriend Nafisa. But within minutes of announcing his engagement to her, Rahul collapses on the floor. Aashayein After a medical diagnosis, Rahul discovers that he has only a few months left to live. The movie is a moving tale of Rahul's journey from darkness to light. It is a journey about love, hate, life, death and hope. Sonal Sehgal plays Nafisa, a doting and loving girlfriend who wishes and hopes that love will conquer all her troubles. Other characters touching Rahul's life include Sister Grace (Prateeksha Lonkar), who dedicates her life to the happiness of her patients in the hospice. There is also Parthasarthy (Girish Karnad), a fun-loving but stubborn character wishing to be reunited with his family, while the intelligent, virtuous and loving Madhu (Farida Jalal) wants to lead a normal life and not be ostracised while in the hospice. Also present is 10-year-old comic book lover Govinda (Ashwin Chitale), who dreams of everyone's life being just like a comic book. How Rahul gets influenced by these characters in the hospice and how he makes the most of his limited time is what Aashayein is about. This moving saga is directed by Nagesh Kukunoor of Iqbal (2005) and Bombay to Bangkok (2008) fame.

Movie Review Phook

Rating: ****

The great debate between science and superstition continues, but RGV's new film Phoonk tilts in favour of superstition. Surprising, isn't it?

The makers of the film had organized a contest. You'd be given a handsome reward if you've the courage to watch Phoonk all alone in a theatre, we're told. Honestly speaking, Phoonk isn't scary by any standards, but as a subject, it works big time because somewhere deep within us, we've heard of the power of the unknown.

Whether you're superstitious or not, you may've heard tales/experiences concerning jaadu tona. And you're all eyes and ears the moment someone comes up with an alibi.

Phoonk is easily amongst RGV's finest works (although BHOOTH was scarier) and it holds your attention all through.

As a viewer, you're keen to know how RGV would culminate this story. The culmination, of course, would meet with extreme reactions.

Some would rubbish it, but the believers might endorse the finale. In my individualistic opinion, it's outstanding!

All said, Phoonk is a fantastic experience. The subject -- black magic -- is its biggest star and that alone would ensure House Full boards outside plexes/cinemas.

Rajeev (Sudeep), a successful construction engineer, with a loving wife and two children, is an atheist to the core. He scowls at people who believe in the dark forces, till one day when an evil is let loose in his happy home, which threatens to destroy his family and shake up the very foundations of his convictions and beliefs.

Thanks to the hype and curiosity generated around the movie, you expect to be scared from Scene 1 itself. And RGV emphasises on lighting and artefacts, besides an eccentric woman (Ashwini Kalsekar), to create the right atmosphere.

Of course, you do get the jhatkas in a scene or two, but you don't clasp your hands tightly even once, nor does your heart goes dhak-dhak at a lightening speed.

Gradually, RGV plays with the camera (excellent camerawork by Savita Singh) and sound (Kunal Mehta, Parikshit Lalwani) to heighten the impact.

Like all RGV films, the camera angles bear the unmistakable RGV stamp, while the background score (Bapi-Tutul) takes an ordinary scene to the next level.

RGV is back with a bang. There's a certain consistency from start to end and this time, he gets the right subject to prove his detractors wrong. Every sequence bears the stamp of a genius that RGV is, hits and flops notwithstanding.

The performances are uniformly good. Sudeep impresses you with an excellent performance. Amruta Khanvilkar is efficient. Baby Ahsaas Channa makes a strong impression. Ashwini Kalsekar is top notch.

Zakir Hussain's tantric act is superb. Ganesh Yadav lends good support. K.K. Raina and Lilette Dubey, both doctors, are competent. Kenny Desai, Anu Ansari and the actress enacting the role of Sudeep's mother are perfect.

On the whole, Phoonk is a fascinating cinematic experience on a subject that's rarely tackled by the dream merchants in Bollywood: Black magic. The subject itself is the biggest star of the film, which would ensure a flying start at the box-office and in turn, prove a jackpot for its producers who've distributed the film themselves.

Shahid-Priyanka Chopra fall off bike, hurt

Actress Priyanka Chopra is sporting quite a few bruises after she and Shahid Kapur fell off a bike while shooting for Vishal Bharadwaj's film "Kaminay".

The accident took place in Pune late Thursday while a scene that required Priyanka to ride a bike with Shahid on the back seat was being shot.

The two were riding the bike on a slope that was slightly muddy when the two-wheeler skidded and the two fell off. And to make matter worse, the bike fell on top of them.

"By god's grace, I am fine and so is Shahid, except for a few cuts and bruises. I think the only thing that is seriously damaged is my ego, otherwise I am alive and kicking, " Priyanka was quoted as saying in a press statement.

Singh is Kinng Movie Preview

Music: Pritam
Guest Track: RDB (Rap by Snoop Dogg)
Producer: Vipul A. Shah
Director: Anees Bazmee

Singh Is Kinng, the most keenly awaited romantic comedy of 2008, revolves around a gang of crooks transformed by a good man and his selfless love for a pretty girl…

Lakhan Singh aka Lucky (Sonu Sood) is the ‘king’ of the Australian underworld accompanied by his associates (played by Javed Jaffrey, Neha Dhupia, Manoj Pahwa, Yashpal Sharma, Kamal Chopra and Sudhanshu Pande.)

Far away, in a small village in Punjab, where Lucky was born, there exists someone more notorious than him – Happy Singh (Akshay Kumar).

The village is fed up of his magnanimity, which has resulted in a number of hilariously disastrous situations. Out of desperation, they decide to send him on a long trip (that will keep him out of the village for a while!) to bring Lucky back to Punjab, as his despicable deeds were maligning their image in Australia.

The happy-go-lucky bumpkin, taking his mission a bit too seriously, embarks on his journey accompanied by his friend, Tony Singh (Om Puri), who hates Happy for dragging him into it.

The high point of his journey is his chance meeting with Sonia (Katrina Kaif) with whom he falls in love, but upon reaching his destination, things take a precarious turn as he runs into a series of comic misadventures, leaving him penniless. He is fortunate to find warmth and affection in an elderly lady (Kirron Kher) who helps him meet Lucky.

In a strange turn of events, an attempt on Lucky’s life is foiled by a well-intentioned Happy who fights off the attackers by risking his own life.

Following the hilarious altercation, Lucky lands up in hospital paralyzed, and Happy, unexpectedly, finds the tables turned on him when he is expected to assume the role of the new ‘kinng’!

The series of chaos, shocks and comic misunderstandings that ensue eventually result in redemption and an accidental wedding!

Shot in Punjab, Australia and Egypt, Singh Is Kinng marks superstar Akshay Kumar’s re-entry into the action-comedy minefield. With plenty of romance, glamour, laugh-aloud moments and chartbusting music, it promises to be one of the most appealing and entertaining motion pictures of 2008.

It comes from Vipul Shah and Anees Bazmee, the master-makers of blockbusters like Aankhen, Waqt, Namastey London, No Entry and Welcome.

Mission Istanbul Review

Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Sunil Shetty, Zayed Khan, Vivek Oberoi, Shabbir Ahluwalia, Shreya Saran, Nikitin Dheer
Director: Apoorva Lakhia

One of India's most respected journalists, Vikas Sagar (Zayed Khan) receives an offer he cannot refuse from Owais Hussain (Sunil Shetty).

Owais is the head of an Istanbul television news channel. He offers Vikas a very high salary package with all the frills if he accepts a position within his company.

For Vikas, this offer couldn't have come at a better time. He is going through a messy divorce with his wife Anjali (Shriya Saran) and needs to get away from the stress of it all.

So Vikas accepts Hussain's offer whole-heartedly. But little does he know that one decision will change his life forever.

Well settled into his new role, he decides to voice his plans to quit the channel and move on to newer pastures.

But to his surprise, he learns from the Turkish commando, Rizwan Khan (Vivek Oberoi), on how others who quit the television channel got mysteriously killed because they knew too much.

So will this journalist be able to survive the onslaught where others have fallen prey?

Ek The Power Of One Preview

Cast: Bobby Deol, Chunky Pandey, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Nana Patekar, Shreya Saran
Director: Sangeeth Sivan

Nandu (Bobby Deol) is an assassin by profession. Somehow he gets wrongly accused of a politician's murder.

Whilst on the run from the police, he boards a train where he meets Shehar (Pradeep).

Shehar is returning home for the first time after 14 years.

As they converse, Nandu gets to know all about his joint family and the imminent wedding of Shehar's cousin. This is the main reason he is going home for.

The twist comes when the police catches up with Nandu on the train. In the shootout that follows, Shehar accidentally dies.

Deeply shocked by the incident, Nandu goes to Shehar's family home to return his belongings to his grandfather and also break the news of his grandson's death.

But when Nandu arrives at Shehar's family home, he is mistaken for Shehar himself.

With no time to explain what had happened, the family members get him involved with the wedding preparations and celebrations.

Preet (Shriya Saran), the daughter of a family friend becomes fascinated by Nandu. In no time she falls in love with him.

Meanwhile, police inspector Rane (Nana Patekar), is given the responsibility of tracking down the killer and he is close on Nandu's trail.

Will Nandu be able to come out of the crisis unscathed? Will the family come to know about his real identity? What would be the fate of Nandu and Preet's love story? And who is actually the real killer?

Ek - The Power Of One is a Bollywood Masala movie full of family emotions and suspense starring Sunny Deol in the lead role.

Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Jaya Bachchan, Kay Kay Menon
Director: Goldie Behl

Drona is a compelling modern tale of one man's journey through the labyrinths of mystic myths and legendary legacies.

As good and evil clash in this contemporary fantasy fable, a fascinating journey unfolds into a world of mythical heroes and malicious magicians with cunning curses.

It is a world, where spells can turn flesh to cold stone.

It is a world full of thrills, magic and adventures.

Directed by Goldie Behl, Drona introduces yet another superhero onto the Bollywood celluloid - Abhishek Bachchan.

According to reports, Drona is going to be even bigger and better in terms of special effects compared with Rakesh Roshan's Krrish.

Dhoom Dhadakka Review

Starring Sammir Dattani, Shama Sikandar, Shaad Randhawa, Arati Chabria, Anupam Khe, Satish Kaushik, Gulshan Grover
Rating: super-atrocious

By the time Sammir Dattani and Shaad Randhawa get into drag, this criminally unfunny comedy has dragged on way past 'bad'-time.

Maybe it's in the air. Everyone uniformly hams through this acutely painful piece of cinematic travesty.

There's so much screaming and ranting across the length and breadth of this outrageous ode to idiocy that you wonder if the producer-director intended to provide earplugs for all those bravehearts who would sit to the end of this slapdash hectic and haphazard comedy of terrors.

No earplugs, what we get are shrill banshee ring-tones of risqué ragas sung at a ear-splitting pitch, and phallic jokes about not a single danda in the cellphone.

Chee chee.

If lately you've been wondering where the Bollywood comedy has been heading here's the answer.

Comedies can't get any baser or brainless than Dhoom Dadakka. The gags make you gag. The items and innuendoes are embarrassing not because they TRY so hard to be vulgar but because they fail miserably to be sexy.

Vulgarity in this comedy of disembodied context depends completely on how many of the characters are crammed in one line of vision in every scene. They all stand making faces and gesticulating as though trying to attract the lifeguard's attention from a sinking boat.

The double meanings flow in unstoppered abundance mostly from the moist painted trembling lips of Deepshikha who keeps referring to the size of 'bada' things every time she spots a male member of the cast in her vicinity.

Yup, as one character winks, size does matter.

Dhoom Dadakka is a jumbo-sized non-event.

Ha ha ho ho. Before you fall of your creaky bed in comic splendour, let's move on to the main 'coarse' in this pickled over-spiced thaali in a hotel that's probably named Romp Teri Giggle Maili..

The two guys, Sammir Dattani and Shaad Randhawa grimace and giggle, roll their eyes and suck in their cheeks to indicate lies buried too deep for jeers.

Add two girls (Chabria and Sikandar) trying so hard to be glamorous it's pathetic, and you get a brew that's more eek than greek.

The characterizations take the cult of one-upmanship down to the level of a nukkad nautanki, what with every actor getting lost in the confusion of their mistaken identities.

In no time at all, the plot suffers from an identity crisis.

Director Shashi Ranjan who earlier made us laugh with his supposedly serious study of marital stress in Dobara, doesn't know whether to indulge tongue-in-cheek comedy of the Hrishikesh Mukherjee variety (Ab ke sajan sawan mein aal lagey aisi filmon mein) or just do the out-and-out no -fools-stops comedy of the David Dhawan-Anees Bazmi variety.

Eventually the confusions that dominate the plot overpower every sense of aesthetic decency.

In the end-game where the entire cast runs around an amusement part looking for amusement, the two heroes get into drag to tease laughter out of an audience that's long since ceased to be entertained or amused and is down to feeling utterly embrassed on behalf of the cast and crew of this weird brew.

In one chase sequence Shaad Randhawa pees copiously on a street of Bangkok.

You get jailed for dirtying the streets of Bangkok. Alas, there are no laws for desecrating the rules of aesthetics in cinema.

Jimmy Movie Review

By Subhash K Jha

Staring Mimoh Chakbraborty, Vivana, Zulfi Syed
Directed by Raj N Sippy
Rating: *

"Do you think I'm a rejected man?" the villain asks repeatedly after his true intentions are exposed at the end of this tediously-assembled pastiche of the crude bad and the ugly.

Don't know about the poor battered psycho who controrts his face like his pants were just bitten off by a colony of ants. But this film sure looks like a collage of rejected footage from a series of canned films that filmmakers made and forgot to go back to.

The characters don't talk in Jimmy, they scream dialogues which we thought had died with Pramod Chakravrty. And matching their screechy decibel of dialogue is the sound of cars skidding screeching and groaning in and out of the frames with the misinformed celerity of a noisy baraat which has lost its way to the bride's home.

Dulhan ache rot ki? You bet! Jimmy takes us into the kingdom of the dangerously damned. And none as damned as the audience which sits to the end to watch Mithun-da's boy dance on glass, in a manner of slipping.

Mimoh doesn't dance, he glides. He doesn't moonwalk, he trapezes through a field of corrupted corn planted by a screenwriter whose mind seems to have stopped working two decades ago.

How else do we explain the crass and clamorous crowd of crippling clichés, like the over-painted weepy mother, the over-painted giggly girlfriend, her over-panting suitor, the hero's rich friend (Zulfi Zayed, in the think-less part), the gaggles of villains schemers screamers and good samaritans all crammed in one line of strained vision which recalls the worst moments of television from the time when Doordarshan ruled the roost.

Mithun Chakraborty's son Mimoh gets a nightmare launch worthy of being canned for good. What were the people behind this film thinking when they decided to put together a film so tacky and tattered at the edges it makes a mockery of poor Mimoh's star aspirations.

Director Raj N Sippy made some engaging wannabe-Hollywood flicks in the 1970s and 80s, all cleverly adapted from American films but never slipshod.

Ironically Jimmy rips off Hindi films from the 1970s including Mithun-da's gyratory Jimmy-hijinks like Disco Dancer and the Bachchan starrer Majboor.

All in vain. The plot is propelled by gallery of grotesque caricatures.

This is cinema at its worst. Gimmicky and overblown with no hope for escape because you want to watch Mithun's boy trying to make his way out of this film with no exits.

Only Rahul Dev seems to blessed with a twist of sobriety in a film that equates outdated mayhem with pavement delights.

Bhootnath Review

Casts: Amitabh Bachchan, Juhi Chawla, Aman Siddiqui, Priyanshu Chatterjee, Satish Shah, Rajpal Yadav
Guest appearance: Shahrukh Khan, Nouhid Sairesi, Ashish Chowdhury, Neena Kulkarni
Music: Vishal Shekhar, Salim Sulaiman
Lyrics: Javed Akhtar
Producer: Ravi Chopra
Director-Writer: Vivek Sharma
Ratings: **1/2

Nath Villa. Night. A couple enters the villa with an intention of spending the night. But unfortunate for them, it’s the house where Kailash Nath (Amitabh Bachchan), oops, the spirit of Kailash Nath enjoys his days and nights in his airy appearance. Predictably enough, the couple, intimidated with Kailash, zooms away from the house.

Next incident. Mr. Sharma (Shah Rukh Khan), a marine driver by profession, comes to Kailash’s den, with his family. He leaves his family behind at the Nath Villa and plods back to join his job.

While residing in the Nath Villa, Mr. Sharma’s wife Anjali (Juhi Chawla) and son Banku (Aman Siddiqui) experiences strange incidents. In the mean time Banku befriends the spirit of Kailash Nath and names him as “Bhootnath”.

Banku’s presence eliminates all the hazardous factors that polluted Bhootnath’s mind against human beings. One day, Anjali comes to know about Bhootnath being the angel in Banku’s life.

At the same time Anjali comes to know from Bhootnath about the painful incident that made him a spirit. So, to let Bhootnath’s spirit free from the bondage with the earth, Sharma family arranges for a shradh, a Hindu tradition that Bhootnath’s son, Priyanshu Chatterjee, avoided in past.

Ultimately, it’s through Banku that Bhootnath gets his desired freedom from the earthly bondage.

But it’s because of Banku’s love for Bhootnath that the amicable ghost leaves Banku with an option of appearing in front of Banku whenever he wishes from the core of his heart.

Even god changes his mind for the sake of true and honest love. This film is not about the triumph of a child but the success of true love and faith.

It’s the second time where Amitabh is posing as a ghost and his look in “Bhootnath”, though unintentionally, reminds of his look of Gabbar Singh in “Ram Gopal Verma Ki Aag”. If that is some bad news, the good part is that his acting always sweeps away the feeling of looking alike.

At the same time his intimidated being with the presence of his son lets audience recap his character in “Baghban”.

Aman Siddiqui has depicted Banku’s character very well. Juhi Chawla and Shah Rukh’s couple still reminds the same freshness that they show in their very first film.

Writer-director Vivek Sharma has proved his prowess in his

job. His beautifully mingled presentation of entertainment and spirit has started a new vogue in Bollywood. If “Bhootnath” is not so well a children film as “Taare Zamin Par” was, it definitely helps spending few hours in the air conditioned theaters while summer is blazing outside.

At last, if not the least, children may well accept the line of Amitabh saying, “Zindegi me jadoo nehi, mehnat se safalta pai jaati hai” (success is all about hard work, not magic). Bingo Bhootnath! - Rajnee Gupta

Jannat Movie Review

Cast: Emran Hashmi, Sonal Chauhan, Samir Kochar, Javed Shaikh, Vishal Malhotra
Director: Kunal Deshmukh
Ratings: ***

More, more, more...The motto of motorised materialism seems to have overtaken contemporary life. Everyone wants the good things in life in the shortest time possible. The acquisitive spirit has seldom been defined with such economy of storytelling as in "Jannat".

Not surprisingly, a lot of Mahesh Bhatt's latest exposition on the excesses of materialism is shot in shopping malls, expensive restaurants and posh stadiums where money flows like unadulterated honey.

And when our hero sees the love of his life staring at a diamond ring he walks into the showroom and breaks the display window.

Get what you want by force and forget those homilies that papa preached at the dinner table about the virtues of honesty. "Honest money means hard work and little reward," says a wry character in "Jannat". He's obviously not read Ayn Rand.

Sanjay Masoom's scathing dialogues scamper across the film's lush skyline to create a language of wannabes who would stop at nothing to get that new villa on the Gold Coast.

Let's then applaud one more moral fable from Bhatt's sensible stable.

"Jannat" tells us to waste not, want 'nought'...By all means covet the zeroes on that pay cheque. But don't forget that if you run after the zeroes your life ends up in the zero zone.

Forty years ago in Hrishikesh Mukherjee's "Satyakam" Dharmendra had refused to succumb to all the temptations of materialism that were strewn in his path to salvation. Lying dying of cancer, he's asked by his wife: "Finally what do you have to say about your life of integrity?"

"I've lived," Dharmendra says at the end of "Satyakam".

Can Emran Hashmi (playing the small-time wheeler dealer who turns into a cricket match-fixer, criminal and moral transgressor) turn around before his gruesome death to say he has lived?

Yes, Arjun (Emran) has loved. At heart "Jannat" is a dark tragic love story. While the girl's innocence and the man's corruptible countenance resembles "Kalyug", the whole dilemma of the beloved being instrumental in destroying the criminal hero echoes "Gangster".

Both "Kalyug" and "Gangster" were superior in content and treatment.

Debutant director Kunal Deshmukh cannot escape the clichés on existentialism that have come to surround Bhatt's cinema...the morally conflicted Shakespeare-meets-James Hadley Chase hero, the independent-minded strong and value-based heroine, the hero's trusted and loyal friend (Purab Kohli in "Woh Lamhe", Shaad Randhawa in "Awaarapan", and now Vishal Malhotra), the ideologue father whose principles are held up to ridicule until the hero discovers the hard way that dad's remedies are the best to deal with ethical ambivalence.

These lingering leitmotifs get a renewed, if not luminous, life in every Bhatt production. But "Jannat" lacks the resonance and staying power of some of Bhatt's earlier films about crime and punishment from "Naam" to "Gangster".

Cleverly and cautiously Deshmukh's film brings in the cricket element, which has audiences ignoring the pitfalls of rejuvenating Bhatt's age-old iconoclasm.

The stock footage of real-life cricket matches are used well and sparingly in the plot. The stress, as ever in Bhatt's saga of our stressful times, is on the clashing colliding crisscross of human relationships.

Emran's father's sequence in his son's luxurious bathroom where he comments on the basket of soaps is a whammer.

But the wheeling dealing in the greenroom and clubs with cricketers of indeterminate nationality behaving like debauched goblins smacks of amteurishness. The murder of the Australian coach turns the Bob Woolmer scandal into a climactic add-on. May his soul rest in peace.

But what stays is the protagonist's passion for money as opposed to his love for Zoya (Sonal Chauhan). The end-game where the engagement ring is juxtaposed against the gun is arresting in more ways than one.

While Emran interprets the over-reaching get-rich-quick schemer's part with a native cunning, one misses that suave and smooth transitions in the character that perhaps a Naseeruddin Shah or even a Shahid Kapoor would bring on the table.

But Emran is charming enough to let the protagonist's journey from a chawl to Cape Town look interesting. He's constantly getting author-backed roles of the angst-ridden social outcast (a garage-sale version of Amitabh Bachchan) which he plays with a fair amount of sensitivity.

Debutant Sonal has much more to do than be the decorative doll she seems equipped to be.

She's the weakest link in the powerplay where the politics of the playing field is extended to an engrossing exposition of greed atonement.

Some of the supporting cast, especially Jawed Shaikh as the cricketing don and Abhimanyu as his silent henchman, come to grips with their characters better than you would expect in a film that has scant space for anyone except the man who would be king.

'Rakhi is insecure dramebaaz'

Calling Bollywood item girl Rakhi Sawant insecure, upcoming starlet Sambhavna Seth has accused her of snatching away a song which was to be picturised on Seth in the forthcoming film 'Mudrank' based on stamp paper scamster Abdul Karim Telgi.

Talking to mediapersons at a press meet here last evening, Seth said, ''Rakhi Sawant is a very insecure person and a 'dramebaaz'. I am not saying this just to malign her. The problem is these days one has to speak for oneself. She knew that I was doing this song and yet, she snatched it from me.

''Above all, the producer should have taken care of that I did not suffer. But I had to!'' Rakhi Sawant was conspicuously absent at the press meet.

However, film's director Shakir Shaikh confirmed that Sambhavna had been signed first for the song 'Ruk zara Mumbai ke bhai'.

''But when Rakhi was signed for another song, she liked this song and we shot it on her which upset Sambhavna.'' Production Executive of 'Mudrank' Rakesh Sabharwal added, ''Rakhi liked the song meant to be picturised on Sambhavna and insisted to shoot for the song herself.''

When asked why they had agreed to it and subjected Sambhavna to injustice, Sabharwal replied, ''When we have a bigger artiste, we have to compromise.

''Even Rakesh Roshan had to depend on Rakhi,'' he said, referring to her song 'Dekhta hai tu kya' in Roshan's home production 'Krazzy 4'.

Sabharwal said, ''Rakhi also knows that she has snatched Sambhavna's song. That is why she's not reacting. In fact, she is not coming to any event organised for the film. I understand she is a busy star but she can't be busy always.''

Sambhavna Seth also insisted that she was a better dancer than Rakhi, a view which was endorsed by Sabharwal. ''Sambhavna has done better than Rakhi in the song 'Give me money, money, Touch me honey, honey'.''

All you wanted to know about Jannat

With cricket being the flavor of the season there couldn't have been a better time for the Bhatts to release their latest venture Jannat. The film starring Emraan Hashmi and newcomer Sonal Chauhan is a love story with cricket as a backdrop. Interestingly serial-kisser Emraan plays a bookie in the film. The music of this film is already a rage with many songs on top of countdown charts. The film also marks director Kunal Deshmukh's debut into Bollywood. Kunal has earlier assisted Mohit Suri on films like Zeher, Kalyug and Woh Lamhe. Considering the craze films and cricket have in India, this film has all the ingredients to hit the bulls-eye. Bollywood Hungama brings you all that you wanted to know about this week's new release Jannat.

Meet the Hottest Bollywood Mummies this Mother's Day

Call her Mom, Mum, or even Ma nothing about her ever changes. She's still about love, care, and concern. No matter which generation she belongs to she's still the best.

You're soft at heart and a great mind reader
You know with a look in our eye what we wonder
To many your God's wonderful creation
But to children you're the best foundation
With your charm and aura, keep us forever
We love you; we know you'd leave us never

On the occasion of Mother's Day, Bollywood Hungama presents the Top 10 Sexiest (read Yummy) Mummies in Bollywood.

Sushmita Sen

When you are single, you look for a companion. Sushmita found her connection in a baby. She is a single mom for her daughter Renee. Beautiful, sensuous, and influential, yet it was no cakewalk for her to finally be called Mother. But when the lucky day came Sush was already on a threshold - threshold of motherhood. Ready like on one before...

Malaika Arora Khan

She's Hot with a capital 'H' and a perfect bombshell and the sexiest mom in B-Town. A perfect millennium woman, who has done equal justice to her marriage and children without allowing her work to suffer after she turned Malaika Arora 'Khan'.

Sonali Bendre

The Bollywood diva whom people knew as soft, beautiful, smart and as Sonali Bendre. With little but strong roles in films, she created a buzz and left when she got married to Goldie Behl. Within three years, she became mother to her son Ranvir. Though she did some cameos, the last prominent one being in Kal Ho Naa Ho.

Karisma Kapoor Belonging to the first and the most influential family of Bollywood, the Kapoors, there was a lot of pressure on Karisma as the actor. Overcoming all hurdles, she proved to the world that she’s no less than the men in the family when it came to acting. Marriage and responsibility of baby Samaira have put a temporary stall to her career; but Karisma has not given up yet. Looking great in all her appearances, she still retains her pure and serene beauty and is very much set to make a comeback on the big screen.

Twinkle Khanna Born to the legendary actors (Rajesh Khanna and Dimple) and married to the most happening actor, Akshay Kumar, Twinkle has star stride all around her. After contributing to the filmy world, she entered interior designing and remained there to give time to both, work and her son Aarav.

Kajol She can blow you out with her acting prowess. With age, Kajol has become more beautiful. With a filmy background and being married to an amazing actor Ajay Devgan, films were never faraway for her even after marriage. Kajol has a daughter named Nysa. Managing time around family and work, Kajol still manages to put her 101% in everything she does, like a true perfectionist.

Juhi Chawla

An actress, an entrepreneur, singer, mother, and still kicking, Juhi Chawla is definitely multi faceted. Married to Jai Mehta and with two children, she never bid her career and business goodbye. Rather she continues to manage it quite efficiently. And she still manages to look cute and bubbly as ever.

Raveena Tandon

Bold, determined, and rebellious, playing strong characters, she created her own niche. At the same time, she took breaks and gave entertaining breathers as well. Life never stopped for this single mom when she adopted two children. Mother of the 21st century, she balanced both work and family. Later, she had her two biological kids from her marriage with Anil Thadani.

Mahima Chaudhary

Mahima Chaudhary a product of the Ghai camp made it big with her first film but the rest went kaput. While still trying to revive her career in Bollywood, she got married and soon became mother, a job no one can beat her to. Imbibing her notorious and childlike nature, Mahima's daughter Aryana turned out to be just like her.

Gayatri Joshi

The elegant, classy and beautiful Swades gal, Gayatri Joshi, married Vikas Oberoi in 2005 and had a baby boy the following year. Though she starred only in one film, Gayatri is still remembered for her performance. She was also a much known face in the advertising world and was a successful model before she jumped into Bollywood.

On Ma's Day, we thank and congratulate all the Mothers in the world for being the amazing women that they are.

Meet Shah Rukh's latest girl

It has always been dreams of hundreds of aspiring stars. Even, on the other hand, it has been dreams of many not-so-happening stars.

It's the dream about standing opposite to the biggest star of the nation under the biggest banner of the country. And for Anushka Sharma it all has just become a reality with a magical touch from the biggest production house of the tinsel town Yash Raj Films.

Yash Chopra, Chairman, Yash Raj Films, announced today that the nineteen year old from Bangalore, Anushka Sharma, has been accepted to play the female lead opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Aditya Chopra's third film as director Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi.

With the news spreading around, all the speculations that have been hush-hushed at all the corners of Bollywood media corners have died down.

Yash Chopra, on this concern, says, "We were looking first and foremost for someone who could truly embody the spirit of small town Punjab and we know we have found her in Anushka.

And while she has no previous acting experience, we have seen that unique spark in her that makes us confident that she will be a standout even opposite Shah Rukh.

Rab ne Bana di Jodi will hit the shooting floors on the 16th of May and will hit theatres worldwide on the 12th of December."

The waiting for the most hyped film and probably the most anticipating character is now over but countdown to see Anushka opposite King Khan has just started.

Tashan Review

There’s a direct co-relation between the incoming calls that I receive on a Friday, with the status of a film. If it happens to be a low-budget fare with no curiosity attached to it, my phone remains silent most of the times, except for a few regulars who, anyways, will never stop calling.

But if the movie happens to be a big-budget extravaganza starring the high and mighty or is helmed by a top notch story teller, the cell phone rings incessantly. Last Friday onwards, right till the time of writing this piece, the phone hasn’t stopped ringing. Expectedly, the discussions were limited to TASHAN, just TASHAN, only TASHAN.

Everyone I spoke to is in a state of shock. What went wrong? Let’s analyze…

• Akshay Kumar – in top form after a string of hits.


• Saif Ali Khan – riding high after RACE.


• Kareena Kapoor – stronger than ever after JAB WE MET.


• Anil Kapoor – back with a bang, post WELCOME and RACE.


• Add to it the name that once guaranteed house full boards from Day 1 itself – Yash Raj. Yet, TASHAN failed to drive into the viewer’s heart.

I wouldn’t like to get into the plusses and minuses of the film [already highlighted in the review], so let’s talk business. That’s what everyone’s keen to know.

A leading North India distributor/exhibitor and I got into a discussion over the financial implications of its no-show at multiplexes. “Do you think Yash Raj would be affected by a Rs. 8-10 crore loss? It won’t pinch them one bit,” he opined.

Agreed, Yash Raj has made a fortune with a string of hits, but in this business [or any business for that matter], every penny counts. TASHAN has cost ‘x’ amount to make and whether you accept it or not, the no-show at multiplexes means that they’ve lost out on a good chunk of revenue. Had the film opened at the plexes, the losses would’ve been controlled/minimal.

But more than anything else, TASHAN has hit the credibility of Yash Raj hard. Last year, RGV faced a major crisis when RGV KI AAG was mauled, ridiculed and written off. I saw and heard similar negative talk doing the rounds of the industry for TASHAN.

Yash Raj’s last three films [JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM, LAAGA CHUNARI MEIN DAAG and AAJA NACHLE] were forgettable ventures. But TASHAN will not be erased from our memory. Its non-performance will haunt us all through this year!

'Jannat' premiere in Pakistan

Click above for more stills

The Bhatts -- Mahesh and Mukesh -- have always encouraged talents from across the border. In fact, in almost every film produced by them, a Pakistani composer or singer has always been associated with it. Besides, their last few films have had a theatrical release in Pakistan too. The latest is that JANNAT, their new film, will be premiered in Pakistan.

“Yes, there should be two premieres, in Mumbai and Pakistan, respectively. The Pakistani premiere is scheduled exactly a day before its release since we are planning a simultaneous release there,” Emraan Hashmi confirms, adding in the same breath, “It's a love story primarily, with cricket and match fixing being the wallpaper -- a subject both Indian and Pakistani audiences haven't witnessed on the big screen yet.”

Although the Bhatts have released a couple of films in Pakistan in the past [reportedly, AWARAPAN was a huge success] and Emraan enjoys tremendous fan-following there, the actor hasn't visited the country yet. “I am looking forward to visiting Pakistan this time,” he sounds excited.

U Me Aur Hum Weekly Business

U Me Aur Hum - Week 1

Mumbai - 2,91,85,671 (Incl Thane)

Gandhinagar - 2,58,240

Himmatnagar - 1,08,136

Baroda - 5,61,180

Bharuch - 2,25,686

Jamnagar - 1,76,878

Ahmedabad - 60,60,831

Pune - 10,64,691

Goa - 5,95,783

Nasik - 71,203

Delhi - 1,10,73,681

Noida - 16,67,301

Kaushambi - 3,14,675

Gurgaon - 23,43,991

Raipur - 5,83,171

Nagpur - 6,04,007

Faridabad - 8,10,083

Indore - 12,14,908

Lucknow - 1,63,969

Ujjain - 36,000

Sehore - 69,450

Guwahati - 1,97,720

Jaipur - 9,37,321

Kota - 3,56,437

Kolkatta - 31,26,490

Darjeeling - 65,338

Bangalore - 11,04,873

Chennai - 2,77,526

(Average per print: 4,40,330)
Total collections for Week 1: 6,32,55,240
Total Collections (Till Date): 6,32,55,240

Krazzy 4 weekly business

Krazzy 4 - Week 1

Mumbai - 3,18,83,938 (Incl Thane. 6 F.H)

Gandhinagar - 3,56,442

Himmatnagar - 1,27,512

Jamnagar - 3,15,960

Ahmedabad - 65,30,040

Baroda - 6,11,895

Bharuch - 2,47,444

Pune - 6,525

Goa - 8,29,211

Nasik - 1,31,811

Delhi - 1,26,28,817

Noida - 18,56,279

Kaushambi - 3,86,583

Gurgaon - 27,66,890

Bareilly - 1,54,970

Faridabad - 11,95,265

Indore - 20,26,586

Raipur - 9,01,446

Nagpur - 7,75,840

Lucknow - 1,62,059

Aurangabad - 2,96,757

Ujjain - 67,800

Sehore - 1,12,735

Guwahati - 1,61,918

Kolkatta - 29,22,316

Darjeeling - 83,786

Jaipur - 10,72,544

Kota - 4,11,690

Bangalore - 10,07,508

Chennai - 2,28,995

(Average per print: 4,48,966)
Total collections for Week 1: 7,02,61,562
Total Collections (Till Date): 7,02,61,562

A look at Tusshar Kapoor's next comedy, C Kkompany

Have you heard of 'a' company that wanted to 'b' company to 'C' company? If you find this funny, then, wait till you hear this. Sachin Yardi (the writer of Traffic Signal and Kyaa Kool Hain Hum) is all set to take the Balaji Telefilms' latest venture 'C' Company ….oooops …sorry sorry… C Kkompany to dizzying heights with his directorial debut!

The film star cast is as funny and interesting as the title itself. It stars Bollywood's very own 'Brand Ambassadors' of comedy: Anupam Kher and Rajpal Yadav with the 'in-house hen' we mean…'ghar ki murgi' oooops... 'ghar ka murga' Tusshar Kapoor!

C Kkompany is a story about three best friends, underdogs of different age groups, staying in a middle class society and are striving to achieve their respective dreams.

As luck would have it, one harmless prank takes a 360 degrees U-turn in the lives of the three characters, a situation that they never ever had imagined in their lives!

Bhoothnath Movie Preview

Character Sketch:

Amitabh Bachchan as Bhoothnath (Kailash Nath)

His 'imaginary' friend, Bhoothnath is his partner in crime. Bhoothnath, who initially is reserved and irritable in the film, transforms when he finds a grandson in Banku. He shares a very special relationship with Bhoothnath. The two are inseparable. They play a lot of pranks at school and home. The bond between them personifies love and innocence.

Aman Siddiqui as Banku (Aman Sharma)

Perfect Dennis the Menace…he loves to play pranks, make up stories and trouble his mom. His innocence is deceiving. Since he has moved to Nath Villa, he's made a special friend. Bhoothnath!

Juhi Chawla as Mom (Anjali Sharma)

She is an easy going, fun and a really lazy person. Doing chores at home isn't her cup of tea…She and her son have a lot of fun at home. They play and laugh all the time.

Satish Shah as Principal Irani

Principal at Banku's new school. He is extremely fond of students' lunch boxes. He is in for a ride when Banku and Bhoothnath pull a prank on him where whatever he speaks comes out as Gibberish.

Rajpal Yadav as Drunkard (Anthony)

He's a dare devil drunkard, who has the courage to stay at the haunted Nath, Villa, where no one even dares to come close. He sincerely wants to be of some help to Anjali, but ends up messing it all the more.

Synopsis:

It's believed that children have the strongest connection to god. They have the ability to perceive goodness in everything and everyone. This is a story about a seven-year-old naughty yet innocent boy, who unknowingly turns a foe into a friend. This is a story about Banku and his friend, Bhoothnath…about innocence, honesty and the pure love of a child. It is believed a mother's love is selfless. But a child's love can transform relationships; it comes with no expectations and no boundaries. Their love can make you believe in miracles. A story about a little innocence, a little playfulness, and a lot of emotions that will touch hearts. This is a story that will show adults to see the world through the eyes of a child… an angel, a creation of god. It's then that one will realize what a beautiful world they live in after all.

SHAURYA Movie Preview

Let's clear a misconception before we get down to reviewing SHAURYA. It's not a war film. It's not jingoistic. It doesn't spew venom on the neighboring country. It doesn't show mutilated bodies or blood-soaked faces and limbs.

Sure, SHAURYA has the backdrop of the armed forces. But it's about a court martial. It's about two friends, who're pitched against each other in a courtroom. The 'culprit', in turn, doesn't want to defend himself and remains a mute spectator for reasons best known to him.

SHAURYA is a serious film and raises a serious issue in the penultimate 20 minutes. And that's where it scores. Director Samar Khan gradually builds up the tension and when it explodes in the finale, it leaves you stunned and speechless. Most importantly, it makes you uncomfortable… perhaps, that's one of the reasons why it succeeds.

SHAURYA is about the common man, but as a cinematic experience, it's more for the discerning viewer looking for a hatke theme, thirsting for a story in those 2 hours. Most importantly, it does justice to the tagline - 'It takes courage to make right… right'.

Captain Javed Khan [Deepak Dobriyal] is charged with mutiny, treason and killing a fellow officer. Even when he is held for court martial, he refuses to speak in his defense as the secret he holds is too powerful for the establishment to handle. Assigned for this task are Sid [Rahul Bose] and Akash [Jaaved Jaaferi], two best friends, lawyers and very ambitious individuals who have contrasting views on life.

Nevertheless, this one case changes their lives forever. The case takes them to Srinagar. While Akash, for whom winning the case matters the most, follows the blueprint, Sid discovers a new meaning in life, Kavya, Javed and of course, the man in question, Brigadier Pratap [Kay Kay Menon].

Why is Javed silent? What is the truth of that night? Why is Brigadier Pratap hell-bent on getting Javed convicted? Will Sid have the courage to save Javed's life?

SHAURYA isn't a flawless script. But it has been treated with utmost realism and sensitivity by Samar Khan. Talking of the narrative, the film could've done without the item song at the very start [and what was Pawan Malhotra doing in this song?]. Besides, one fails to understand why Deepak Dobriyal doesn't confide to his mother, since the family has always taken pride in the fact that they've adhered to principles all their lives. Besides, the film could've been shorter by at least 15/20 minutes. The second hour drags at places!

Despite the hiccups, SHAURYA delivers what it promises. At the end of the screening, you actually pinch yourself. Did the same guy who helmed this riveting fare called SHAURYA, direct KUCH MEETHA HO JAYE, a bitter cinematic experience? The execution of SHAURYA is impressive and Samar also succeeds in extracting stellar performances from the ensemble cast.

Despite the shortcomings, the screenplay is tight, not deviating from the core issue. The reason that compels Deepak Dobriyal to shoot a fellow officer and also the powerful climax prove that the writers [Jaydeep Sarkar, Aparnaa Malhotra and Samar Khan] know their job well. There's not much scope for music in a film like this, therefore the two songs don't make much of an impression. However, in terms of melody [Adnan Sami], 'Dheere Dheere' has a soothing effect on the listener. Carlos Catalan's cinematography is topnotch.

The story rests on five actors - Rahul Bose, Kay Kay Menon, Jaaved Jafferi, Deepak Dobriyal and Minissha Lamba. Rahul excels in a role that fits him like a glove. In fact, this performance easily ranks as one of his finest works. Kay Kay is dynamic. Watch him explode in the climax and you realize the potential this actor possesses.

Jaaved does a decent job. However, his character is relegated to the backseat after a point. Deepak conveys a lot even when silent - that's the sign of a fine actor. Minissha is effective. Besides, she looks the character. Amrita Rao handles her part with maturity. She's first-rate. Seema Biswas, as always, is a complete natural.

On the whole, SHAURYA is a well-made film that will have to rely on a strong word of mouth to sustain in the coming days. However, the film deserves to be tax-exempted since it's a genuinely deserving case.