MERA BROTHER KI DULHAN or BODYGUARD?

Both films pulled audiences to the ticketsale counters. Both offer solid and modern entertainment this autumn season.

Mere Brother ki Dulhan is a youthful and pacey tale of the search for the perfect modern day liberated bride, incarnated by Laila (Katrina Kaif) who lives to drink and have fun. It is utterly refreshing to see Katrina Kaif as a full-out rebel, even though her acting still requires developing her individual style more as she somehow often seems to emulate other successful actresses of yesterday and today... She is however very commendable in her role and, as a woman, I have to salute her for not being stick thin but still looking fresh and beautiful. Who wants to be size zero, I say indeed? 

The first half of the film will particularly keep the audience focused completely on this modern ladka-meets-ladki tale. Imran is the quintessential young Indian man who learns to appreciate and ends up falling head over heels for an independent and happy-go-lucky girl despite the fact he has actually found her to marry his own brother. The root of the story develops as a long vaudeville with plenty of topsy-turvy ups and downs, including out of the blue references to Chulbul Pandey, Dil Se, other Yash Raj signature films and even Madhubala. The supporting cast also contributes to lending the story its lightness. Ali Zafar tends to remind me of a young Shah Rukh Khan in almost every scene, from mannerisms to voice to comic timing! I therefore somehow do not find it surprising that Yash Raj would indeed support his style..

The second half of the film drags on in a few scenes but all this is forgivable given the good dose of entertainment, fun and seeing both Khan and Kaif together plus a pleasant soundtrack signed Sohail Sen.

Bodyguard is a story that has a different tone and Salman proves yet once again that he certainly can cater to his fan-base fantastically. 

 

 

A joke turns into a trepidating love story in which Kareena Kapoor is not only busy being majestically beautiful in every scene, but also delivers her role very well. From tears to guilt, from fear to love, her eyes convey just the right amount of feeling. 



This said, the man who steals the show is Salman Khan (Lovely Singh), allowing his voice inflexions and body language to flesh out his humble and modest character: a bodyguard  who is, yes, the usual strong nacho man who can fight the world and win, but also an honest man dedicated to his job. In several scenes, his character’s “purity” is disarming. The finesse with which he portrays his character makes him the most convincing I have seen him yet!

Bodyguard is the third remake of  a Malayalam film that goes by same name.I would recommend making a point of not missing these two entertainers, which both are bound to leave you with a pleasant smile. 

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Purchase the Bodyguard soundtrack

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MAUSAM Stolen Moments of Romance

"Mausam"... When I heard the title of Pankaj Kapoor's maiden film, it brought back memories of Mhd. Rafi's "Aaj mausam bada beimaan hai" and therefore images of traditional romantic movies...

Mausam is a love story spanning the four seasons of its hero and heroine's lives: Harry, a Hindu Punjabi boy, and Aayat, a Muslim Kashmiri girl. The first season is that of their encounter as teenagers in a small village of Punjab. As the two fall in love and the audience watches them grow their lives enter season two. The drama and pain of separation makes their love grow deeper as they mature in season three and finally season four sees both lovers come together.

At a time when most male star actors are working on appearing as young as possible and oozing their sex appeal, 6-pack abs, and stunts in action films, Mausam brings back the innocence of youthful romance with Shahid Kapoor who has stepped from being promising to stunningly talented, whether he is conveying naughtiness, reservation or the pain of a lost love.

The film has tender romantic moments such as a boyfriend requesting a phone kiss to his shy girlfriend or a beautiful scene in which the two protagonists exchange silence and written love notes that the girl systematically dips into water, almost as if the fact that ink disappears was irrelevant due to her ability to keep her lover's words deep in her heart. Both Harry and Aayat also have dialogues in which none of them moves their lips, as if they only needed to look at each other to know what the other is thinking. The symbolism and cinematography of Mausam are two clap-worthy elements that make it endearing, despite the criticism that has been made to some of the film's shortcomings.

Script-wise, the first season of the film is splendid, with tight and rhythmic dialogues and good humour, lasting approximately an hour. The subsequent second season also has stolen moments of romantic beauty but the narration seems to be reaching several limits through the lack of transitional moments that would weave the story better and will affect the narrative as a whole in its second part.

While Sonam Kapoor always looks magnificently fresh as a flower in a young girl role, she somehow lacks the scope and depth to portray a more mature woman while her cavalier, Shahid Kapoor, breezes through all seasons with just the right tone, not bothering with his looks and still looking seductive showing off his talent in a way never seen before.

Mausam could have become a classic had it had a bit more restraint in certain areas and developed others (main and side characters and events). Oh if only Pankaj Kapoor could rewrite the last third of the script just before the climax scene and refilm or edit it with a little more tightness, a full little gem would appear on screen.

The film also counts pleasant music composed by Pritam Chakraborty but one regrets that Shreya Ghoshal's beautiful and highly effective rendition of Jaidev's  "Abhi na Jao Chod Kar" is not included in the soundtrack.

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Purchase the Mausam soundtrack

Mausam

Director: Pankaj Kapoor  
Writer: Pankaj Kapoor  
Cinematography: Binod Pradhan  
Cast:

• Shahid Kapoor - Harry
• Sonam Kapoor - Aayat Rasool
• Anupam Kher - Maharaj Krishna
• Supriya Pathak - Fatima
• Aditi Sharma - Rajjo

 Music: Pritam

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KITES may fail to impress international audiences

Beautiful looking starrers (Greek god Hrithik Roshan and Uruguayan princess Barbara Mori) and a good-looking supporting cast (Kabir Bedi, Kangna Ranaut), lots of action, a bit of imaginary chilli pepper sprinkled here in the form of Mexican "andele, andele!" and another dash of luxury or US Western locations there and you've got a mindblowing worlwide hit, right?

Well... Sorry to say... No.

'Kites' is likely to be a let down, particularly for Latin American and American audiences who will likely be fed a film that does not really take the trouble to appeal to their cultural sensitivity. A film that focuses on Hrithik Roshan but fails to duly bring forward his talent by an evident lack of script/story will certainly make ladies drool and men make summer resolutions to hit the gym but possibly not much else. 

While 'Kites' has an underlying subject that could have been beautifully used to craft a good film, the script falls short of the brilliant idea of filming an international romance between a gorgeous couple from two fascinating different cultures. While cinematography is good in various sequences, the word "unnecessary" certainly comes to mind during some hero-centric frames or several unessential film situations. The extremely wicked villain, nonetheless well enacted by Nicholas Brown, might also not go down well with audiences who are open to foreign cinema but prefer a bit more subtlety in their film plate.

Strangely enough, one of the most hyped pre-release sequences - a salsa dance featuring the jaw-drop-worthy pair - has reportedly been deleted, thus taking away probably one of the scenes that would have succeeded in successfully reeling in Latino audiences, making them feel that they were being shown in a cool and appealing light, an asset that the film is cruelly lacking. On second thought, the 'Kites' soundtrack offers such a poor example of pseudo-Latin rythms that the salsa sequence would probably not have worked. It is a pity that with such a large budget, production would not have tapped more gleefully into the fantastic array of musical talent available in Latin America.

It is unfortunately not enough to show a doll-like Barbara and an Indian hunk onscreen to attract non-Indian audiences to the cinema. Therefore, my feeling is that the film is less meant for international audiences and more likely to be a success among Hrithik Roshan fans. Barbara (Natasha) may say “Main ullu ki patthi hoon” with her charming Mexican accent to express her love to her Romeo but international audiences are more likely to express their feelings to Rakesh Roshan and Anurag Basu by asking "What's the point?". 

Producer: Rakesh Roshan / Sunaina Roshan
Director: Anurag Basu
Cast:
Hrithik Roshan...... Jai
Barbara Mori...... Natasha
Kangna Ranaut...... Gina
Kabir Bedi...... Bob
Nicholas Brown...... Tony
Cinematography: Ayananka Bose
Story: Akash Khurana / Anurag Basu / Robin Bhatt
Official website here

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