London Se Aaya Mera Dost...

The good thing about being a pessimist is that they are either proved right or pleasantly surprised. I went in expecting the worst when I decided to go for London Dreams. No, I wasn't pleasantly surprised, but neither was I disappointed. The movie didn't invoke any strong reaction from me as such. The first half of the movie was a tad banal but by the second half there was substance, and by 'substance' i don't just mean the one that Sallu Bhai abuses.
The script of the movie is novel but it has been poorly executed to say the least. It all starts with Ajay Devgn with a missing vowel. He has more than just a vowel that's amiss. For one thing he is all wrongly cast for the role of a rockstar. Sure, the man can act, but he is such a misfit for the role. His body language, his moves, his looks, none of it even remotely resemble that of a real rockstar. And he wears a constipated look throughout the movie. The not-so-gracefully aging Sallu holds the  movie together with his antics and dialogue delivery. He looks convincing as a man torn between the tumultuous events of his life.The friendship between Sally and Ajay seems contrived, you just can't relate to their so called Dosti.
Asin shares no chemistry with either of the two actors. But, she has done justice to her role and plays the role of a modern Tamil girl who wants to be famous but has to face the wrath of her orthodox family.
The two other other band members played by Rannvijay and another cute guy with a bird's nest for hair, deserve special mention for their natural performances.
Shankar Ehsaan and Loy have come a long way from Dil Chahta Hai, unfortunately they have come the wrong way. The music I beleive is the soul of any movie, this movie lacks soul. The music does not do anything to you. It just makes you wonder whatever happened to the trio who gave us brilliant music with the likes of Rockford, Mission Kashmir and Rock On.
Having said that, I think the movie would've worked if some more attention was paid to details and IF Ajay Devgn was NOT cast as the lead.
Watch the movie if you don't get tickets for any other movie, like I did :D

I've Got the Blues

My blog has been collecting dust for a while now, I've been just plain lazy and uninspired. Been tweeting a lot though. Note to self - Any kind of addiction is bad :-| Now, while i was being horrendously lazy, i decided that watching a movie will .. well.. not necessarily make me active, but atleast inspire me a little. So which movie do I pick? BLUE. Not a blue film dummy, m not into porn (PJ)
Watching Blue was not an altogether bad idea. Should give it to them for going the unconventional way and shooting almost 40% of the movie underwater. Laudable effort. BUT... being part Bollywood, the director can't help but goof up in some areas can he? For starters, the storyline is leaky and almost comical. The choice of cast is poor to say the least. I mean, Sanjay Dutt, seriously the poor man doesn't know where to hide is paunch. he looks positively pregnant. And, pairing him up with Lara Dutta! Disaster dude! Sanju baba wears a dead pan expression throughout the movie. He is no better than he was in Luck.
And then there is Zayed Khan. Sigh.. When God when will he go for his much needed acting classes. Even Katrina in her minuscule role has more expressions on her face than Zayed has in the entire movie.  Akshay looks lean and mean, but his dialogues..well.. its not his fault is it that he has been given some award winning cheesy lines. Sample this :
Sanju is lecturing Zayed on somethingortheother and our man Akshay goes "Arey, yeh moral science class ka waqt nahi hai" Hold on while I gag..
OK, enough ripping the movie apart, the finer points of the movie are of course the brilliant music, the breathtaking cinematography and the long but well-executed stunts. Go watch Blue if you think you can overlook its flaws and just enjoy the dive! :)

Brush with Fame

OK. So, here's a scan of a store review I did for Femina. Its blurred and all I know. SO why don't you just go grab a copy of the October Femina and check it out! Try viewing the attachment if its any clearer