Slumdog Millionaire Review

I read somewhere that some Mumbai-based movie critics are saying Danny Boyle has shown Mumbai as a gutter. I don’t know what those guys mean. If the shoot has taken place in Dharavi, how will it look clean? It’s not supposed to. My advice to the critics is to CLEAN IT if you can.

 

Let’s get to the movie now. I am going to review it as an Indian — foreigners seem awestruck by a few things that we see everyday and pass off as normal. Slumdog Millionaire is a story exactly as the title suggests – the tale of a slum dog who becomes a millionaire. The journey is what makes you believe in this piece of celluloid.

 

The movie is based on the novel Q & A by Vikas Swarup, directed by Danny Boyle and co-directed by the lesser-known Lovleen Tandon. Simon Beaufoy, the screen writer has woven the book nicely into an inspirational screenplay.

 

It all starts off with the protoagonist, Jamal Malik (Dev Patel), being interrogated by a cop (Irfan Khan). Jamal has been brought in for interrogation because the cops suspect him of cheating in a game show. Poverty being his major enemy and honesty his strength, Jamal manages to convince the cops that he is innocent and goes on to complete the show as a roll-over contestant.

 

The story is Jamal’s life’s journey, depicting his life in a slum, the death of his mother in Hindu-Muslim riots and how he and his brother as children are left to fend for themselves. They meet a girl, Latika, who has seen as hard a life and Jamal immediately falls for her. Child actors Ayush, Azharuddin and Rubiana have acted brilliantly. Hats off to the directors, they have managed to extract the impossible out of them.

 

 In a few years, due to unfavourable circumstances, Jamal ventures out alone into the dark and unforgiving city that is Mumbai. His mission is to find his love, Latika who gets separated from him in the prime of his childhood full on hindi film style (running behind a train)

 

Working as a chaiwalla in a call centre he manages to get through as a contestant in the Indian version of Who wants to be a Millionaire. He is ecstatic as he knows his love Latika (Freida Pinto)  watches the show. He manages to answer all the questions as they are related to his life at some point or the other. Anil Kapoor has played the quiz master. He doesn’t have much of a role but whatever little he has done, is done well. In the end as a masala Hindi movie goes, Jamal meets Latika and everybody goes home happy. (and dancing – literally)

 

AR Rehman’s music is the best thing about the movie. The soundtrack is better than most Hollywood films of late. After all, he was nominated along with Hans Zimmer and managed to beat him to win the Golden Globe award.

 

I don’t think this is Danny Boyle’s best film, though. Trainspotting cannot be compared to this movie. I don’t think he has shown poverty to get mileage. Lovleen Tandon and Danny Boyle deserve a pat on the back for doing such good work, and I think they will get more awards too. The film has appealed to the audience and the jury members to no end. I’m not surprised. The Indian film makers should take a clue from the movie about what the international audience likes. We cannot keep sending movies with eight songs in them and expect awards.

 

If I am not mistaken, Amitabh Bachhan issued a statement saying that had it been an Indian director, the film wouldn’t have done this well. I agree with him completely, not because Danny Boyle got preference being a Britisher, but because no Indian director is capable of taking the risk of keeping a film clean without unnecessary songs and dances. 

 

If you notice I have written this review not in a straight script format (if you know what I mean – I mean all over the place). That’s exactly how the films screenplay goes. Overall the film is good ( not the best ever as critics have said across the world). It’s entertainment guaranteed. But it will surely make you think off and on whether it deserves all it has already got. I mean awards.

 

RishiO Review Meter – 3.9/5

Dasvidaniya Review

 

Big budgets don’t make a good movie — good scripts do.

 

This review is going to be short. Dasvidaniya is brilliantly directed and the actors have done their job to the fullest.

 

If I had to hear the script without seeing the movie, my thoughts might have been a little different. But the good part about Dasvidaniya is that a very simple (mostly inspired) story has been executed exceptionally well.

 

It is simple yet touching. The protagonist (Vinay Pathak) gets to know that he is dying of stomach cancer and decides to make a list of the things he wants to do in the short time he has left. Eventually, he fulfills each and every one of his desires.

 

The movie has nothing that one hasn’t seen before, but it still manages to hold the viewers’ interests. The chemistry between the actors is noteworthy. Ranvir Shourie and Rajat Kapoor both have miniscule roles, but they leave a mark.

 

They, along with Sarita Joshi, have done justice to their respective characters. Neha Dhupia (who up until now I thought was quite a dud, where acting is concerned) has delivered a surprisingly noteworthy performance.

 

Overall, Dasvidaniya is worth a watch – it’s the complete entertainment package.

 

RishiO Meter – 3/5

 

 

 

Dostana Review

The Filmmakers dream, the viewers nightmare

Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get.
A thing long expected takes the form of the unexpected when at last it comes.

The moment you think, “Isn’t it time for the interval?” it means something is wrong for sure. Friends who saw the movie before me said the film was tolerable till the interval, but for me, it should have ended after the first 35 minutes. We all loved the “Kaantaben” scenes in Mr Johar’s earlier film, but I never expected an intelligent filmmaker to make a 3 hour special on Kantaben.

The film revolves around two losers who have to lie about their sexual preference to stay in an apartment. I wonder why? The script takes a nosedive the moment they move in with Priyanka Chopra.  She plays a 27 year old independent lass who works for a fashion magazine and is piped to become the next editor-in-chief. The two wannabe gays, John Abraham and Abhishek Bachchan, fall in love with her and try to woo her by taking her out on romantic dates. In the meantime Priyanya’s boss “Boman Irani” who also plays a gay ( real gay ) role, tries to hit on the two losers ( John and AB ) when he is invited to her apartment for dinner. Kiron Kher ( the only tolerable actor in the movie ) plays Abhishek’s mom, who thinks her son has flown off the handle bar (all of them actually have, including the director and the producer ). Bobby Deol replaces Boman Irani as the editor-in-chief and Priyanka is disappointed. In the meantime John and AB apply for US residency. The officer who is attending them when they are in line is also gay. Why O Why?

I won’t bore you’ll further with the story because it’s not worth it. It’s quite apparent that the filmmakers have lived their dream by making such a film, if you know what — or who(!) – I’m talking about. John Abraham’s body is highlighted so much throughout the film that one is bound to feel the  producer was in love with him. Shilpa Shetty dances in one song in Miami (which could have been shot at Marve Beach). I would like to ask Shilpa “ Shilpa why O why O why do you wear a sarong over your bikini?”. For the viewer its like having water and telling yourself its whisky. Karan Johar is written in each and every frame of the film and its difficult to believe all the new directors that Mr. Johar works with have the same style.

Some advice for Mr Karan Johar. PLEASE DON’T GIVE ANYMORE REFERENCES TO YOUR EARLIER MOVIES IN EVERY NEW ONE YOU MAKE. WE KNOW YOU HAVE MADE KUCH KUCH HOTA HAI AND ITS VERY CLOSE TO YOUR HEART. AND THE ACTOR OF THE FILM IS ALSO VERY CLOSE TO YOUR HEART. BUT ANY MORE REFERENCES AND REMINDERS WILL JUST GET MORE IRRITATING.

The theatre was half empty on a Saturday evening show ( 2nd day), but this is one of those films where the producers will say that we have made the money in Indian markets abroad. There are very few filmmakers who write a script with the freedom of knowing that budget is not a problem; what is sad is that these very scriptwriters write films like these. It would be a pleasure if the production house thinks about the viewers and not only their bum-viewing dreams, when they decide to make their next film (and no, we do not want to see another actor’s backside).

What is even more irritating is that if this film flops the producers will say that the audience is not ready for such a script, when actually the audience is ready for everything, provided the film is good. This is not a risky subject, it’s just a bad script.

Don’t waste your money. Wait for a month or two and you will watch this film on one of the channels on television.

RISHIO REVIEW METER – 1.5/5