Showing posts with label Sonam Kapoor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sonam Kapoor. Show all posts

Friday, August 6, 2010

Aisha - Movie Review

Read more! Cast :: Abhay Deol & Sonam Kapoor

Recall the age-old adage: Marriages are made in heaven. Consummated on earth. But haven't we encountered lots of people in real life who try to set things up between friends/acquaintances? In fact, they take upon themselves to make matches and meddle in other people's affairs. That, in a nutshell, is the plotline of AISHA.

Let's get one thing straight. You are not exploring virgin territory with AISHA. 'Emma', the Jane Austen novel, has been adapted on film and television in the past. Although first published in 1815, almost 200 years ago, director Rajshree Ojha and writer Devika Bhagat transport the characters from this novel to present-day New Delhi. But the essence remains the same: A simple plot and an equally simplistic love story.

Unlike most love stories that we’ve witnessed on Hindi screen, there’s no heavy-duty dramebaazi in AISHA, no major hurdles to cross, no parental opposition to encounter, no major conflicts to solve. The director and writer remain faithful to the novel, which prompts you to ponder, wish the relationships were so uncomplicated in today’s times.

But there's a flipside as well. The film runs a little longer [although the running time is 2 hours] and gets painfully slow in some portions. Besides, AISHA lacks the depth of passion and that could be because the makers were trying to make something lighter and breezier. Sweeping the minor complaints aside, AISHA is watchable for two factors mainly: Neat performances, especially by Sonam Kapoor and Amit Trivedi’s super musical score.

Aisha [Sonam Kapoor] is a girl with a simple diktat -- everyone's business is her business. Arjun [Abhay Deol] is a boy with even a simpler set of beliefs -- Aisha should mind her own business. Caught in the Delhi upper class world with its own set of social rules, Aisha navigates her world with a great sense of style and even greater optimism.

Caught in her web are her best friend Pinky [Ira Dubey], the small-town girl Shefali [Amrita Puri], the West Delhi boy Randhir [Cyrus Sahukar] and the hunk Dhruv [Arunoday Singh]. Aisha will make sure everyone dances to her tune. And all Arjun wants to do is disentangle that web and get Aisha out of an impending sticky mess.

Director Rajshree Ojha and writer Devika Bhagat introduce the principal characters at the very outset and within minutes, you know their traits as well. The entire first hour is filled with the assorted characters interacting with one another and technically speaking, there's hardly any movement in the story. In fact, the first hour is more of a collage of incidents and moments put together on a beautiful canvas.

But the wheels start moving towards the post-interval portions, when the lead characters [Abhay, Sonam] suffer from pangs of jealousy and the remaining characters find themselves at crossroads as far as relationships are concerned. From this point onwards, AISHA gets more and more engaging. Note the confrontation sequence between Sonam and Amrita, which leads to a bitter outburst by the latter. Note the sequence when Sonam professes love for Abhay at a marriage reception, only to realise later that she had walked into a wrong venue. Note the finale, which is very Mills & Boon type of culmination. Well penned and well executed sequences!

Director Rajshree Ojha has handled several moments well, but how one wishes she would've spruced up the proceedings by coming straight to the point, instead of depicting Abhay and Sonam in sulking moods in several sequences of the second hour. Also, from the writing point of view, Cyrus and Ira Dubey suddenly realise that they are made for each other. Why this sudden pyaar? Didn’t they detest each other? Loving the same musician doesn't imply you are made for each other! There had to be a scene or two to indicate that they are drawn towards each other.

The production design [Shruti Gupte] is impressive. The film bears a striking look all through. The styling of all characters is up to the mark. The costume designers [Pernia Qureshi and Kunal Rawal] deserve full marks for choosing/making the trendy outfits. Diego Rodriguez’s cinematography is appealing. Music composer Amit Trivedi is in form, displaying his versatility in various numbers such as ‘Shaam’, ‘Suno Aisha’ and ‘Gal Mitthi Mitthi Bol’.

AISHA is sure to open eyes to the talent of its leading lady Sonam Kapoor, who gives face, form and expression to Aisha. She displays the essential characteristic of an actress who has the ability to shift quickly and effectively from one emotion to another. She can cry, look wistful and deliver a biting line with equal believability. Abhay Deol is a complete natural and the fact comes to the fore yet again as you watch AISHA. Although Sonam has an author-backed role, Abhay underplays his part well and registers a strong impact in several scenes.

The film is supported by a fine [read talented] cast. Also, one of the delights of the film is the cleverly written supporting roles. Ira Dubey is spunky, a damn good actor. Amrita Puri is a revelation, a powerhouse of talent. Cyrus Sahukar is first-rate. Arunoday Singh acts his part well. Lisa Haydon [as Aarti] is underused in a small role. Anuradha Singh is classy. M.K. Raina [Aisha’s father] is efficient. Anand Tiwari [as Saurabh] is competent. Sameer Malhotra and Vidhushi Mehra [Aisha’s brother-in-law and sister, respectively] have nothing substantial to do.

On the whole, AISHA holds appeal for the youth mainly and there’s a strong likelihood that this segment of movie-going audience will fall for its charms. From the business point of view, the makers have recovered a big chunk of their investment from the sale of Satellite Rights and Music Rights and recovering the balance amount from India theatrical, Overseas and Home Video should be a cakewalk.

Download Aisha MP3 Songs
01 - Aisha - Suno Aisha@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
02 - Aisha - Gal Mitthi Mitthi@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
03 - Aisha - Sham@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
04 - Aisha - Behke Behke@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
05 - Aisha - Lehrein@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
06 - Aisha - By The Way@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
07 - Aisha - Gal Mitthi Mitthi (The Bombay Bounce Dhol Mix)@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
08 - Aisha - Lehrein (The Bombay Bounce Lounge Mix)@review-of-movies.blogspot.com


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Thursday, July 8, 2010

Aisha - Music Review

Read more! Cast :: Abhay Deol & Sonam Kapoor

Aisha is an upcoming romantic comedy Hindi movie of Bollywood starring Sonam Kapoor, Abhay Deol and Arunoday Singh. Music of Aisha movie is composed by Amit Trivedi. Lyricist of the film is Javed Akhtar.

Amit Trivedi is here again. I was not even done with listening to his awesome Udaan, when he came back with Aisha. The good thing is that unlike Udaan, Aisha is not all typical Amit Trivedi in his favorite rock mood, but much more versatility. In fact with the present variety, you may count it as, something like half a Dev.D.

Aisha has fresh faces, not only on the screen but behind the screens as well. With Aisha, Sonam Kapoor is ready to strike the second time as well after her recent Hit. The movie also has Abhay Deol in the lead and Amit Trivedi is the Music Director. Abhay-Amit combo brought one of the biggest musical successes Dev D, which not only established Abhay as a rising star but also Amit Trivedi became a rage with Emosonal Atyachaar topping all charts.

Hence, although with new talent the music of Aisha has reasonable expectations due to Amit's previous works. Sprinkling a bit of experience with his talaffuss is Javed Akhtar, and boy, does he rock big time or not, well you will surely get to know when you hear the soundtrack of Aisha.

The album opens with Suno Aisha, something which offers freshness and has a beautiful melody. The crisp vocals by Amit Trivedi, Aditt, Nakash Aziz and Ash King offer an edge to this song as finally, you come across something different. The trumpet has not been so marvellously utilized in any hindi song of the recent times, yeah we had the Emotional Atyachaar but this time the it is used more towards creating melody. Suno Aisha is catching up the rage and is a sure shot sucess from the time it starts, you can hear this song again and again.

The second track Gal Mitthi Mitthi is an a hands on Competition to the popular Emosonal Atyachaar. If any song can break records of the previous landmark of Amit Trivedi, this song definately has the potential. Basically, a new-age shaadi song starts with a shehanaayee and the beats of this song somewhat take you back to Pardesi from Dev D. The vocals are by Tochi Raina, again a fresh voice, take this song to a high level moreover hindi-punjabi lyrics with a western arrangement leave a great impact the first time you hear the song. You cannot help yourself but listen this song again and again. And if you thought this song cannot be bettered....you are wrong. There is a bombay bounce dhol remix version with dhol beats, which turns this song into a complete bhangra dance number, leading to a high adrenaline number. A Sure shot Hit, the one song which can re-create the Emosanal Atyachaar effect both in its original as well as remix version.

After some happy and enjoyable racy tracks, the album changes tracks to a rather slow Shaam again sung by Amit Trivedi, where the song heavily rests on guitar arrangements, makes you suddenly realize the word power of Javed Akhtar. This song will catch up with the youth as time progresses. A good change of pace of the Album.

Behke Behke Nain has a blend of international music and Hindi lyrics. The international feel of this song right from the start catches you with its beats. The arrangement is somewhat similar to Zinda hai hum to from Josh but Amit trivedi has really brought yet another ace up his sleave with this track. The vocals by Anushka Manchanda, Samrat and Raman Mahadevan
add to the zingness of this song. Another jewel by the music director.

Lehrein, sung by Anusha Mani is a soothing melodious number follows after behke behke, shows you the versitality Aisha has for you. One thing you notice again, in this song will surely be the Javed Akhtar's lyrics. The other tracks are quite racy and peppy which does not make you focus more on lyrics but Shaam and Lehrein surely shows the magic of Javed Akhtar's tallafus..... The remix version of this song is also worth a listen.

Download MP3 Songs
01 - Aisha - Suno Aisha@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
02 - Aisha - Gal Mitthi Mitthi@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
03 - Aisha - Sham@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
04 - Aisha - Behke Behke@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
05 - Aisha - Lehrein@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
06 - Aisha - By The Way@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
07 - Aisha - Gal Mitthi Mitthi (The Bombay Bounce Dhol Mix)@review-of-movies.blogspot.com
08 - Aisha - Lehrein (The Bombay Bounce Lounge Mix)@review-of-movies.blogspot.com


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Thursday, July 1, 2010

I Hate Luv Storys - Movie Review

Read more! Cast :: Imran Khan & Sonam Kapoor

The first thing that attracts you to (I Hate Luv Storys) is its title. Let's face it, we adore love stories... at least I do. We idolise the characters decades after the movies have come and gone. The songs that come on our lips instantly while playing a game of antakshri are romantic songs as well. In fact, the biggest moneyspinners, let's face it, have been love stories, right? So how can we 'hate' a love story?

No matter how mushy or cheesy they are, we find love stories irresistible because of the tremendous rush we experience at the end. Some of us are big suckers for love sagas, aren't we? That's precisely the reason why this title (I Hate Luv Storys) nagged me no end every time I watched the promo of this film.

Helmed by first-timer Punit Malhotra, (I Hate Luv Storys) is typical candyfloss romance with a story that's not jaw-droppingly different, let me forewarn you. But if you're young at heart or a diehard and hopeless romantic, you'd lap up (I Hate Luv Storys) like a kid laps up his fav candy.

Now to the vital question: If (I Hate Luv Storys) rests on a thin plot, what is it that drives the film for the next two hours? My answer to that is, four factors: The fresh pairing and chemistry between the lead cast, tremendous youth appeal, terrific music and magical moments that make a love story work.

The makers have never claimed that (I Hate Luv Storys) will change the face of Hindi cinema. Nor did they ever claim that (I Hate Luv Storys) will change the mindset of the viewer towards romantic films. So let's sit back and enjoy the fun ride. This one's by the youth, for the youth. It's this age-group that would come out smiling, cheering and rooting for this prem kahani.

'I hate love stories' is the maxim Jay (Imran Khan) lives by. But as an assistant director to Veer (Samir Soni), the most famous romantic film-maker of Indian film industry, Jay has little option but to live with larger than life, glossy, cinematic love on an everyday basis. Things only get worse when he is made to work under the new production designer on the film, Simran [Sonam Kapoor], with whom he shares the strangest first encounter.

Simran loves love stories, so much so that even her life has begun to resemble one. With her ideal job and the perfect boyfriend Raj [Samir Dattani], she lives a blissful, dreamy life. One that is rudely interrupted by Jay's cynicism.

Writer-director Punit Malhotra wins Round 1 by casting the right actors in the roles of Jay and Simran. In fact, it wouldn't be erroneous to state that the casting is the trump card of this film. But what Punit ought to know by now is that every story ought to have a strong grip to keep your attention arrested for the next two hours. In this case, the film rests on a waferthin plot, with not much movement in the story in the first hour. In fact, the story barely moves in the first part.

Yes, post-interval, the story does gather momentum and though you're well aware of the journey and what the culmination will be like, you don't mind the ride because you can't take your eyes off Imran and Sonam. Also, a love story works if one pines for the on-screen lovers and in (I Hate Luv Storys), you genuinely want the duo to sort things out, which means that you're involved in their lives. Even the finale - it won't be fair on my part to reveal how this movie concludes - may be filmy or cliched, but let's face it, it works.

Let me draw parallels with another love story, also starring Imran Khan. Recall the finale of JAANE TU YA JAANE NA, which had Imran riding a horse to reach his sweetheart [Genelia] at the airport. I distinctly recall, a lot of people found the end bizzare and rightly so. Can you imagine anyone galloping to the international airport in Mumbai? But I was truly surprised when I learnt that the youth were whistling and clapping all through. The finale is different here and you exit the auditorium with a smile on your face.

Director Punit Malhotra is heavily inspired by Mills & Boon novels and several Bollywood films... love stories all. But like I pointed out earlier, Punit needs to polish his writing skills, although the director in him bails the writer out and takes the film to a different level. The sequences between Imran and Sonam are well penned, but the ones between Sonam and her parents or Sonam and Samir Dattani are half-baked. Directorially, Punit shows super-confidence in moulding the two actors in their respective parts, so much so that you get sucked into Jay and Simran's world after a while.

A love story ought to be embellished with a lilting score - that's a compulsion - and Vishal-Shekhar are in true form this time. The score is trendy, energetic and beyond fantastic and what's more, it's already a rage. In fact, the musical score only takes the movie a step ahead. Ditto for Salim-Sulaiman's background score, which matches the mood to the T. Ayananka Bose's cinematography is awesome. The ace DoP proved his credentials in KITES recently and with (I Hate Luv Storys), he should find himself entrenched in the top bracket. The styling [Manish Malhotra] is top notch.

Imran enacts his part effortlessly. Though the role doesn't demand histrionics, you keep reacting to Imran because of the magnetism he radiates. The devilish streak in his character is sure to appeal to the youth. Besides, Imran has been photographed and presented very well. Sonam is a revelation. Sonam finally gets a role that does justice to her as an actress. The ease and class with which she carries off the glam look is fantastic. She's like a whiff of fresh air and you actually wonder, is she the same girl from SAAWARIYA and DELHI 6? In fact, (I Hate Luv Storys) will only multiply Imran and Sonam's fan base manifold.

Samir Dattani is decent, although his role gets sidelined as the story moves forward. Samir Soni's character reminds you of a certain hi-profile director and he plays the part extremely well. Kavin Dave, as Imran's buddy, is first-rate and steals the show in several scenes. Aamir Ali is perfect, while Pooja Ghai doesn't get scope to deliver. Bruna Abdullah looks sensuous and adds to the glam quotient. Ketaki Dave [Sonam's mother] is wasted. Anju Mahendru [Imran's mother] is adequate.

On the whole, (I Hate Luv Storys) is a young and vibrant love story with tremendous appeal for the yuppies. The fresh pairing and the on-screen electrifying chemistry, the lilting musical score and the magical moments in the film should attract its target audience - the youth - in hordes. If you're young or young at heart, this one's for you!

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Tuesday, May 25, 2010

I Hate Luv Storys - Music Review

Read more! Cast :: Imran Khan & Sonam Kapoor

Vishal-Shekhar’s I Hate Love Stories had been a long expected album. And guess?, they have done it. Bin tere, I hate Love stories, and Sadka kiya, I’m loving it.

No wonder this is a film by Karan Johar, who can write reams and reams on love. But this time it’s different. Though the banner is old, the director of I Hate Luv Storys is new. Following the footsteps of Karan is the young director Punit Malhotra and the onus to deliver musical hits in this bittersweet love story is on composer duo Vishal-Shekhar.

So the music of the film is bound to be under the scanner not only because of its banner and contemporary love tale but also because of the newfound chemistry between Imran Khan and Sonam Kapoor which is already a hit among the youngsters. With a fresh pair and dream-like locales, the film ‘I Hate Luv Storys’ promises a gamut of melodious songs.

The album starts with Jab Mila tu, which is quite like Dostana’s Jaane Kyun. That way, the song cannot be called very fresh but sounds fine, and will be stuck to our tongues the way Jaane kyun did.

The second song of the album is one of the best, or probably the best, Bin Tere (how many songs are called Bin tere, any idea?). Well, the song, sung by Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan and Sunidhi Chauhan is a wonderful piece of music and definitely worth a listen. Go for it.

The third song of the album is a peppy title song, bas pyaar ka naam na lena, I hate love stories, sung by Vishal Dadlani. Very, very tongue sticking,though I don’t think it’s one for longer times.

Bahara is the next song of the album. The song came as a surprise to me as I had not expected Sona Mahapatra in a Vishal-Shekhar album. I wonder if she has ever worked with the duo. Well, Sona is not the only singer in the song, in fact she is more in the background while the song is actually sung by Shreya Ghoshal. A medium-fast-paced song with a touch of folk. Definitely a good one again.

They had one king of rock with them. But they brought in another one. Yes, Vishal Shekhar call in Suraj Jagan for their next number Sadka Kiya, with Mahalaxmi Iyer. Frankly, Sadka is probably the song I have loved the most till date and the more I am listening to it, the more I am falling into the song. A song that keeps itself light, has beats something like Falak tak (Tashan), with Suraj going high in places, in a way that you would love. The best part, on top of the wonderful music and singing, there are those great lyrics, sadka kiya yoon ishq ka, ke sar jhuka jahan, deedar hua.

If this was not enough, here is more in remixes, no, reprises and mixes and remixes. The first to come up is Shekhar with a reprise of Bin Tere. Now there’s only a guitar and Shekhar’s voice. A real reprise, with hardly any background music. One of the toughest and the best things Shekhar has done. Kudos boy.

Now, a chill mix, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan singing what Shreya and Sona sang earlier. Definitely good work by Rahat and worth listening to song, but I think I have fallen for the original version already.

At the end there is a remix version of Bin Tere, which doesn’t sound bad.

Overall, I Hate Luv Storys seems to be a soundtrack which is better than plain good. A few songs may remind you of things here and there, but overall, almost every song of the album is good, which is a big deal. Well done Vishal-Shekhar.

Download MP3 Songs
01 - I Hate Luv Storys - Jab Mila Tu@review-of-movies.blogspot.com



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