Showing posts with label Sunil Shetty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sunil Shetty. Show all posts

Friday, November 27, 2009

De Dana Dan - Movie Review

Read more! Cast :: Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Sunil Shetty, Paresh Rawal, Neha Dhupia, Sameera Reddy, Johny Lever, Asrani, Rajpal Yadav.

"De Dana Dan" is the most bizarre film from the maharaja of laughathons, Priyadarshan. Not even in your wildest dream you'd think that Priyadarshan would place almost an entirefilm in a hotel and have its entire cast.

But Priyadarshan needs to be credited for pulling it off. There are times when you laugh hysterically at the most outlandish jokes and situations. There are times when a raised eyebrow or a wide-open jaw makes you break into a guffaw.

Be cautioned. "De Dana Dan" is a loud film, with each and every character screaming on top of his/her voice, with the characters shouting, running, even floating and swimming in the end.

But what do you expect in a Priyadarshan film that has a title like "De Dana Dan"? The promos never promised path-breaking or thought-provoking cinema that would give birth to debates and discussions. So why look for logic in this one?

"De Dana Dan" makes no qualms of narrating a story you haven't heard before. Here, the story is non-existent and it's left on Priyadarshan to mix-n-match those two dozencharacters and keep the momentum alive for the next 2.45 hours.

"De Dana Dan" promises laughter and entertainment and sticks to its promise. This one's not for the hard-nosed types, but for those who worship escapist cinema. Who want to chuckle, giggle and chortle at those mindless jokes. In short, "De Dana Dan" is a pure dhamaal entertainer!

Nitin (Akshay Kumar) is a butler, cook, driver, watchman, gardener to a wealthy female industrialist (Archana Puran Singh) in Singapore. Like any young man, Nitin too dreams of a better life. He desperately wants to become rich and marry the love of his life, Anjali (Katrina Kaif), who supports him financially.

Ram (Sunil Shetty), Nitin's best friend, also came to Singapore with the dream of striking it rich, but ended up a courier delivery man. He falls for Manpreet (Sameera Reddy), but her high society parents will never approve of marriage, not unless Ram has lots and lots of money.

In the midst of all this is Harbans (Paresh Rawal), a shrewd businessman, who's looking for ways to multiply his income and avoid his debtors. He decides the best way would be to marry his son (Chunky Pandey) off to a girl whose parents can give him a large dowry. He is introduced to Manpreet's parents at a function and is impressed by their social status. He introduces himself as a well-established businessman, impresses them and they decide to get Manpreet and Harbans' son married.

With several factors working against them, Nitin and Ram soon reach a dead end in their relationships. When both receive ultimatums from their girlfriends, they realize that only a life of vice can help them out of their misery. They come up with an audacious plan to kidnap someone important and demand a ransom.

The kidnapping goes awry and both hide at a local hotel while waiting for the ransom money. But misfortune is never far and the kidnapping spirals out of control.

Meanwhile, Manpreet's wedding reception is being held at the same hotel that Nitin and Ram are hiding in. Soon, they are joined by a motley set ofcharacters including a Chinese Don (Asrani), a hired assassin (Johny Lever), a ACB police inspector (Sharat Saxena), a club dancer (Neha Dhupia), an ambassador (Vikram Gokhale), a young frustrated double crossing wife (Aditi Govitrikar), a letch (Shakti Kapoor), a drunken waiter (Rajpal Yadav) and a dead body nobody wants to check into the hotel.

"De Dana Dan" is atypical Priyadarshan film that has the unmistakable stamp all over it. But, at the same time, "De Dana Dan" is erratic and uneven - energetic at times, lethargic at places. Also, the culmination to the film is very similar to the director's earlier works, with the entire cast running helter-skelter.

On the flip side, you miss Akshay's presence in the second hour. He disappears (gets locked in a cupboard) for at least 20 minutes and the focus, hence, shifts to the othercharacters. His fans will miss his presence, for sure. Besides, the film tends to get very lengthy towards the second half and overtly verbose too.

Director Priyadarshan is synonymous with comedies and the ace storyteller promises laughter in abundance. Handling so many characters, plus making a film on mistaken identities could be very tough, but the director gets it right. Pritam's music is alright, while the RDB track, 'Paisa', is the pick of the lot. Salim-Sulaiman's background score is energetic. K. Ahambaram's cinematography is alright.

The review would be incomplete if one ignored the dialogue writer's (Jay Master) contribution to the film. The lines are laced with wit and soaked in humour and bring the house down on several occasions.

"De Dana Dan" has so many characters that it gets difficult to pinpoint or single out any one actor. Akshay is at his best in a Priyadarshan film and "De Dana Dan" proves it. Sunil is natural to the core. Paresh is incredible; he pitches in a superb act. Katrina and Sameera don't have much to do. Amongst the plethora of actors, Johny Lever, Neha Dhupia, Manoj Joshi, Asrani, Vikram Gokhale and Archana Puransingh deserve special mention.

On the whole, "De Dana Dan" is targeted at the masses and it delivers laughter in abundance. Leave your brains behind to enjoy this madcap entertainer!

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Thursday, November 19, 2009

Kurbaan - Movie Review

Read more! Cast :: Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Sunil Shetty, Dia Mirza, Om Puri, Kirron Kher.

Post 9/11, there's anger, distrust, suspicion, discomfort all around. Not a day passes when you don't hear of terrorists killing civilians in the name of religion.

Many storytellers have, in the past, narrated stories about terrorists and their evil and wicked plans. But let me state one thing categorically. You haven't watched a more profound, a more thought-provoking, a more dramatic story on this subject before KURBAAN. It's not just the most powerful film to come out of Dharma Productions, it's the most powerful film to come out of the Hindi film industry this year, thus far.

KURBAAN tries to penetrate into the psyche of not just the terrorist, but also someone who has been a helpless spectator all this while. This film is sure to spark off discussions and debates, although it must also be noted that it doesn't take sides or gets preachy.

Rensil D'Silva has chosen a burning issue for his directorial debut, which is a complete departure from Karan Johar's earlier films. For some inexplicable reasons, parallels are being drawn with FANAA and NEW YORK , but the fact remains that barring the backdrop of terrorism, there's no similarity with those films.

One often felt that certain films are beyond box-office. Movies are not meant to merely entertain, but enlighten and educate as well. They need to prick your conscience and in the process, make an attempt to make this world a better place. KURBAAN does just that and for this very reason, it deserves a double thumbs up.

Final word? Drop everything else you're doing to watch KURBAAN. Movies like these need to be made, encouraged and lauded.

Avantika (Kareena Kapoor) is a teacher at a university in Delhi. She has come back from New York where she teaches, because her father (Aakash Khurana) has suffered a heart attack. During this period, she meets a Professor called Ehsaan Khan (Saif Ali Khan). Soon, they begin seeing each other and love blossoms.

A few months later, Avantika receives a call from her university in New York, asking her to come back. Avantika breaks the news to Ehsaan. He, in turn, tells her he doesn't mind coming to the States with her. But first they need to get married.

Soon after the marriage, they leave to start a new life in New York. They buy a house in an Indian neighbourhood and move in. Just as they are setting up home, their conservative Muslim neighbours invite them over for dinner. The next morning, Salma (Nauheed Cyrusi), one of the women Avantika met the night before at the dinner, visits her under the pretext of gifting her sweets.

When Avantika invites her in, Salma tells her that she is in grave danger. Nothing is what it seems. Salma pleads with Avantika to help her. What follows next is a series of incidents that sucks Avantika into a vortex of danger and intrigue. As her life spirals out of control, Avantika realizes that she is a pawn in a huge game.

KURBAAN has two stories running concurrently - the love story between Saif and Kareena and the story of Islamic terrorists. Rensil sets the stage in the initial 15 minutes itself, after which there's a twist in the tale every 15-20 minutes, which catches you completely unaware. Rensil doesn't borrow from the past, which makes the proceedings thoroughly captivating.

The highpoint is the 35-minute climax, which leaves you spellbound. The culmination to the story shakes you completely, largely because it's pragmatic and has been executed most logically as well. In fact, filming the climax at the various underground tube stations must've been the toughest challenge for the director.

On the flip side, KURBAAN caters more to the intelligentsia or the thinking viewer and might not be lapped up whole-heartedly by those who survive on the staple diet of masala fares.

Some of the finest technicians in the business are associated with KURBAAN. Hemant Chaturvedi's cinematography is super. The film bears an international look all through. Salim-Sulaiman's music is well integrated in the narrative. At least two tracks merit a mention - 'Shukran Allah' and 'Ali Maula'. Anurag Kashyap and Niranjan Iyengar's dialogue are superb. The lines enhance the impact of several sequences. Thrills are, again, in sync with the mood of the film.

KURBAAN is embellished with superlative performances. Saif is extra-ordinary in a role that only proves his versatility once again. If he won your heart with a winning performance in LOVE AAJ KAL a few months ago, you need to watch this supremely talented actor underplay his part so beautifully in KURBAAN. As for Kareena, KURBAAN reiterates one fact yet again: She's the best in the business. No two opinions on that! Watch her get those emotional sequences right, it's incredible. Here's a performance that truly merits the highest praise and admiration, besides fetching her awards and accolades.

Vivek Oberoi is fantastic. Matching Saif and Kareena at every step, KURBAAN should be the turning point in Vivek's career. It's a difficult role to portray and only an actor with a wide range could've portrayed this part so effectively. Om Puri is top notch and so is Kirron Kher. Kirron is marvellous, especially in the penultimate scene. Dia Mirza, Nauheed Cyrusi and Kulbhushan Kharbanda lend credibility to their brief roles.

On the whole, KURBAAN is the most powerful film to come out of the Hindi film industry in 2009, so far. The film has a captivating plot, gripping screenplay, super performances and a climax that shakes you up completely. Watching this movie should be on top of your agenda this week.

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Kurbaan - 01 - Shukran Allah @review-of-movies.blogspot.com
Kurbaan - 02 - Dua @review-of-movies.blogspot.com
Kurbaan - 03 - Ali Maula @review-of-movies.blogspot.com
Kurbaan - 04 - Rasiya @review-of-movies.blogspot.com
Kurbaan - 05 - Kurbaan Hua @review-of-movies.blogspot.com
Kurbaan - 06 - Ali Maula Remix @review-of-movies.blogspot.com


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Thursday, November 5, 2009

De Dana Dan - Music Review

Read more! Cast :: Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Sunil Shetty, Paresh Rawal, Neha Dhupia, Sameera Reddy, Johny Lever, Asrani, Rajpal Yadav.

The brand value of Akshay Kumar, comic-timing of Paresh Rawal and static presence of Sunil Shetty have made a winning combination in the last few years. While Akshay and Sunil once had a reputation as action stars (Mohra), both have sobered down with age to explore different characters. Who can forget the 2000-laugh-riot ‘Hera Pheri’ which was a huge success at the box office? In many ways director Priyadarshan is back with his favourite leading men. Add one of Bollywood’s current flavours of the season, Katrina Kaif, and you’ve got yourself a recipe for success.

De Dana Dan may have its share of fine songs, but overall, it’s disappointing as it stands nowhere close to Tum Mile or even APKGK. In fact the one song that has been popularized and seems like one of the few good songs on the album belongs to RDB and thus Pritam’s share of good songs goes further down.

Out of twelve tracks of De Dana Dan, there are six songs as all songs have a remix or a second version except one. Here is the detailed review.

Rishte Naate: In De Dana Dan Pritam puts forward his best song as the very first as you hear Rahat Fateh Ali Khan singing at the start of the album, with vocals by Suzanne Demello. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan has got the song a gear up than he generally sings at. For the reason, in the beginning you might feel the song a bit fast but ultimately the song sounds perfectly fine. Worth listening to.

Paisa: The second song of the album is the one you must have heard a lot of times on your television already. RDB’s Paisa, featuring Manak-E and Selina. Main Barish kar doon paise ki, jo tu ho jaaye meri is a song that is surely going to rule the charts for a few weeks. Listen to this one on full volume or even better, in North Indian weddings, on the DJ.

Gale Lag Ja: One of the first things you do with any album now is searching Javed Ali’s name in credits. Here I found him again with Sa Re Ga Ma Pa contestant Banjyotsna for the song Gale lag ja. Gale lag ja happens to be the other song that I liked in the album, or at least find worth listening to, if only because of Javed Ali’s voice. Try the song, even though it’s a quite typical love song, you may like it.

Bamulaiza: OK. Here we start moving downwards. This one, called Ba-mulaiza, sounds quite like a song of Anu Malik in the ’90s. The song, though sung by Mika, Style Bhai and Dominique, is probably going to go unnoticed except for being played on FM sometimes, that due to its beats. Nothing much to say on this one.

Hotty Naughty: And here was the SURPRISE. A song written by Neeraj Shridhar, sung by Sunidhi Chauhan, almost half the lyrics in English. And copy of the superhit Haryanvi song Hat ja taau. For those who know the song, the unrapped part of Hotty-Naughty can be made by replacing Hat ja taau pachhe ne, naachan de jee bhar ke ne with you wanna feel me touch me hold me now, I’m hotty naughty babe in town. Simple as that, no need to go to Indonesia or Japan for this discovery of Pritamji.

Rishte Naate – Remix: Well, this is new. Before the end of original songs (wow, that word after the last song) there are remixes in. And this remix of Rishte Naate is sung by Kunal! Try hard but this stands Nowhere near the original. Skip.

Bamulaiza – Ragga Mix: Slightly better than the original. Hope runs better.

Gale Lag Ja (Version 2): No major changes from the original version. I guess that’s the best thing about the song. Nothing much again.

Hotty Naughty Remix: Remix of a dance number is another dance number. Easier for DJs. But yeah, the voice behind the microphone changes and this time it’s not Sunidhi but Kalpana Patwari.

OK. Enough of remixes. Jumping to the only song that remains. De Dana Dan, the title song. Well, the title song De Dana Dan is the one that has not been remixed in the album. And from the song all I could collect was that there is hardly scope for a remix. The best part of the song is that it’s Extremely Catchy. The bad part is that it’s use and throw.

Time for summary. Music of De Dana Dan doesn’t really seem to be a serious thing. Other than Rishte Naate and Gale Lag ja, no song of the album can be expected to last long, even if some of them go fine for sometime. Paisa and the title song are OK for short time. Bamulaiza is avoidable and Hotty Naughty is plagiarism again. Not that it makes the song any worse. It’s just OK.

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01-de_dana_dan-rishte_naate@review-of-movies.blogspot.com

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Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Kurbaan - Music Review

Read more! Cast :: Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Sunil Shetty, Dia Mirza, Om Puri, Kirron Kher.

The music of Dharma Productions’ latest offering, Kurbaan, based on Jihad is an album to watch out for. The movie has generated quite some buzz off late thanks to a picture of Kareena and Saif.

With Niranjan Iyegar choosing the curve of the alphabets in his way and Salim-Sulaiman providing the notes to his thought-spinners, the result is mesmerizing. The album has some of the best Sufi tracks composed in recent times.

The album which starts on high notes concludes with a disappointing title track. But the remaining 4 tracks are of high caliber. Niranjan Iyengar and Salim-Sulaiman have written/composed the perfect album for a movie like Kurbaan.

Shukran Allah
Song from Sonu Nigam is always a delight. But equal credits to Salim and Shreya Ghosal for their beautiful playback singing. Song moves in a smooth rhythm, you will love the sounds of guitar.

Dua
Sukhwinder Singh and Kailash Kher comes together again after disappointing last effort. But this time it works. The main USP of this song is it's lyrics. Very clear and meaningful.

Ali Maula
Ali Maula picks up a bit slow but turns out to be magnificent song. Backed by powerful music, reckoning song for singer and music composer Salim.

Rasiya
It's more of a theme song for Kurbaan. Again strong music raises the tempo of this song.

Kurbaan Hua
The show stealer for sure. This is a Hindi rock song from talented rock music experts Vishal - Shekhar. This type of songs do tend to sound similar but it has unique touch comparable to no other song.

Ali Maula - Remix
This was not required, music is too loud and suppress the singers voice. Remix of Kurbaan Hua would have been better.

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Kurbaan - 01 - Shukran Allah @review-of-movies.blogspot.com
Kurbaan - 02 - Dua @review-of-movies.blogspot.com
Kurbaan - 03 - Ali Maula @review-of-movies.blogspot.com
Kurbaan - 04 - Rasiya @review-of-movies.blogspot.com
Kurbaan - 05 - Kurbaan Hua @review-of-movies.blogspot.com
Kurbaan - 06 - Ali Maula Remix @review-of-movies.blogspot.com


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