Wall papers : Ugli Aur Pagli

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Movie Review : Ugly aur Pagli

 Ugly aur Pagli (comedy)

Cast: Ranvir Shorey, Mallika Sherawat

Direction: Sachin Khot

Critics rating:





Ah! All those missed opportunities. This one could have been a laugh riot, but for a script that suddenly loses its nuts and bolts and winds up into irrational territory. The Sassy Girlfriend (Mallika Sherawat) suddenly grows senty, dives into the Mandovi river and leaves her petticoat boyfriend (Ranvir Shorey) hanging love-lorn notes on a tree. And when she re-emerges, she's ready to marry someone else who suddenly reminds her of her old flame and sends her scurrying back to him. Of course, she doesn't find him at the old address, but hey, what happened to the breezy first half and the outrageous bakwas between the odd couple: the he-girl and the she-boy?



The film begins on a promising note, despite being a re-take of a Korean film. Loser Ranvir meets a slobbered Mallika Sherawat trying to jump before a local train and ends up carrying her to a hotel and spending the night with her, until she sobers up. Of course, the loser ends up sleeping on the floor and falling deeply in love with a girl who slaps him hard and proper whenever she's not sloshed or demanding something bizarre. Like, walking in high-heels, riding a seat-less bike in a red petticoat, stealing red roses from a park or dancing with her while she's ekdum talli . Sometimes, he does get his moments too and dares her to play the superwoman she poses to be. But our Ms Sprightly is ready for any and every challenge, even if it means strutting in college (yes, Mallika is a college kid!) with her chhaddis over her jeans.



So these are the fun parts, where Ranvir actually wonders why he loves this girl who is an alcoholic, a snorer and a goondi . And Mallika maintains the mystery of why she hangs out with this guy who has failed four times in college and has neither looks nor spirit. But when the mystery is unspoiled, the magic wanes and the laughs dry down. Then, it's the performances that keep the film afloat, specially Ranvir Shorey who excels in portraying the perfect underdog. Mallika too displays a newfound restraint and creates a lively new image for the archetypal heroine. Wish the laughs hadn't petered away....Wish that Zeenat Aman hadn't been wasted in a fleeting cameo!

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Rab is on Shah Rukh’s side

Never mind if Tashan and Thoda Pyar Thoda Magic weren’t eventful. Aditya Chopra’s Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi is all set to bring back Yash Chopra’s lost glory.



Looks like Shah Rukh Khan will prove to be their lucky charm once again after Chak De... India. At least that’s what numerologist Niraj Mancchanda predicts.



He tells us, “Rab Ne... will be the biggest hit of 2008. It comes to number 42 just like Dil Toh Pagal Hai did and that number vibrates with both Yash Chopra who is a number 9 and Aditya Chopra who is a number 3. The movie may might break records.” So, SRK need not worry about losing his throne or crown.

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'RK' breathes down Deepika's neck!

Don’t know how far this is true, but the word is strong that Deepika Padukone has taken a tip from Saif Ali Khan and professed her devotion to her beloved with a tattoo.



Saif’s “Kareena” tattoo on his forearm is now legend. But Deepika, being shyer and more private than the flamboyant Khan, is reported to have got the initials “RK” daintily tattooed on the nape of her neck.



It can’t be seen, naturally. But Deepika is said to have revealed the tattoo to a friend and spoken about it on the air waves. Bollywood, of course, loves such displays of affection, and if true, some crafty filmmaker must already be considering how to show Deepika’s RK on screen first!

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Movie Review : Mission Istaanbul

 Mission Istaanbul (action)

Cast: Zayed Khan, Vivek Oberoi, Shreya Saran

Direction: Apoorva Lakhia

Critics rating:

APOORVA Lakhia simply got carried away by the bang-bang of Shootout at Lokhandwala . But whilst the earlier film was a high testosterone action flick which clicked simply because it didn't compromise on its emotional quotient, Mission Istaanbul sees Lakhia concentrating on action alone. End result? A cold, clinical drama, spilling over with gun fights, fist fights, car chases and stunts that have no emotional bedrock. The characters fail to connect with each other and the audience and the good versus evil war against terrorism remains thanda at the core. Once again, it's the lack of a story that sorely lets down the actors who try hard to get the adrenalin pumping with their guys-and-guns lore.



The director chooses a topical theme: terrorism, but loses the plot midway and blames a media channel for creating most of the terror in the world. Osama has been conveniently bumped off in his bunker by Turkish commando, Rizwan Khan (Vivek Oberoi), yet his tapes keep appearing on the popular Al Johara (Al Jazeera, did you say?) television network. The doctored tapes have been created by the media mogul (Niketan Dheer) who is in league with the terrorists and is spearheading mayhem, the world over, only to raise the TRPs.



This time, the target is India, but for the brave Indian television anchor, Zayed Khan and his Turkish comrade-in-arms, Vivek Oberoi. Of course, they manage to find a third partner too in the desi Lara Croft (Shweta Bhardwaj) who has the uncanny knack of jumping in whenever the stakes are low. Quite a distraction, actually, especially since Hunk No. 1 (Zayed) is newly divorced from wife Shreya and Hunk No. 2 (Vivek) has lost his wife to the terrorists.



The film has been shot well in the exotic locales of Istanbul, but there isn't much that Vivek's long hair and Zayed's serious be-spectacled look can do to save the film from ending up as a thriller that doesn't actually thrill. Even Abhishek Bachchan's item number fails to garner applause this time. The only time the film perks up is with the Bush humour. The American President wonders what's the problem with Turkey? Are the birds in short supply? he asks. And if that's not enough, he warns his aides to `leave those Indians alone with their pen drives' since all the call centres are in India and he must learn how to pronounce Man-mo-han, before he visits India. Ha!

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Movie Review : Money Hai To Honey Hai

Money Hai To Honey Hai (comedy)

Cast: Govinda, Aftab Shivdasani, Hansika Motwani, Manoj Bajpai

Direction: Ganesh Acharya

Critics rating:  

HARD to understand why Govinda needs to be so desperate? After all, he is the uncrowned king of comedy in Indian cinema, having created a staunch fan following of his own. Naturally then, the fans and the aam janta cringe when he dons the greasepaint in senseless films like this. Surely, he needs to be more choosy now after having successfully accomplished a second comeback with David Dhawan's Partner . Here, as a pampered rich singleton, he's neither fit nor funny.



It's a silly story, from start to finish, with a cranky old millionaire (Prem Chopra) selecting six losers as his legal heirs, before hitting the bucket. The odd assortment of thakela folks includes an out-of-work model (Upen Patel), a film-crazy starlet (Hansika Motwani), a bleeding-heart fashion designer (Celina Jaitley), a bumbling copywriter (Aftab Shivdasani) and a rustic entrepreneur (Manoj Bajpai). Not forgetting fat and unfit runaway son, Govinda who tries to become the manager of the vela bunch. Add to this a lusty Archana Puran Singh and a scheming villain and you have a comedy that doesn't make you laugh. It makes you cry with the sheer inanity of the proceedings.



It's disturbing to see actors like Govinda and Manoj Bajpai plunging to such depths. Not justified. Neither for money, nor for honey.

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