Movie Review of : Ra.One

Rating:*** (3.5)

Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Shahana Goswami, Armaan Verma

Direction: Anubhav Sinha

Genre: Sci-fci

Duration: 2 hours 35 minutes

Story: Goofy gaming expert, Shekhar Subramaniam (Shah Rukh Khan) wants to be a super hero for his son Prateik (Armaan Verma). But his young son, like all young sons, thinks super villans are more cool. So Shekhar creates the ultimate clash of good against evil by pitting a very powerful anti-hero Ra-One against a seemingly less potent good guy. But can the good guys ever lose?

Movie Review: Rajnikant's Robot may have pre-dated it, but Ra-One does manage to hold despite the larger-than-life quality of Rajni's antics as Chitti. Here, Shah Rukh Khan does the train walk sideways and he does it rather well. And if that is not enough, the two desi sci fi heroes have a split second encounter on the streets of Mumbai, with Rajni saar showing off his flying googles act and SRK replicating it with elan. Twin Rascals!

Ra-One works on several accounts. First because it has some interesting clashes betwen G-One, the good robot(Shah Rukh Khan) and Ra-One, the bad robot, who can take the form of anyone he wants. Secondly, the bond that G-One develops with the family he is supposed to protect, Kareena and her young son Prateik, is warm and winsome. There is also a lot of wit thrown in here and there in the screenplay, specially when the film concentrates on the geeky and loving Subramaniam's family dinners. And finally it is the excellently sung and choreographed Chammak-Challo number which keeps the mercury rising to unprecendented heights.

The film falls back in the emotional quotient. Understandably, robots have no feelings, but remember, even the steely Terminator managed to have a very special relationship with the mom and her messiah son. Also, considering so much money has been poured into the film, the special effects and the hi-tech gadgetry lacks the glitzy feel of Hollywood sci-fi. In some places, it even gets somewhat tacky with all those flying cars hurtling into nowhere and the digital game screen going gaudy in orange.

Small quibbles, actually, since Ra-One is sure to usher in a crackling Diwali at the box office and give the audience paisa vasool entertainment, with fine performances by both Shah Rukh and Kareena. Even young Armaan is efficient. Go have a blast.

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Tees Maar Khan is Censor-bored

The Censor Board put the film through a near guillotine with 18 cuts. Director Farah Khan took it to the revising committee and has come out a winner

Tees Maar Khan is censored with a U/A certificate but not before some unwanted hiccups. The film had been given some really uncalled for cuts by the Censor Board committee in Mumbai and Farah Khan and Shirish Kunder had to go to the revising committee to get the certificate for the film. The revising committee passed the film without much debate.

They even asked for the phrase 'Maa ki aankh' to be removed; Golmaal Returns had the same dialogue

Our source said, "Some of the members at the censor board were unreasonable and demanded some unjustified cuts from the film. In fact they even asked the word Sheila to be removed from the song Sheila ki fawani. Some of the other cuts involved scenes where Katrina Kaif's naval wasvisible. They even asked for the

phrase 'Maa ki aankh' to be removed; Golmaal Returns had the same dialogue even in its promos barely a month ago. Some other words like tawaif, etc were also asked to be removed. Farah Khan did not accept these cuts and took the film to the revising committee in Delhi. The committee of seven members saw the film on Thursday and did not find anything so earth-shattering in the film to warrant 18 cuts. The film was passed with only a couple of cuts and a passing certificate will be issued to the film early week."

Pankaja Thakur, Censor executive, said, "We are not giving any statements on Tees Maar Khan till the whole process ends. For us the process is not over yet." Farah and Shirish remained unavailable for comment. Still reeling from the 'maar' at the hands of the Censors, we presume.

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Katrina goes Missing

Katrina Kaif with sister Isabella

On the set of Zoya Akhtar's ZindagiNa MilegiOobara, the ac ress and her ister vamoosed to explore the mountains of Spain

Last Sunday was quite a dark one for the unit of Zoya Akhtar's Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. They were all shooting in Andalucia, south of Spain, when Katrina and her sister suddenly went missing.

On Sunday morning, when the unit gathered for breakfast, Katrina didn't tum up. Presuming she was sleeping till late, Farhan Akhtar and others started joking about her laziness. But people began panicking when Katrina and her sister Isabelle (who had joined the crew some time ago) were nowhere to be found. When the sisters did not surface by evening, some people thought about informing the pOlice. The unit decided against it and chose to send out a search party to find the two women. But just then, Katrina and her sister emerged from nowhere.

Says a source from the unit, "This was late in the evening. We were all wondering what to do when Katrina suddenly showed up with her sister. The girls had lost their way in the mountain."
When contacted, Katrina confirmed the incident with a nervous giggle, "Yeah, Isabelle and I did get lost in Andalucia. It was the day off from shooting.

We both love the mountains.We took off early in the morning, on our own, thinking we would be back by breakfast. But while exploring the enchanting Little town, we were hooked on its beauty." Both the girls were mistaken for locals because they didn't speak at all with people on the way. Katrina continues, "Somewhere during the day we lost our way on a deserted stretch. We had no map, no water, no food. On this stretch,
there was not a single soul in sight. It was scary but fun."

Reminiscing the incident, Katrina is far from looking distressed; she longs to go back to Andaluda. "Not for work, just to have fun . Me and my sisters," she says. Sure Katrina, just carry a map next time.

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Salman Khan can dance, says choreographer

Not everyone swears by Bollywood heartthrob Salman Khan's dancing prowess. But his choreographer for the movie 'Dabangg' says he has become technically strong and even gives his own inputs.

'This is not the first time I am working with Salman. I've worked with him even earlier when I used to be an assistant with Ganesh Acharya. But now he has changed; today he is technically stronger. He also gives his inputs for steps,' Shabina Khan Ansari told IANS.

'Dabangg', a film set in a small town of Uttar Pradesh, will feature Salman in the role of a cop. His younger brother and actor Arbaaz Khan has produced the film while Abhinav Kashyap is the director. The film is slated for a September release.  

Ansari has choreographed two songs in the film, a romantic track and a hardcore dance number. She gave Salman steps suiting his character.

'I created steps for Salman keeping in mind his character and image. He is playing a cop in the film, so I didn't want his moves to be professional like a dancer's. He plays a straightforward person in the film; we kept all that in mind,' said the choreographer.

'Even Salman really pushed himself. Everyone liked his dancing in 'Wanted'; so he wanted to improve upon that,' she added.

So what's the strong point in Salman's dancing? 'It's his style,' said Ansari, without a second thought.

'He has his own way of doing steps. Even if I teach him something, he will do it in his own way. But it actually comes out to be nice and audiences love it,' she added.

'Dabangg', which has music by Sajid-Wajid, also stars Sonakshi Sinha, the daughter of veteran actor Shatughan Sinha. However, she doesn't get to shake a leg in the film.

'Sonakshi will not be seen dancing in the film. Her character doesn't demand that, but even in the romantic song, where you see her moving a little, you can see rhythm in her body. She has a music sense and I'm sure she will be a great dancer,' Ansari said.

She has over 12 years' experience and has been part of several Ram Gopal Varma projects such as 'Company', 'Bhoot', 'Naach' and 'Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon'.

She has also worked on films like 'Jashan', 'Yahaan', 'Aksar' and 'Well Done Abba' among others.

Currently the choreographer has her kitty full with projects like 'Kajraare', which is close to release, 'Chai Garam' and 'Will You Marry Me'.

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Deepika’s taking the 'plunge'

Okay, badminton can take a backseat, this babe is turning out to be a diving diva. Yeah, so far she’s shown her moves in many badminton courts, but now she’s ready to take some more risks.

Deepika Padukone is taking the big dive. Her latest passion is diving — from the skies to underwater. Recently, while shooting in Mauritius, Deepika was keen for some adventure, so she took time off to do scuba-diving and sky-diving. And it was almost addictive; the gal couldn’t stop her diving adventures. “I had the time of my life and it’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever done,” she said, squealing with excitement. Way to go, gal. Go on and take the plunge. We mean only the diving types, alright.

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Movie Review : Housefull

Film: Housefull

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone, Riteish Deshmukh, Lara Dutta, Jiah Khan, Boman Irani

Genre: Comedy

Direction: Sajid Khan

Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes

Critic's Rating:***

Story: Akshay Kumar, the proverbial loser, believes he can ward off his bad luck by finding true love. But each time he falls in love, misfortune strikes and his girlfriend walks out on him. This time, hope begins to float...He finds Deepika Padukone who does love him. But how does he convince her military-man brother, Arjun Rampal and extract himself from the web of lies his friends, Riteish and Lara, have built around him?

Movie Review: Sajid Khan returns after the success of Heyy Baby, a spilt milkfood and soiled diaper soiree that did manage to tickle your funny bone with its infant histrionics. With Housefull, he doesn't stray much and tries to create a similar riot of hilarious episodes, centred around two couples -- Akshay Kumar-Deepika Padukone and Riteish Deshmukh-Lara Dutta. Trouble lies not so much with the couples as with their relatives: Lara's estranged Pappa, Boman Irani and Deepika's angry brother, Arjun Rampal. Can the boys manage to win their beloved's parivar walas? Not an easy task, specially when both are losers of sorts and don't have the mandatory big house, big money, big lifestyle....

The film begins on a funny note, with Akshay trying to seek refuge from his bad luck by moving in with his best buddy, Riteish and his wife, Lara. A vacuum cleaner turned awry and a tryst with a tame tiger on the sofa are some of the spoofs that showcase Akshay Kumar in his quintessential comic act: deadpan humour by the I'm-just-a-simpleton hero. You do settle down for some fun and games, but sadly, the film peters off into a not-so-funny middle with Akshay serenading Jiah Khan and the viewer having to endure a prolonged Chunky Pandey cameo as Aakhri Pasta, an Italian hotelier who actually makes you want to howl than laugh. Thankfully, he is bundled off, but the muddlesome middle has already taken its toll on the film by putting the brakes on comedy. The second half picks up again as the foursome rent a house and the relatives -- Boman and Arjun -- arrive. The game of subterfuge and mistaken identities begins with Akshay reluctantly pitching in as Lara's husband and Deepika's boyfriend and trying his goofy best to win over both Boman and Arjun.

It's literally slapstick humour, with a lot of slaps flying around between simians and humans, humans and humans. Nevertheless, it makes you laugh, provided you don't go looking for artistry and intelligence. Also, you'll find the usual jokes about homosexuality and Gujarati incredulousness, made famous by Kal Ho Na Ho. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's audio track has a few peppy numbers which however do not promise to end up as chartbusters, except Mika's `apni to jaise-taise...' The rest of the songs are good while they last. Period. Akshay Kumar and Riteish Deshmukh share a better chemistry between themselves than they do with the girls. Wish the Boman Irani and Lilette Dubey track had been explored further. It did have great potential.

All said and done, Housefull might not set the summer scorching, but it does create a ripple after a prolonged lull at the multiplexes. Let the summer begin to simmer, then sizzle....

A word about:

Performances: Akshay Kumar never laughs in the film, yet manages to make you laugh with his `loser' act. Riteish and Akshay share a combustible chemistry which is much more than we can say about Akshay and Deepika: quite thanda.

Dialogue: Simple and slapstick.

Story: Revolves around the usual formula of a comedy of errors and mixed-up identities.

Cinematography: Vikas Sivaraman keeps his camera mostly indoors, except when it moves to Italy.

Music: Shankar-Ehsan-Loy do not come up with an inspired track. They just fit the bill, except when they reinvent the popular Laawaris number `aapka kya hoga, janab-e-wali'.

Styling: Both Deepika and Lara sport the urbane and chic look with their skimpy dresses. Jiah Khan oscillates between the traditional and the oomphy image by donning both the salwar kameez and the bikini. The boys -- Akshay, Arjun, Riteish -- are cool and casual.

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