JOLLY LLB:HALF JUSTICE

                       

Jagdish Tyagi aka Jolly (Arshad Warsi)has an old, rusted  trunk for a desk where he locks his antique typewriter lest it gets stolen outside the high court in Meerut .With no case in hand, he hangs around wearing his LLB tag,  everyday with several other lawyers, in his black coat. A common sight everywhere in India.

Willing to do anything for basic survival, he can defend a 16 year old who operates upon a pregnant woman or agree to parade as a shamed terrorist with his face hidden as a cover up for the police department's carelessness.  In contrast, there is a highly successful and lawyer, Rajpal (Boman Irani)   who in a matter of a 5 minute speech in the court, gets an acquittal for a rich client's son who has driven over 6 people sleeping on the streets. His reputation is such that the lawyers who fight with him to lose, have their careers made. When Jolly finds himself used by Rajpal in the 'hit and run' drive case, he stumbles a bit down the dishonest path, soon recovers and  decides to fight the same case of drunken driving and get justice for the poor people. A decent, realistic look at the way the justice system functions including both lack of  courtroom etiquette or air conditioning facility, follows.

This premise and Jolly's uncouth and almost unscrupulous but lovable character  both make a quite promising beginning. Unfortunately, the story  remains too simplistic, goes the clichéd way and is resolved rather easily, thereby rendering waste an interesting conflict . Everything rests on the performances by Arshad Warsi and Boman Irani as the lawyer and defendant. They do deliver but the plot limits their scope for further growth.

Arshad is well cast and gives a  restrained and mature performance, particularly in moments of emotional outbursts. Saurabh Shukla is fabulous as the judge who ignores lawyers' games and lies but knows when it is time to call the shots. He does full justice to a particularly well written scene when he has to do everything to be heard in the courtroom he himself presides over. Mohan Kapoor and Mohan Agashe are equally convincing in their negative roles. Amrita Rao as the honest schoolteacher and Warsi's girlfriend fits in her rather clichéd part.

Before its release, writer/director, Subhash Kapoor's film was seen by Vidhu Vinod Chopra who hired him to direct the next Munnabhai sequel. One can see why. Jolly LLB, like the two Munnabhai films, has plenty of ideology and a common man character who is highly emotional. Subhash Kapoor displays a similar empathy as a writer, especially in dialogues.

Lyrics of a song "hans ki chaal" also by  Subhash Kapoor  are apt especially  the words "...namaaz bakshwaane gaye the, roze gal pad gaye.."

Jolly LLB could have been a good satire on the judiciary system had it not taken the easier path of morals and emotions. However, tiny details make this film worth a watch, especially the way a Tajmahal paperweight is used.

Saheb,Biwi aur Gangster Returns: Pulp and Shakespeare Remix

 Once in a while comes a director who uses age-old lines like “ek tha Raja, ek thi Rani..” and weaves anything but a fairytale. More like a witch tale. So potent in its pulp fiction treatment that it grips and holds and chokes though overkills at times.

When writer/director, Tigmanshu ‘Paan Singh Tomar’ Dhulia used the famous characters of Abrar Alvi’s classic, “Sahib, Biwi aur Ghulam” and remoulded them to a contemporary  and racy thriller love triangle in his first remake, Saheb, Biwi aur Gangster, he had left behind homage halfway and moved on to an engrossing thriller.

With the sequel, Saheb, Biwi aur Gangster Returns, Dhulia drops the original completely and rewrites a powerful script ( story co-written by Kamal Pandey) so dark that you don’t know which character is capable of the darkest side. There are no heroes here. Only villains who are heroic in love.

Take the character of Biwi (Mahie Gill) first. She used to be the queen of tragedy and weepiest of doormats who turned to alcohol not to drown her sorrows but to woo her husband in ‘Saheb, Bibi Aur Ghulam’. Now Dhulia’s ‘biwi’ is also an alcoholic. But she is so enticing that it seems that even the bottle is seduced and moved by her longing. She is no helpless wife who will cry on the ‘Ghulam’ shoulders. Instead, she will use his muscular shoulders to aim from. She will also bed him. She can be the picture of pathos when she helplessly sits in her  MLA office chair in UP hinterland and  asks, “yeh PIL kya hai”.But determined by love or rather hatred mixed with unrequited love, her politics will put an entire bunch of ministers to shame.

The ghulam/gangster(Irrfan) here, aptly nicknamed “maukatarian” in the first remake, of course adores her and worships her overfilled glass as well as the gun.Now,in the sequel, he is like the double barrel himself. He is no ghulam or a mere gangster. He is “Raja bhaiya”,the grandson of royal ancestors whose downfall was caused by Saheb’s ancestors. He is willing to be more than a “mard” and a “shayar”  to the Biwi to regain his lost royalty. Not because he is Biwi’s lover. But because he is a lover who will kill for his  secret betrothed.

Saheb (Jimmy Shergill)is the most charismatic of all. He is both the cause and the  result of Biwi’s tragic angst and pain. He loves guns. He also loves his royalty. For which he will play politics more lethal than the gun. He loves the power of ruling even if it is through his much-hated Biwi- a MLA on paper. But when he falls in love, he is willing to shoot with a camera too, to win over the fair princess.

The “Rajkumari”(Soha Ali) is the sweet and innocent pawn thrown into a broken down palace where “ har rishtey ke piche ek saazish hai”. Her transformation reflected in the last shot and dialogue is as eerie as the skeleton found buried in the debris of love’s tragedy.

And so the game of love and politics continue in this thriller saga sequel. Saheb spends time recovering from his wheelchair ridden body and broken heart by the biwi’s previous lustful liaison. He decides to remarry when he sets eyes on the pretty princess’ pictures. The princess is in love with “Gangster” Raja Bhaiya who gets together with Biwi to hatch the plot of Saheb’s downfall. The drama unfolds and takes the plot into territory deadlier than the jungle. Every person continues to change sides. A remarkable drama of love and betrayal ensues in such an unpredictable way that honesty merges with dishonesty, love switches sides yet stays true to love.

Just like the characters, every actor outmatches the other, right from Jimmy Shergill in his royal nastiness to Mahie Gill’s alcoholic walk and manipulative moves to Irrfan’s daredevil love to Soha Ali’s innocent charm. Despite the dominating cast, Rajeev Gupta as a politician stands out, particularly in a hilarious exchange with Irrfan concerning his ‘ sensitive tomato’ image and the blue film on his laptop.

The lyrics “Bas Chal kapat parpanch hai” by Kausar Munir matches the movie’s theme though the music by Sandeep Chowta does not add much.

Sahib , Biwi aur Gangster Returns  is a potent remix of Shakespearan tragedy and pulp thriller. 

“Ek tha Raja, ek thi Rani..” will haunt for a while.

I,ME AUR MAIN:SELF DISSERVICE

John Abraham is a mama's boy and can look like 'Daddy Cool'.That's the only conclusion one can arrive at as “I,Me Aur Main” ends.

John can also probably can go beyond pumping muscle and crunching abs.When he played producer to Vicky Donor, he carved a better role for himself than existed on screen.To his credit, he has played rather interesting and quirky roles quite well in movies like “Saat Khoon Maaf” and “No Smoking”.

Shades of that unexplored talent is glimpsed in “I, Me Aur Main”,where the story clearly revolves only around his self absorbed character,Ishaan.

Ishaan as the title more than suggests,is all about himself.He has been spoon and ladle fed on one line by his mother (Zarina Wahab).. “You are the best...you are the best...” This opening,somewhat unconvincing and contrived scene of a boy being spoilt in front of his sister,supposedly explains the premise of the story.

25 years later,he is lying on bed with the attractive, Anushka (Chitrangada)who croons “I love you,” to which he replies, “I love me too.” Blind to his obvious flaw despite three years into a live-in relationship, she insists on being introduced to his parents as a sign of his commitment. Ishaan is so busy partying with other women that he forgets to show up. Anushka does what any sensible woman would do.She dumps him.

Ishaan happily moves on with his next door neighbor, Gauri (Prachi) who he dismisses initially as a “ganji banyaan girl”. She dresses casually and calls herself a part time electrician who loves fixing wires and bulbs apparently.Otherwise she is a stylist.

Since thats the closest detail in characterisation,one can expect little from the rest of the story and screenplay which merely touches upon each one and happily lingers on Ishaan's careless,bravado that takes a blow at the slightest challenge posed by any woman, be it his sister,boss,girlfriend or neighbour. This could have been his Jerry McGuire had there been more depth in the story, treatment and his eventual growing up.Everything comes too easily to him throughout, leaving little room for any kind of conflict that might make one root either for him or any of his women.

The writer,Devika Bhagat,has previously written two more films which dealt with the selfish hero who has women falling for him:”Ladies vs Ricky Behl” and “ Bachna Ae Haseeno”

While these two films had more of women perspectives to the stories,”I, Me Aur Main”,treats the female leads more like props.In fact,the female supporting characters of the fiery sister (Mini Mathur) and the haughty boss (Raima Sen) are far more interesting than the two women in the hero's life.This leaves very little for Chitrangada to do other than look pretty but hardly distressed even when it comes to the main turning point at the interval.

Prachi as the friendly neighbour,is just about okay,playing flashy dimpled smile games with John.After a while,one starts waiting for the slightest frown in the name of drama.Perhaps,that will be another film.

John Abraham is fairly decent for an unlikeable character.His sincerity shows and wins him some brownie points.

Debut director, Kapil Sharma, does not seem to have any kind of take or style in the storytelling.Music could have been a great tool for the film,considering John's character runs a music company,but remains average.The only enjoyable song appears with the closing credits,rewritten by Kausar Munir; the remix version of the famous Chaalbaaz song, “na jaane kahan se..kisi ke haath na ayega ye ladka..”

I,Me Aur Myself fails to redeem itself with its hastily put ending,however unconventional it may be.

KAI PO CHE:BEYOND FRIENDSHIP AND MISTAKES

Chetan Bhagat's 'The 3 Mistakes of My Life', has got a fantastic,fresh lease of life on celluloid.

Adapted brilliantly by a team of four:Abhishek Kapoor, Pubali Chaudhary, Supratik Sen, Chetan Bhagat; Kai Po Che stands out in its casting and plot.

Comparisons with two films are inevitable here. Bhagat's 'Five Point Someone',was made into the super hit, "3 Idiots”,a tale of friendship set in an IIT campus. Kai Po Che (which means a victory yell in kite flying)is also a friendship story but has a bigger canvas of politics,cricket and historical events.Since this tackles issues of religion and political hatred,it is much more moving and powerful in its plot.

Director Abhishek Kapoor has also made a film on friendship,'Rock On', which though an engaging watch,now pales in comparison with Kai Po Che.

The film is plot heavy,based in Ahmedabad and revolves around three friends and a 10 year old whose lives are turned around by cricket,Gujarat earthquake and Godhra riots. Ishan (Sushant Singh Rajput) is a failed cricketer who wants to achieve his dreams by coaching children.He gets together with his friends,Govind (Raj Kumar Yadav)and Omi(Amit Sadh) and starts a small sports shop along with a coaching institute, with the help of Omi's mamaji (Manav Kaul),a politician.He spots a ten year old, Ali who has an exceptional gift with the bat and the ball.Everything suddenly falls apart as the earthquake in 2001 and Godhra riots in 2002 overtake their city and Mamaji's politics come into play.

Reasons to watch Kai Po Che are multifold:beautiful cinematography(Anay Goswami), great sound and background score(Hitesh Sonik ),fabulous music (Amit Trivedi )powerful lyrics,especially “Manja” (Swanand Kirkire),clever edit (Deepa Bhatia)-deft for a multitrack story like this and above all,wonderful, heartwarming performances by one and all.The central locations - temple and the sports ground in Gujarat,integral to the plot are very well used.So are some playful moments with the game of marbles which are bound to bring back memories for those who grew up honing their aim.

Sushant Singh,who has done secondary roles in television,makes a surprisingly strong mark with both his acting and screen presence.Amit Sadh,also a television actor who shot to fame with the first season of Big Boss,makes a decent debut on the big screen with the most pivotal role of Omi whose decisions affect everyone he loves.His characterisation in its underwriting,displays fine crafting in the screenplay.

Raj Kumar Yadav as Govind,the Baniya friend and simpleton seduced by his friend's sister,steals the show.His shy and nervous body language and earnest and flustered reactions to everything happening around him,add a great deal of humour to the otherwise dark story.His clumsy romantic scenes with his best friend's sister, played to perfection by Amrita Puri (Ayesha fame) are very well written and performed.

Every other supporting actor including Ali,his father and Manav Kaul add authencity to their roles.

The best thing to look out for is the way events are orchestrated around a particular India Australia 5 day test match in 2001,a delightful work of cinematic drama.Another powerful sequence that stays in the mind is the tension filled climax which is particularly well shot, edited and performed.

Kai Po Che is a must watch for its gripping plot,direction and performances.The entire team makes no mistake here.

MURDER 3: CHEAT THRILLS

                                      

With so many sequences, be it a Murder or a Jism, the Bhatts seem to be getting more and more formulaic yet manage a better than a C grade spin.

Every known gimmick in the genre of thriller is used. No surprises here: hot girl in a towel, in a shower, in a bathtub, steamy lovemaking scenes and lovelorn songs. All is neatly played out with a certain Bhatt expertise. The shower and the bathtub scenes actually have a twist to them. Not that such scenes demand an excuse any more. Even their remakes used to be unapologetic earlier. Now they officially attribute Murder 3 to a Spanish thriller, “The Hidden Face”.

Written by Mahesh Bhatt with additional screenplay by Amit Samurkar and dialogues by Sanjay Masoom, the film is quite slick in the hands of debutant director, Vishesh Bhatt. The story begins predictably with Roshni (Aditi Rao Hydari) breaking up with Vikram (Randeep Hooda) and disappearing. Vikram, a famous and moody photographer who lives in a spooky bungalow somewhere in the wilderness, hires two cops to locate her. Meanwhile his drunken Devdas bouts lead him to bed with a bar attendant, Nisha (Sara Loren) who falls for him. She has a few spooky encounters in his bathroom. The screenplay now moves out of boring song sequences and smoothly interweaves her love life with Roshni’s mysterious disappearance. It takes quite an engrossing turn in the second half.

Randeep Hooda as the lover disappoints with his ghostly voice and expressions.Emraan Hashmi is much missed yet again. Sara is equally average but makes up with her bare back. Aditi Rao who has done some charming work in her last film, “London, Paris, New York” is decent in her performance despite her whiny dialogue delivery.

Pritam has composed better music in the past. Here it is quite standard including the lyrics by Sayeed Qadri especially when compared to his own work in Murder.

Suffice it to say that Murder 3 is a cheating couple’s fantasy and nightmare put together. Call it cheap thrill or cheat thrill.

SPECIAL CHABBIS : CON COOL

                                                    

When Special Chabbis ends with a fabulous thriller twist, the revelation behind its title makes this con plot doubly special.

Wednesday writer/director, Neeraj Pandey, made quite a mark with his first film. His second film, again, a one man show in story, script and direction, carries his distinctive racy, breezy and funny style of storytelling. The concept of a real CBI officer pitched against fake CBI people, inspired from real events of a famous jewellery store heist in  1987, is cooler than the cool. The execution is simple and fun, marred slightly by repetitive use of background score and a love story angle that falls flat.

The film opens with a documentary footage of Rajiv Gandhi on Republic Day, playing on TV while a very serious looking, patriotic, CBI officer, P.K.Sharma (Anupam Kher) and Ajay (Akshay Kumar) summon a police officer, Ranveer (Jimmy Shergill with a brilliantly donned daft expression) to accompany them on a raid on a corrupt chief minister. A team of grim faced, duty conscious,four men - Sharma,Ajay, Iqbal (Kishore Kadam),Joginder (Rajesh Sharma) - march in, announces their identity and proceeds with practiced efficiency. Picture frames are taken off the walls, a home temple is uprooted, car seats unzipped, mattresses are slit open, bookshelves are knocked apart, locks are broken. The minister’s black money is quickly packed into several cases. The minister tries to bribe Sharma who slaps him hard and makes a small speech to the impressed newbie inspector, Ranveer , “real power lies in the heart.”Ranveer stares in awe and admiration of honesty. Except that the CBI team is just the opposite, the brainchild of con master Ajay. Deeply affronted and insulted at being taken for a ride, the inspector approaches a real CBI officer, a muscled tough nut at work and honest to the core, Waseem(Manoj Bajpayee) to get the con raid men exposed.

The film’s first half reveals bits of each one’s personal life along with a couple of con raids. The second half narrows down to the entire planning of the final raid on a jewellery store in Bombay, with the real CBI team keeping a close watch. Everything is shown in such realistic detail that one forgets the identities; like Sharma says at one point, ”By God, ek minute ke liye to bhool hi gaya that ki hum chor hain.”

The director has repeated two of the main actors from Wednesday, namely Kher and Shergill, both of whom deliver thoroughly enjoyable performances. Akshay Kumar, in an ordinay 80s look, indulging in slow balcony romance, is a pleasant change from his usual filmy hero image.

Manoj Bajpayee as the real CBI officer, is at his best with a permanent scowl on his face and a body language to match. In the end, his outburst of mixed emotional laughter, playing to a whirlwind of past events, captured in circular camera work, is simply outstanding.

Music by Himesh Reshammiya and M.M.Kreem along with most lyrics by Irshad Kamil, could have been better.

Wednesday with its serious statement, has stayed in public memory. Special 26,throwing a tongue-in-cheek light on corruption, remains a fun ride. Make that a double special fun ride.

VISHWAROOP:WISH FULFILLMENT

                                          

Post interval, one of the characters says to another perpetually bewildered character, ”yehaan par sab ke double role hai.” That may apply to most except Kamal Haasan who plays multiple roles both on screen and off screen.

Haasan, writer, director, co-producer and hero, packs in more looks, names and religions as possible in keeping with the Tamil title, Vishwaroopam. The 95 crore budget film in Tamil, was banned for a few weeks in Tamil Nadu by Muslim communities. This may have helped increase the curiosity and loyalty factor amongst regular film goers. Just what was offensive in the movie is still a mystery. This is nothing but full-on, pure, action packed entertainer.

Vishwanath (Kamal Haasan) is a long haired, effeminate Kathak teacher based in New York, married to a nuclear scientist, Dr Nirupama (Pooja Kumar) much younger than him. Pooja has married him for his green card. Now she is in love with her boss and to assuage her guilt, she hires a detective to follow her husband so that she can find something against him too. The detective is found dead, she finds herself kidnapped along with Vishwaroop who admits to the kidnappers that he is a Muslim. The kidnappers’ boss, Omar (Rahul Bose) has more than an axe and a leg to grind with his new found, old enemy. Action filled, dramatic, flashback moments from Afghanistan follow, and the story gets more and more intriguing, with Omar planning to attack New York with a “cesium bomb”. However, too much drama eventually renders it wearisome and it does not matter anymore whose side the hero is; right or wrong; Americans or Jihaadis.

The screenplay is full of interesting, long moments of past friendship shared between the hero and the villain. This could have been made more complete with a present day confrontation instead of a revenge chase. Rahul Bose as the unlikely Afghani Al Qaida Jihadi despite his short build, lends a great deal of credibility, modulating his voice well to match his one eyed, cold look. Shekhar Kapoor makes a special appearance and looks more amused than involved, especially when he does the famous slow motion team walk with Kamal Haasan in the end.

Dialogues by Atul Tiwari are both entertaining and meaningful. “Marne se paap dhul jaate hain kya? To chalo Hitler ko maaf kar dete hain,”says the hero at one point.

In another scene between Pooja Kumar and a foreigner, a discussion of religion goes like this..

”My God has four hands..”.

”How do you crucify him?”

“We don’t.”

“Then?”

“We dunk him in the sea.”

The delightful part of the movie as expected is Kamal Haasan’s performance. He moves with complete ease from playing a long haired effeminate dance teacher, Vishwaroop (the most graceful dancer ever seen on screen)to a turbaned and bearded Wasim Kashmiri training Al Qaida terrorists to a regular face in New York. 

Music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and lyrics by Javed Akhtar are in keeping with the theme, with simple lines like..”is basti main hai maut sasti..”Another song is both a treat to listen to as well as watch Kamal Haasan dance to.. ”main Raadha teri,mera Shyam tu”...

Vishwaroop, ultimately, is a wish fulfillment journey in acting by the multitalented supremo,Kamal Haasan. Expect a laboured work of entertaining fiction rather than a serious comment on Global terrorism.             .