The Hindu : New Delhi News : Lots of shine without stars this week, and some darkness in spite of them....

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Apr 15, 2007
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New Delhi

New Delhi

Lots of shine without stars this week, and some darkness in spite of them....

ZIYA US SALAM

BHEJA FRY

(At PVR Plaza and other Delhi theatres)

Mainstream Bollywood's bits-and-pieces players get to the centre-stage in debutant director Sagar Ballary's off-the-mainstream film that is exhilarating at the beginning, exciting down the middle, and quite a laugh riot at the end. They bask in their own light, soak in well-deserved adulation and prove you need no Khan, no Bachchan to carry a film. No heroes, no heroines; the script is the king here. And the dialogue writer plays the perfect companion in a comedy where laughs never wear off, fatigue never sets in. And nothing, absolutely nothing, is forced. It may not be coming-of-age cinema but it ranks among the very best efforts in recent times. No falling pyjamas, no banana peels, no double entendres. It is a rare film that makes you laugh when all you want to do is smile.

Super, but what is "Bheja Fry" all about, beyond its intriguing little title? Well, it is the story of a wannabe singer, an income tax officer who would rather be at a concert than at his desk. Important as Vinay Pathak's oiled-hair, blue-shirt-with-grey-trousers character is, it is not his story. He is a pivot all right, but the story is all about Rajat Kapoor, a music tycoon who invites new singers to his parties every week to enjoy a few cheap laughs at their expense. How Pathak sings and Kapoor grimaces make you laugh. How the latter loses his wife and the former turns from a guest at the place to virtually ruling the scenes makes you roll over in laughter. Throw in the angle of estranged wives and a little sex bomb in the vicinity and you have a film that knows no slack. No flab.

Ballary sticks to the job on hand. No long song-and-dance sequences to break the rhythm, no sermons to convey a message. Here is a refreshing film that makes no pretences to convey a message.

If some of the joy comes from witty one-liners, a lot comes from the nuances the actors impart to the characters. Their facial expressions convey a lot, their costumes are well researched. No Karan Johar or Vidhu Vinod Chopra will ever give them a lead in their film. No Raj-Rohit-Rahul roles, the type Shah Rukh Khan does with nonchalant ease, will ever be written for the duo. But post-"Bheja Fry", you underestimate Rajat Kapoor and Vinay Pathak at your own risk. And, surprisingly, Milind Soman too plays a nice supporting hand.

This here is a multiplex film that has a hit written all over it. And you do not need a critic to tell you this. Go ahead. Enjoy!

LIFE MEIN KABHIE KABHIEE

(At Delite Diamond and other Delhi theatres)

First things first: this film is infinitely better than "Red", director Vikram Bhatt's last venture that pleased no one, irritated everyone. This time, he breathes easy, lets the viewer breath easy too. Too easy, it turns out.

There are wide open spaces in the film when you can go out, light and finish a cigarette, buy and munch popcorn and come back to find you have not missed much!

Languid in pace, gentle on the ear, not harsh on the eye, "Life Mein Kabhie Kabhiee" is the kind of film you would hail if it were to come from a beginner. Not from a man as experienced as Bhatt. One suspects he signed this film to stave off boredom arising from underemployment.

So, what is the story all about? Simple, it is the story of five friends who take different routes to success. For some, success is interchangeable with money, for others fame; still others regard power as the fount of all joy. They set a five-year term for fulfilling their dreams. And when they do reach their destination, they realise that true joy lies in the journey.

A nice interesting idea that needed greater depth, some profundity for the message to seep through. Unfortunately, Bhatt reduces everything to a designer show. Designer emotions. Designer houses. Designer costumes. And actors who would always first be models.

Aftab Shivdasani is an actor you won't bet on to win even a penny. And Dino Morea is a good-looking guy who always wants to be a mere clotheshorse.

As for Nauhid, the wannabe big star here, she is fetching. An eye candy who, again, never threatens to reveal any acting talent. Just like Anuj Sawhney and a horde of others.

Go for "Life Mein Kabhie Kabhiee" only if you believe that life does not always offer you the best.

Sometimes you might just have to settle for the second best.

BIG BROTHER

(At Delite and other Delhi theatres)

First they called him Deodhar. Then Gandhi. Ultimately, half a decade after the launch, after a renaming or two, he makes an appearance here now as Big Brother. Never mind. Guddu Dhanoa's latest venture has the timeless feel he infuses into all his films: Sunny Deol plays a He-man, invariably has a weeping mother or a wronged sister, a little aside at communal elements and a broadside at the corrupt system where the mighty rule over the meek. The technique is shoddy, the action reminiscent of the 1980s' films. To give it a contemporary dash, Dhanoa has a guy throw acid at the hero's sister and the hero fighting a corrupt polity with the help of an independent media! And then Dhanoa lapses into the familiar: Farida Jalal plays a suffering maa, Priyanka Chopra a whimpering wife, the sister gets molested, too, and another girl gets raped! Then Sunny arrives! Now with beard, now clean-shaven; both the director and the hero forgetting which look is for which frame. But the thing is the film, believe it or not, works! Works for the intended audiences, the front-benchers.

PERFECT STRANGER

(At PVR Saket and other Delhi theatres)

Perfect timing. Perfect cast. Imperfect film. That is how one would sum up director James Foley's film. Halle Berry and Bruce Willis make a dashing pair, ready to ignite the screen at a moment's notice. But Foley keeps them reined in this tale of a journalist who goes undercover to ferret out the killers of her best friend. The drama builds up slowly as Berry's search leads to businessman Willis. Then ensues a game of cat-and-mouse as the lady uses the Internet and e-mails to nail the culprit. For a few minutes, the proceedings are intriguing, then everything settles to monotony.

The dark frames, the rehearsed gestures don't help. And the passion play is at an ebb. The two lead actors go through the proceedings without much effort. Call it a mark of professionalism or just a proof that they realise this one is getting nowhere. Watch it only if you must.

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