The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Kukunoor goes corporate Film Review

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Saturday, Jan 19, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Kukunoor goes corporate Film Review

A masquerade: Shreyas as a doctor in Bombay to Bangkok

Film: Bombay to Bangkok

Cast: Shreyas Talpade, Naseeruddin Shah

Director: Nagesh Kukunoor

With just half a dozen films in a decade, Nagesh Kukunoor has been less than an annual filmmaker. Now, it turns out, the tortoise is trying to be a hare! ‘Bombay to Bangkok’, released this week, is likely to be the first of his three forays at the box office this year.

The effort is showing! The skilful practitioner who has combined sweat and perseverance with talent, has headed the corporate way: making hay while the sun shines. Gone is his patient chiselling of characters. The attention to detail wavers. He comes up with a film he would not be too proud of when he has the benefit of hindsight. Why hindsight? This one is a disappointment. You don’t have to look back in sorrow, just a mirror will do. Yes, there are crumbs of comfort as in Shreyas Talpade’s acting, his ability to make the ordinary appealing. He has an endearing face that lends itself to a range of characters.

We have his godfather, Naseeruddin Shah, thoroughly, wasted in the role. Yes, Shah looks handsome and does his things with professionalismThe camera lingers around Shreyas’s journey from Bombay to Bangkok, masquerading as a doctor, even treating patients in Thailand. He meets his lady love – Lina Christianson – there. Predictably, the girl is a masseur!

ZIYA US SALAM

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