Hindi Film Reviews 2012

Brief reviews of current Bollywood films as they appeared in the Independent Weekly.

Also, a brief archive of older Hindi films

New!

Talaash (Search) Drowning. That’s how a victim dies at the beginning of Talaash, when a car careens into the ocean. But, Inspector Surjan Shekhawat (Aamir Khan) is also drowning, in grief, after his young son’s death in a boating accident. Surjan’s alienation is submerging his marriage to Roshni (Rani Mukherji) while Rosie (Kareena Kapoor) an enigmatic prostitute linked to the investigation, urges him to drown his sorrow in passion. Talaash is mentored by the madly talented Akhtar siblings, Farhan and Zoya, and its star, and directed by Reema Kagti. It is the best mainstream Bollywood movie of the year. A Western style thriller (the songs are used as underscore) it vibrates with evocative locations in Mumbai as well as strong emotions. Aamir is extraordinary, with a silent film actor’s ability to allow you to read his thoughts, he, Rani, Kareena, and all the sharply drawn characters, carry Talaash to its chilling conclusion.

Jab Tak Hai Jaan (As Long As I Live) Major Samar Anand meticulously defuses terrorist bombs without using body armor. Why does this man have a death wish? Since he’s Shah Rukh Khan, the answer has to be a woman. After a hiatus of trying to convince us that he would be just as good as a superhero, a gangster or a mentally handicapped activist, SRK returns to his strength, as the King of Romance. JTHJ is the final film directed by Bollywood legend Yash Chopra (who died only a few weeks ago) to whom SRK owes much of his global fame, and it is a satisfying return to form. Paired with it girl Katrina Kaif, he kisses his leading lady for the first time in a 20 year film career. Is it my imagination, or is there a spark missing? He never had to kiss Kajol, Rani, Juhi or Priety to convince us he was mad about them.

It’s the beginning of new era for Triangle lovers of South Asian film, as the closing of the Galaxy has shifted the subcontinent’s offerings to the Regal Cary Crossroads. There is no intermission (the title flashed on the screen, the audience stood up and then sat down again as the film continued without pause). But, since there is only standard multiplex snack bar fare, no chai, no samosas, maybe it’s just as well. And, even though shoved into the farthest auditorium, instead of the pride of place at Indian cinema’s former home, a scene filled with emotional dialogue was inevitably drowned out by the explosions in the adjoining room. No film at the Galaxy was louder than a Bollywood musical. At least, we don’t have to go into total withdrawal. Beggars can’t be choosers.

Agent Vinod. Saif Ali Khan plays a globe-trotting secret agent, combing the arms dealing underworld for a suitcase bomb. Agent Vinod is a long gestating vanity project of its star, but for all the time invested, it should have been better. Saif’s never looked hotter, but has only one monotonous expression, that of grim determination; James Bondish witticisms are AWOL, save for one amusing scene in which, searching for one villain, he picks up a male flight attendant/courier. His real life sweetie, the excellent Kareena Kapoor, is entirely wasted as a mysterious woman who could be a terrorist or a mole, as are a couple of old school character actors, Prem Chopra and Gulshan Grover. The film may have a Bourne-y sheen, but also all the sloppy confusion, body count and hugger mugger of a 70s B grade masala film. If only AV had the verve of the song played over the end credits, as Saif dances for the security cameras in “Pyaar ki Pungi”.

Agneepath. (Path of Fire) A not really remake of Amitabh Bachchan’s classic 1990 revenge film stars Hrithik Roshan as Vijay, a boy traumatized after witnessing his father’s murder at the hands of the psychopathic Kancha (Sanjay Dutt). Like many Bollywood action films, this new Agneepath is a mash-up of the Ramayana and The Godfather. Even though Vijay’s father has cautioned him with Gandhi’s “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind” Vijay determines to avenge his father by becoming badder than bad, as a protégé of Rauf Lala (Rishi Kapoor) a Mumbai drug lord and white slaver. Vijay isolates himself from his mother and sister, refuses the love of the bubbly Kaali (Priyanka Chopra) and allies himself with a mob of ass-kicking hijiras (transvestites). Hrithik is excellent, an intense actor, he’s riveting as Vijay, the vortex of this bloody morality tale.

Aiyyaa (Oh, My!) Meenaxshi’s Marathi (North Indian) parents, worried about their 30-ish daughter’s future, hastily arrange a marriage for her with a nice guy. But, she’s fallen at first scent for a hunky Tamil (South Indian) painter studying at the art college where she works. Spirited Rani Mukherji dominates Aiyyaa, which is a little bit Amelie, a little bit Pride and Prejudice. Meenaxshi loves 80s Bollywood, so all the sex simmers in a series of massive musical numbers. Since the movie is about her lust, not her domestic aspirations, the numbers are hot, but also self-parodying. Let us say you will never view filling your car’s gas tank in quite the same way again. Anita Date is fun as her best friend with a Lady Gaga fixation. But, far too much time is wasted with Meenaxshi’s shrill family, and her creepy stalking of hunky Surya (Prithviraj, who rocks his broody pout). Still, enjoyable for Rani fans and lovers of extravagant choreography.

Bol Bachchan (Bundle of Lies) Abbas (Abhishek Bachchan) who has a flair for bookkeeping and brawling, flees Delhi for the promise of a job with village Don Prithvi (Ajay Devgn). A religious faux-pas causes him to hastily change his Muslim name to a Hindu one, to Abhishek Bachchan, the name of the actor playing him. Bollywood films practically invented meta. Shortly, he will be masquerading as twins, one with a moustache and one without. BB is rather sane for a Hindi comedy, perhaps, because the bones of the plot intentionally invoke the low-key classic Golmaal (1979). If the moustache business hasn’t registered, Golmaal appears as a play within the film, AND the original is briefly shown on tv. Many of the laughs occur with Prithvi’s scrambled English pronouncements (“Necessity is the mother of the Discovery Channel”), but the main appeal is Abhishek’s double role comic ease.

Cocktail. Gautam (Saif Ali Khan) is an aggressive flirt. His cheesy pick-up lines strike out with modest Meera (Diana Penty), but score with hottie Veronica (Deepika Padukone). The girls are roommates, and Gautam moves in with Veronica, but a love triangle is predestined. The first half of Cocktail bubbles with some great songs by Pritam (almost all used as underscoring, as full on Bollywood dance numbers are quickly becoming relics of an earlier age) and the comic timing of Dimple Kapadia and Boman Irani (as Gautam’s mother and uncle). The second half predictably bogs down in melodrama, but Saif is convincing as a slightly over the hill playboy with an itch for settling down, and Deepika gives her career best performance. Urban Indian audiences have made it a hit, responding to the message that slutty girls should be a little less bold, and nice girls a little more.

Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu (Just You and Me). Is there any rom com plot older than “opposites attract”? Rahul is a mama’s boy who’s just been sacked from his Las Vegas architecture firm. He meets cute with Raina, also unemployed, a hard partying hairstylist. She needs a little structure, and he’s longing to go off book. Embodied by swoony Imran Khan and effervescent Kareena Kapoor they are a perfect match. Similar in some ways to The Vow, Ek Main… is far superior. Raina is shown to be kooky and fun not despite her parents, but because of them (when Rahul comes to visit her father deadpans that of course he won’t mind sleeping between him and his wife, since the guestroom isn’t free). Rahul learns to speak up for himself at some cost, both to his family and romantic relationships. But, like The Vow, the ending fizzles. Still, worth seeing for the starry chemistry of Kareena and Imran.

EnglishVinglish. Shashi, a middle class housewife, gets no respect from her pampered children and busy husband. They mock her poor English, which the kids learn in school, and her husband uses professionally. Travelling to New York City for an extended stay to help with her niece’s wedding, Shashi enrolls in a 4 week ESL class, and she blooms, learning the language, and making new friends outside the tight orbit of home. One of them, an attractive French chef, has more than friendship in mind. In the mid-80s, Sridevi was the #1 Indian actress, adored for her bubbly personality and sensuous dancing. Retired from the screen for 15 years, she has returned in a well written, woman-centered film, which shrewdly marks the tension between Indian and Western cultures. Sridevi’s confident comeback in Gauri Shinde’s first film, as a modest woman whose gumption surprises even herself, makes for one of the best Bollywood films of the year.

Heroine. Mahi Arora (Kareena Kapoor) a Bollywood star, is needy, greedy, and wised-up to the back room deals of the Hindi film capital. Heroine skips the rags to riches part; Mahi is already fighting with everyone (including Arjun Rampal, as her married lover) when the film begins, and there is no happiness for contrast. Kareena, exquisitely glam or tear-streaked, runs the gamut of emotions, dances in a hot item number, smokes, swears and pops pills. Director Madhur Bhandarkar rehashes the scandalous tropes of his previous hits, especially Fashion, in which Priyanka Chopra gathered accolades in a similar part. The point seems to be to present Kareena in a dazzling showcase, winning this year’s acting awards before (in real life) she weds her boyfriend, cooling off her career. She’s flying solo, surrounded by weaker actors, except for Ranvir Shorey’s showy cameo as a mercurial director.

Housefull2. A tsunami of mistaken identities results when two rascals (Akshay Kumar, John Abraham) are enlisted by two friends (Ritesh Deshmukh, Shreyas Talpade) to sort out their marriage plans. Four guys courting four (interchangeable) girls makes for quite a romantic traffic jam, and placating four prospective father-in-laws (Rishi and Randbhir Kapoor, Mithun Chakraborthy, Boman Irani) increases the complications. At one point, a character even brings out a whiteboard and the cast’s photographs to try and explain it all. Akshay and John have teamed up for comedy before, and their goofy chemistry is a highlight, although the younger guys are also funny. A cameo by yesteryear villain Ranjeet is a welcome diversion. There is chloroforming, conning and a crocodile with a toothache, but not nearly enough songs, although the kaleidoscope of pastel tuxedos in “Papa to Band Bajaye” evokes Busby Berkeley’s nutty touch. Surrendering to the silliness makes for an enjoyable watch, but this will not be garnering any year end awards.

Kahaani (The Story) Vidya (Vidya Balan) heavily pregnant, combs the seething Kolkata crowds of the Durga Puja religious festival, searching for her vanished husband. Before long, she realizes his disappearance is far more complicated that she imagines, touching on an unsolved episode of biological terror on the subway. Aided by a kindly police officer (Parambatta Chattopadhyay) and trailed by a brutal contract killer who looks like Dwight on The Office, Vidya risks her life to find answers. Vidya Balan is superb in this gripping thriller, a compelling female hero (sans dragon tattoo) in any language.

Players. Abhishek Bachchan stars as the master thief, played previously by Michael Caine and Mark Wahlberg, in this sanctioned Bollywood remix of the old and new versions of The Italian Job. He’s mentored by an imprisoned master criminal (Sir Noël Coward in the 60s version) here played by 70s leading man Vinhod Khanna. The Players include Neil Niten Mukesh, Bipasha Basu, LA actor Omi Vaidya, and Sonam Kapoor, whose dad, Anil Kapoor enjoys himself rather too much as a Mumbai playboy in the latest Mission: Impossible. Indispensable are the Mini Coopers, who participate in a zippy car chase, although the best action sequence is a train to train heist. Since it’s a Bollywood movie, there are fraught parent-child relationships and a villain complete with lair, logo and bedazzled black vest, who lolls in a bubble bath ominously reciting a nursery rhyme. Michael Caine himself might not recognize the source material.

Rowdy Rathore. A petty thief (Akshay Kumar) is puzzled by the folks who mistake him for someone with a slightly different moustache, a fearless police officer defiant of the local landowner/bully. RR coasts on Akshay’s considerable charm, and is a remake of a South India film, a regional cinema less influenced by Western- style movies than Bollywood. Sajid-Wahid’s infectious musical numbers are so good it’s hard to choose a favorite, and the fight scenes are, as usual, endless (although part of the film’s hyped appeal). Directed by Prabhudheva, a former dancer and choreographer, he puts Akshay through both his hip thrusting and axe wielding paces, aided by spunky Sonakshi Sinha as his sweetie, and some pretty spectacular Bihar landscapes, evoking the American West. This film has leapt to the top of the box office in India, aided by a tasty catchphrase, “Don’t angry me.”

Student of the Year Rohan (Varun Dhawan) is a rich boy whose father bankrolls St. Teresa’s High School, and Abhi (Sidharth Malhotra) is a poor boy on a soccer scholarship. They both pursue the spoiled, sad Shanaya (Alia Bhatt). Karan Johar’s latest takes place in one of those movie colleges where nobody ever studies. Now, perhaps most famous for his bitchy Indian tv gabfest, Koffee with Karan, he is also the director of one of my all-time favorite Bollywood films, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. as well as the classic Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. SOTY completely fizzles, as the three leads, all first timers, trade Zoolander pouts in lieu of acting. The main problem is that Abhi and Rohan are clearly in love with each other, not doll-faced Shanaya. The camera caresses their naked torsos, and during a bro-bonding montage, they wrestle and tease, asking, “Are you gay?” and “Are you going to kiss me?” Karan has evidently lost interest in hetero romance, which is fine! But, it’s time to own it. There are lots of meh songs, a few good supporting performances (like Kayoze Irani as “Pseudo”) and Karan pulls in the cameo favors. A major disappointment.

c.Moviediva2012