The idea of writing a movie review has been stemming since quite some time but the trigger proved to be watching two Hindi movies, just three days apart in two theaters about seventy kilometers apart. Yes, 'Once upon a time in Mumbai' on one fine wednesday in Mangalore and 'Aisha' on saturday in Udupi.
Once Upon A Time In Mumbai:
Essentially a gangster movie featuring days of Haji Mastan the first underworld don of bombay and his protege Dawood Kaskar Ibrahim. The heart of the movie is in the right place with the story being interesting, with the sets and portrayal of Bombay of those days, with the styling sticking perfectly to the seventies and eighties and above all with the star cast which settles seamlessly into their characters.
Good things first. The actors live the roles. Ajay Devgun (sorry its Devgn now) has done what he is best at, playing serious character oriented roles with a negative tinge. We have seen it in recent times in Rajneeti and sometime back in Apharan and Omkara. Playing a character somewhere bearing resemblance to Denzel Washington in American Gangster with a desi angle has worked wonder for the movie.
Emraan Hashmi has played his part well portraying a no-moral-holding wannabe gangster. Kangana Ranaut despite her horrible hindi accent is a perfect fit with her styling standing out. Prachi Desai's character has no real bone in it and could possibly have been done away with. But her salwar suits and her ability to brighten up the screen, not to mention the 'julie' costume, comes in handy for the director.
Where the movie could have been better is the opening scene. The scene looses its importance by failing to grip the audience. Randeep Hooda plays a good role but almost none of the dialogues he belts out convey the word meaning of them. The movie lacks strong sub plots and too much has been tried to incorporate int too little a time.
The plot is strong, gripping most of the times but the sub plots seem to have not been stiched properly. There is a sometimes sense of disconnect between two scenes. The climax was a little hasty and expected. For the message to be sent that the evil has taken over Bombay and made it a hell at times in the history the ending could have been more powerful.
In toto, a watchable movie and an addition to the library of gangster movies in hindi. But certainly leaves yearning for more.
Aisha:
Again a movie with the heart in the right place. Aisha is Sonam Kapoor who wears Gucci and Dior, who zooms past saadi dilli di sadke in a yellow VW beetle, who shops for half a lakh rupees and who takes up hobbies like animal rights activism and is big time into match making. The movie revolves around her as the central character.
The plot is an urbane, chic, upper class, suave, and thus in that capacity caters to multiplex and big city crowd. (when had people in smaller towns and villages heard of Dior or Louis Vuitton).
The supporting cast plays a fabulous role led by the character shefali played by Amrita Purie. Cyrus Sahukar plays Randhir Gambhir and he certainly has proved himself over a few movies to be a serious comedian (pun intended). The transitions, the dialogue delivery is just perfect for her. Abhay Deol is very natural and blends well into the role. And him dancing salsa is a delight to watch.
Plenty of girls of this age will relate to the movie. Branded wear, good food, rich friends, partying, are all in the working manual of a metropolitan youth today and the movie touches all these aspects very practically and in a precise manner.
The high point of the movie are its comic moment. They are the ones to which the youth can relate to. The dialogues are picked up from the daily conversation. The styling, portrayal of delhi and mumbai are the moments that remain with you. Performances are all prim amd precise which keeps the ineterest in the viewer going.
The movie lacks in portrayal of the chemistry between the two lead roles. It niether achieves the practicality nor the bollywood effect. A few scenes linger on for too long and is repetitive. The climax is clumsy and lacks the power. An apt review of the movie was given by a young girl whom i overheard while getting out of the theater - 'nice but a shallow movie'.
Once Upon A Time In Mumbai:
Essentially a gangster movie featuring days of Haji Mastan the first underworld don of bombay and his protege Dawood Kaskar Ibrahim. The heart of the movie is in the right place with the story being interesting, with the sets and portrayal of Bombay of those days, with the styling sticking perfectly to the seventies and eighties and above all with the star cast which settles seamlessly into their characters.
Good things first. The actors live the roles. Ajay Devgun (sorry its Devgn now) has done what he is best at, playing serious character oriented roles with a negative tinge. We have seen it in recent times in Rajneeti and sometime back in Apharan and Omkara. Playing a character somewhere bearing resemblance to Denzel Washington in American Gangster with a desi angle has worked wonder for the movie.
Emraan Hashmi has played his part well portraying a no-moral-holding wannabe gangster. Kangana Ranaut despite her horrible hindi accent is a perfect fit with her styling standing out. Prachi Desai's character has no real bone in it and could possibly have been done away with. But her salwar suits and her ability to brighten up the screen, not to mention the 'julie' costume, comes in handy for the director.
Where the movie could have been better is the opening scene. The scene looses its importance by failing to grip the audience. Randeep Hooda plays a good role but almost none of the dialogues he belts out convey the word meaning of them. The movie lacks strong sub plots and too much has been tried to incorporate int too little a time.
The plot is strong, gripping most of the times but the sub plots seem to have not been stiched properly. There is a sometimes sense of disconnect between two scenes. The climax was a little hasty and expected. For the message to be sent that the evil has taken over Bombay and made it a hell at times in the history the ending could have been more powerful.
In toto, a watchable movie and an addition to the library of gangster movies in hindi. But certainly leaves yearning for more.
Aisha:
Again a movie with the heart in the right place. Aisha is Sonam Kapoor who wears Gucci and Dior, who zooms past saadi dilli di sadke in a yellow VW beetle, who shops for half a lakh rupees and who takes up hobbies like animal rights activism and is big time into match making. The movie revolves around her as the central character.
The plot is an urbane, chic, upper class, suave, and thus in that capacity caters to multiplex and big city crowd. (when had people in smaller towns and villages heard of Dior or Louis Vuitton).
The supporting cast plays a fabulous role led by the character shefali played by Amrita Purie. Cyrus Sahukar plays Randhir Gambhir and he certainly has proved himself over a few movies to be a serious comedian (pun intended). The transitions, the dialogue delivery is just perfect for her. Abhay Deol is very natural and blends well into the role. And him dancing salsa is a delight to watch.
Plenty of girls of this age will relate to the movie. Branded wear, good food, rich friends, partying, are all in the working manual of a metropolitan youth today and the movie touches all these aspects very practically and in a precise manner.
The high point of the movie are its comic moment. They are the ones to which the youth can relate to. The dialogues are picked up from the daily conversation. The styling, portrayal of delhi and mumbai are the moments that remain with you. Performances are all prim amd precise which keeps the ineterest in the viewer going.
The movie lacks in portrayal of the chemistry between the two lead roles. It niether achieves the practicality nor the bollywood effect. A few scenes linger on for too long and is repetitive. The climax is clumsy and lacks the power. An apt review of the movie was given by a young girl whom i overheard while getting out of the theater - 'nice but a shallow movie'.
aisha review awsome...hajji mastan dint hv da patience
ReplyDeletebut writing style brilliant!!