Feel Bollywood

Producer : Dinesh Vijan; Saif Ali Khan; Sunil A Lulla; Andrew Heffernan Director : Homi Adajania Starring : Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone; Diana Penty; Boman Irani; Dimple Kapadia Music : Pritam Lyrics : Irshad Kamil, Amitabh Bhattacharya Genre : Romantic Recommended Audience : General Film Released on : 13 July 2012 Story-Line “This film looks a lot like Love Aaj Kal”, quipped a friend. He added, “And Saif looks too old.” Those very lines have formed a very significant form of pre-release expectations that have surrounded the film as soon as the promotions commenced. The director of the critically acclaimed English-language Being Cyrus, and the writer who has already earned star status for himself, writing and directing films like Jab We Met, Love Aaj Kal, and Rockstar; interesting combination, isn’t it? It’s more so like the successful pair of Love Aaj Kal comes together, this time with a few new changes. Hit music, a terrific on-screen pair, a promising new face, a return of a di

Producer : Dhilin Mehta; Ajay Devgn Director : Rohit Shetty Starring : Ajay devgn; Abhishek Bachchan; Asin; Prachi Desai; Asrani; Archana Puran Singh; Music : Himesh Reshammiya; Ajay-Atul (Guest Composer)) Lyrics : Swanand Kirkire; Shabbir Ahmed; Farhad-Sajid Genre : Comedy Film Released on : 06 July 2012 Story Line Entertainment coupled with a weak story, a weaker screenplay, and complete lack of common sense– Bol Bachchan has all the exact ingredients of cooking a 100 crore dish. The movie and its box office collection reflects the average film making for the average film going audience that Bollywood has currently ended up in. The story is inspired (the new term we use for copied) from legendary Golmaal (yes this time they copied the story in place of name) and fails to create the same vibe. The dialogues partly inspired by senior Bachchan movies and partly by the done-to-death inept English speaking dimwit roles that we have seen fail to make a lasting impact. Its inability to rec

Producer : Anurag Kashyap Director : Michael Winterbottom Starring : Frieda Pinto, Riz Ahmed, Anurag Kashyap, Amit Trivedi, Kalki Koechlin, Roshan Sheth, Music : Amit Trivedi, Shigeru Umebayashi Lyrics : Genre : Drama Recommended Audience : Adult Approximate Running Time : 117 min Film Released on : 13 July 2012 Story line Life is often brutal, throw in love, and it gets even harsher. People come into and often times unhappily go out of our lives throughout the years. Hearts are broken, minds are played with, doubts are fostered, and ultimately the challenge is to remain true to yourself no matter what. “Trishna” is a movie in which Frieda Pinto’s understated performance as the lead character brings forth a myriad of uncomfortable emotions with the realization that life’s challenges are not always tied up into a neat little bow with a happy ending. In short, “Trishna” is a film that will challenge the viewer to visit those dark places we usually choose to ignore, and you will come o

This harmless but dull film from director Kunal Kohli feels longer than its two hour running time because of the predictable nature of its episodic narrative. Kohli relies on period sets and costumes to differentiate each story, but alas, a bouffant here, a pathani there can’t take away the sense of sameness that plagues each chapter because of its consistently flat writing.Teri Meri Kahaani doesn’t work despite potential in the premise. It feels soulless and superficial, and is unlikely to find many fans.I’m going with two out of five for director Kunal Kohli’s Teri Meri Kahaani. In one song, Shahid and Priyanka dance inside the Globe Theatre where Shakespeare staged all his plays. Let’s just say the Bard will not be pleased.

Producer : Anurag Kashyap, Sunil Bohra Director : Anurag Kashyap Starring : Jaideep Ahlawat, Manoj Bajpai, Richa Chada, Piyush Mishra, Reema Sen, Nawazzudin Siddiqui , Jameel Khan, Pankaj Tripathi Music : Sneha Khanwalkar Lyrics : Piyush Mishra and Varun Grover Genre : Drama Recommended Audience : Adult Film Released on : June 2012 Storyline In the second half of the 19th century, a dejected painter (after being turned down by many) decided to become a missionary. He moved to a small Belgian town of coal miners in poverty. He saw a lot of characters in this poor peasant folk and it is here that Vincent Van Gogh created his first famous painting, in his own style characterized by Coarse and harsh strokes. Rajeev Ravi (cinematographer) and Anurag Kashyap together do a Van Gogh in the first one hour of Gangs of Wasseypur. The treatment and feel of the first hour of the movie is unlike anything you have seen before. Gangs of Wasseypur is a painting of moving images with coarse language an

Producer : Vidhu Vinod Chopra Director : Rajesh Mapuskar Starring : Sharman Joshi, Boman Irani, Ritwik Sahore, Paresh Rawal Music : Pritam Chakraborty Lyrics : Guru Thakur Genre : Comedy, Emotional, Family Recommended Audience : General Approximate Running Time : 139 minutes Film Released on : 15 June 2012 Storyline As Sharman Joshi’s character Rustam cheers his son Kayo from stands while Kayo is hitting the cricket ball with the new bat which Rustam has bought after putting in all his savings, your heart goes to Rusy. Kayo could not hit the winning run, as like any other honest simple middle class father of India, Rusy fell shorter by a wish, that of a better shoe. Ferrari ki Sawaari is a story that makes that little extra happen, it is about seeing the brighter side of life. If the individual style of the new age directors of Bollywood can be classified as a formula, Rajesh Mapuskar follows his mentor and attempts to build over a very familiar Rajkumar Hirani formula. It tries to cr

Producer : Jaideep Punjabi Director : Prashant Bhargava Starring : Aakash Maherya,Hamid Shaikh,Mukund Shukla,Nawazuddin Siddiqui,Seema Biswas,Sugandha Garg Music : Mario Grigorov Genre : Art-Film Recommended Audience : Parental Guidance Approximate Running Time : 1hr 31 min Film Released on : 15 June 2012 Storyline Every once in a while comes a film that powerfully flies high, like the most beautiful of kites that holds our hopes and dreams. Director/Writer/Editor Prashant Bhargava’s “Patang” is just such a film that showcases the ultimate chaos and absolute beauty of life, all upon the fragile wings of a kite. The movie has been making the film festival rounds (Berlin Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival) and has been getting quite a bit of attention. “Patang” is a film for those that wish to watch cinema, not to be carried away by a fantasy land, but to marvel instead at the beautiful complexities of human emotion. Seven years in the making, the attention to detail, avant garde use

Producer : Ajay Bijli, Dibakar Banerjee, Priya Shreedharan & Sanjeev K Bijli Director : Dibakar Banerjee Starring : Abhay Deol, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Emraan Hashmi, Kalki Koechlin Music : Vishal-Shekhar Lyrics : Dibakar Banerjee, Anvita Dutt, Kumaar, Neelesh Mishra, & Vishal Dadlani Genre : Thriller Recommended Audience : General Film Released on : 05 June 2012 Storyline Dibakar Banerjee. One name that’s managed to carve a cult status for the kind of films he’s made of late. Right from two back to back dark comedies to an experimental voyeuristic film that has pushed the boundaries of filmmaking in Indian cinema, he’s done it all. And now he’s back with what’s touted to be a thriller, and he’s got the dream starcast for a film that’s expected to be different – Emraan Hashmi, Abhay Deol, Kalki Koechlin and Prosenjit Chatterjee. And this time, instead of his regular Sneha Khanwallkar, he’s gone a notch above to team up with India’s hottest music duo Vishal and Shekhar. Everythin

Director : Rupert Sanders Writers : Evan Daugherty (screenplay), John Lee Hancock (screenplay), and 2 more credits » Stars : Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron 127 min - Action | Adventure | Drama - 1 June 2012 (India) Plot In a twist to the fairy tale, the Huntsman ordered to take Snow White into the woods to be killed winds up becoming her protector and mentor in a quest to vanquish the Evil Queen. Storyline Snow White is the only person in the land fairer than the evil queen. Unable to tolerate the insult to her vanity, the evil queen decides that Snow White must die. The queen sends a huntsman to kill Snow White. However the huntsman finds himself unable to murder the innocent young woman, and instead ends up training her to become a warrior capable of threatening the queen's reign. Details Official Sites: Official site | Official site [Japan] | Country: USA Language: English Release Date: 1 June 2012 (India) Also Known As: Snow White &

Director : Peter Berg Writers : Erich Hoeber, Jon Hoeber Stars : Alexander Skarsgård, Brooklyn Decker and Liam Neeson 131 min - Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi - 13 April 2012 (India) Plot A fleet of ships is forced to do battle with an armada of unknown origins in order to discover and thwart their destructive goals. Storyline Based on the classic Hasbro naval combat game, Battleship is the story of an international fleet of ships who come across an alien armada while on Naval war games exercise. An intense battle is fought on sea, land and air. What do the aliens want? Details Official Sites: Official site | Official site [Canada] | Country: USA Language: English Release Date: 13 April 2012 (India) Also Known As: Batalla naval Filming Locations: Hong Kong, China

Director : Kirk Jones Writers : Shauna Cross (screenplay), Heather Hach (screenplay), Stars : Cameron Diaz, Matthew Morrison and J. Todd Smith 110 min - Comedy | Drama | Romance - 18 May 2012 (India) Plot A look at love through the eyes of five interconnected couples experiencing the thrills and surprises of having a baby, and ultimately coming to understand the universal truth that no matter what you plan for, life doesn't always deliver what's expected. Storyline Inspired by the perennial New York Times bestseller of the same name, WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU'RE EXPECTING is a hilarious and heartfelt big screen comedy about five couples whose intertwined lives are turned upside down by the challenges of impending parenthood. Over the moon about starting a family, TV fitness guru Jules and dance show star Evan find that their high-octane celebrity lives don't stand a chance against the surprise demands of pregnancy. Baby-crazy author and advocate Wendy gets a taste

Director : Joss Whedon Writers : Joss Whedon (screenplay), Zak Penn (story) Stars : Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson 143 min - Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi - 27 April 2012 (India) Plot Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. brings together a team of super humans to form The Avengers to help save the Earth from Loki and his army. Storyline Nick Fury is director of S.H.I.E.L.D, an international peace keeping agency. The agency is a who's who of Marvel Super Heroes, with Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. When global security is threatened by Loki and his cohorts, Nick Fury and his team will need all their powers to save the world from disaster. Details Official Sites: Official Facebook [United Kingdom] | Official site | Country: USA Language: English | Russian Release Date: 27 April 2012 (India) Also Known As: Avengers Assemble Filming Locations: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Director : Barry Sonnenfeld Writers : Etan Cohen, Lowell Cunningham (Malibu comic) Stars : Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin 106 min - Action | Comedy | Sci-Fi - 25 May 2012 (India) Storyline An alien criminal kills the young Agent K in 1969, altering the timeline, changing the Agency and placing the Earth in danger. Veteran Agent J (Will Smith) must travel back in time to 1969 to before the murder and work with the young Agent K (Josh Brolin) to save him, the Agency, the Earth and humanity itself. Details Official Sites: Official site [Canada] | Official site [Japan] | Country: USA Language: English Release Date: 25 May 2012 (India) Also Known As: M.I.B.³ Filming Locations: Bronx, New York City, New York, USA

Producer : Ronnie Screwwala, Sanjay Leela Bhansali Director : Prabhudheva Starring : Akshay Kumar, Sonakshi Sinha Music : Sajid-Wajid Lyrics : Sameer Anjaan, Faiz Anwar Genre : Action Recommended Audience : Parental Guidance Film Released on : 01 June 2012 Storyline Much earlier, in my review of Prabhudheva’s maiden venture Wanted, which got Salman Khan back in the game and allowed him to do many more masala entertainers and South remakes, I had stated that I love masala entertainers. Trust me, there’s nothing better than a cocktail of genres defying your otherwise potent logic when you leave your overworked brains behind to enjoy a movie that should provide nothing but (in the language of the well-remembered Silk, played by Balan in The Dirty Picture) “entertainment, entertainment, aur entertainment.” And that’s exactly why I haven’t really shoved Sajid Khan’s outspoken logic of his films working, because he knows exactly what he’s doing when he’s making films that don’t require log

Producer : Yash Raj Films Director : Habib Faisal Starring : Arjun Kapoor, Parineeti Chopra Music : Amit Trivedi Lyrics : Kausar Munir Recommended Audience : General Film Released on : 11 May 2012 Storyline Based on an imaginary town of UP named Almore, Ishaqzaade is a passionate love story which has already generated a lot of buzz even before release due to the attractive new faces, fresh music which you can listen to in a loop, a bold and rebellious Parineeti (Chopra) who is shown with guns and a young lad marking his debut (Arjun Kapoor) who can make girls swoon with his reckless attitude! Habib Faisal is definitely an intelligent director who shows all the nuances of small towns of UP compared to metros and also the ruthlessness, arrogance, plots, passion along with aggression in the rustic aura which doesn’t fail to impress you. Three cheers to cinematographer Hemant Chaturvedi, who captures it in a natural way whilst all the songs are shot within the suburbs of Almore which make

Producer : Reliance Entertainment Director : Vikram Bhatt Starring : Karisma Kapoor, Rajneesh Duggal, Jimmy Shergill, Divya Dutta, Arya Babbar, Gracy Singh, Ravi Kissen, Ruslan Mumtaz Music : Himesh Reshammiya Lyrics : Samir Anjaan and Shabbir Ahmed Genre : Thriller Recommended Audience : General Film Released on : 11 May 2012 Storyline Karisma Kapoor as Salma, Geeta or Sanjana gets news of death of her lover’s death / kidnap multiple times in the movie. Her dovey eyes turn red just too often, her voice cracks, she breaks down just as often. Every time she does this you don’t have dialogues but you hear loud Himesh vocals (as loud and as listenable as ever) in the background. You want to relate to the girl, you want to feel bad for the one who died or at least feel concerned. But you just cannot. Dangerous Ishq is a romantic thriller that spans across centuries to get the lovers connected but fails to connect to the one sitting on the other side of the screen. The movie marks the come

Producer : Mahesh Bhatt Director : Kunal Deshmukh Starring : Emraan Hashmi, Esha Gupta, Randeep Hooda Music : Pritam Lyrics : Sayeed Quadri, Sanjay Masoomm, Mayur Puri genre : Thriller Recommended Audience : Adult Film Released on : 02 April 2012 Storyline The original Jannat (2008) was watchable due to the cricket concept, exceptional music (by Pritam), a better heroine and an interesting story! Jannat 2 is a tossed, stashed rather crushed version of the original with fewer stellar songs and a new female lead (who most of the times reads news headlines when it comes to delivering a heavy dialogue!). Esha Gupta must have been hoping that the audience would go wild seeing her curves but she should realise there’s no scarcity of that in Bollywood today! Perhaps the surprise element of the movie is that the lover boy himself is even more irritating than the female lead. Once upon a time it was a delight to watch Emraan Hashmi showering us in these romantic / gunda roles. Sadly his presen

Producer : Ratan Jain Director : Priyadarshan Starring : Anil Kapoor, Ajay Devgan, Kangna Ranaut, Zayed Khan, Boman Irani, Mohanlal (Cameo), Sameera Reddy Music : Sajid-Wajid Lyrics : Jalees Sherwani, Shabbir Ahmed Genre : Thriller Recommended Audience : General Film Released on : 27 April 2012 Storyline When Priyadarshan’s Aakrosh came out in theatres, I was damn impressed with his execution of the almost watertight script – and the length didn’t even matter. It was another story altogether that I had decided voluntarily not to review the film at all, because my euphoria was dampened by the immediate discovery of the film being a brazen rip-off Mississippi Burning – and in fact, after watching the film, my spirits dampened even more. Now, almost two years later, when his Tezz was about to release and all its promos were out there, I had almost predicted the film to have a strange connection with The Taking of Pelham One Two Three – and I’m not talking the Tony Scott remake, I’m talki

Producer : John Abraham Director : Shoojit Sircar Starring : Ayushmann Khurrana, Yami Gautam, Annu Kapoor Music : Abhishek-Akshay, Donn & Bann, Rochak Kohli, Ayushmann Lyrics : Akshay, Juhi, Kusum, Swanand, Vijay, Ayushmann Genre : Social Recommended Audience : General Film Released on : 20 April 2012 Storyline Vicky Donor. He doesn’t donate life saving blood, kidney or bone marrow; instead he gives new life by donating sperm. A fresh story giving importance to the fact that sperm donation is not an act to be ashamed of, rather it’s a noble deed that can bring happiness to so many parents devoid of kids! The concept is presented in a light breeze without burdening you with heavy emotional drama! The entire first half of the movie is filled with comedy that makes you fall off your seat. Director Shoojit Sircar and writer Juhi Chaturvedi created a total comic drama which is also heart felt and doesn’t lead to heavy bannered messages or morals but just lets people know that sperm don

Producer : Sajid Nadiadwala Director : Sajid Khan Starring : Akshay Kumar, Asin, John Abraham, Jacqueline Fernandez, Ritesh Deshmukh, Zarine Khan Shreyas Talpade, Shazahn Padamsee Music : Sajid-Wajid Lyrics : Sameer Genre : Comedy Recommended Audience : General Film Released on : 05 April 2012 Boy, Farah Khan’s brother Sajid Khan is quite a polarizing figure isn’t he? The director is more well known for his skewering (and on the spot) commentary as host of almost every award show in the UNIVERSE (add echo effect here), yet his work as a director contains perhaps only 25% of the wit he has shown as a host. Why is that? Yes, I get the fact that he wishes to make entertaining films for the whimsical and more tolerant (of mediocre films) masses, and doesn’t quite care for the nose in the sky “elite” filmgoers who prefer comedies like” Munnabhai” (both films) and “3 Idiots”. Yes, I get that he blatantly makes his films as middle of the road as possible. It’s almost certain that his

Producer : Saif Ali Khan, Dinesh Vijan Director : Sriram Raghavan Starring : Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Gulshan Grover, Ravi Kissen, Ram Kapoor, Anee Lee Roberts, Malika Haydon Music : Pritam Lyrics : Amitabh Bhattacharya, Nilesh Mishra Genre : Thriller Recommended Audience : General Film Released on : 23 March 2012 Storyline Director Sriram Raghavan is a master at producing slick, suspense thrillers like Johnny Gaddar and Ek Hasina Thi. I was pretty sure that with such accomplished credentials, Agent Vinod would be another unforgettable film. The trailer strengthened that notion. Now post-viewing I’ve got to say that I liked Agent Vinod, although this is well below Raghavan’s usual efforts. Agent Vinod is Bollywood’s answer to James Bond. Well almost. Saif Ali Khan is RAW operative Vinod – a stylish, suave master of international sleuthing. When a fellow RAW agent Rajan (Ravi Kissen) is killed, AV is forced to country-hop across Afghanistan, Morocco and London in pursuit

Producer : Ronnie Screwvala Director : Tigmanshu Dhulia Starring : Irrfan Khan, Mahi Gill, Vipin Sharma Music : Abhishek Ray Lyrics : Genre : Historic Recommended Audience : Parental Guidance Film Released on : 02 March 2012 Storyline-- Paan Singh Tomar is the story of an innocent simple village man who speaks his mind and joins the army for the pride it entails. He doesn’t have any particular interests. Instead he believes that people more knowledgeable and literate can direct him in life and he has no qualms following their orders. Paan Singh’s potential as a sportsman is seen by Major Masand (played by Vipin Sharma). The film’s first half is about Paan Singh’s experience as an army man, a sportsman and a husband. A family feud then takes over Paan Singh’s career and the film’s story. Paan Singh never believed in the government but he believed in the system. It is when his family suffers the enmity that his belief in the system shatters. He turns into a hardened rebel. The rest of t

Category : Romance Release Date : 17 February, 2012 Storyline Love is the easiest trap to fall into. But what if you aren’t prepared for it? This is what this movie is about. Viren was a cool dude who rarely thinks about relationship and commitments. Actually, he never thinks about such things. When he kidnaps a girl, for his own reasons, spend time with her, cares for her and much more, he started falling for her. Before he could know about it, it was too late- he was in love. What will happen next? Will this story get romantic and will have a happy ending or things will go haywire and he will get his heart broken? 1/10 2/10 3/10 4/10 5/10 6/10 7/10 8/10 9/10 10/10  

Directed By : David Wain Written By : David Wain, Ken Marino Category : Comedy Release Date : 24 February, 2012 Storyline --Imagine a young couple moving into a new locality in New York and then Paul Rudd, who plays Mr. Husband, getting fired from his job. Well here begins the change of fortunes for the young couple who out of desperation need to movie to Georgia to live with their family. Jennifer Aniston sizzles all through as the couple find themselves in deep trouble as they land into a hippie badland while putting up in a bread and breakfast motel overnight during the journey. This film is all about trying to give up your comforts as a couple for a better tomorrow yet landing in a pothole today. Not your everyday Rom-Com, mind you! 1/10 2/10 3/10 4/10 5/10 6/10 7/10 8/10 9/10 10/10  

Producer: Karan Johar, Hiroo Yash Johar Director: Shakun Batra Starring: Imran Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor, Boman Irani, Ram Kapoor, Ratna Pathak Shah Music: Amit Trivedi Lyrics: Amitabh Bhattacharya Genre: Romantic Recommended Audience: General Film Released on: 10 February 2012 Storyline Every movie sets a canvas that it needs to paint on. A romcom movie in the valentine week is our first brief for Ek Main aur Ekk Tu (EMAET) and that sets a light breezy note to the film. So how well did a debut director Shakun Batra paint on this often used canvas? Imran Khan (whose first movie as a lead, we saw 8 years after Kareena Kapoor's) and Kareena Kapoor is an interesting pairing so can they keep the spunk of the romcom genre alive? Those are the question that everyone has on their mind when they enter the movie hall... An edgy architect who has grown up with all the right behaviour but not thoughts, meets a happy-go-lucky carefree hairstylist who is just out of a bre

Producer: Karan Johar Director: Karan Malhotra Starring: Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Sanjay Dutt, Rishi Kapoor Music: Ajay-Atul Lyrics: Amitabh Bhattacharya Genre: Drama Recommended Audience: Adult Film Released on: 26 January 2012 Storyline Starting off in Mandwa, off the coast of Mumbai, the movie brings to surface schoolmaster Dinanath Chauhan, whose upright nature irks a lot of people, one of them being the power-hungry Kancha Cheena, who – Gita in hand – chants its holy verses in an almost satanic tone to abolish whatsoever he hates. Implicating him in a false case of rape, Cheena hangs Dinanath Chauhan in front of a horde of villagers, forcing his pregnant wife, Suhasini, and child, Vijay, to flee Mandwa. Landing in Mumbai, Vijay sees nothing but violence all around him. Still seething with the rage of his father’s murder, Vijay decides to play his own game of revenge, where life later comes full circle. So let’s get the more important matters straight for those

Producer: Abbas-Mustan Director: Abbas-Mustan Starring: Abhishek Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Bobby Deol, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Omi Vaidya, Sikandar Kher, Johnny Lever, Vinod Khanna Music: Pritam Lyrics: Ashish Pandit Genre: Thriller Film Released on: 06 January 2012 Storyline The dictionary explains the Stockholm Syndrome as “an apparently paradoxical psychological phenomenon in which hostages express empathy and have positive feelings towards their captors, sometimes to the point of defending them. These feelings are generally considered irrational in light of the danger or risk endured by the victims, who essentially mistake a lack of abuse from their captors for an act of kindness.” Now this bit of digression is important to explain the concoction of emotions you may feel when you go to watch Players. We are held captive by the makers for about two and a half hours, held at ransom in an Abbas-Mastan universe where sense and sensibility has been dethroned by the ab