Reviews

I have to say that watching this movie ALONE in an empty movie theatre added several dimensions to the whole experience of watching ROCKSTAR.

My first comment is to Imtiaz Ali-- What were you thinking, bro? To actually have the gumption to create a love story around the idea of ethereal and eternal love as envisioned by the great Sufi Master Rumi in the land of DABANGG and BODYGUARD? Did you really think that audiences (read THE COMMON MAN) would throng cinemas and multiplexes to get a taste of sublime love?

For sublime love is the thread that binds this beautiful bitter sweet tale together. It is a love story written in the idiom of NorthIndian/Kashmiri/Sufi culture, of dargahs, of spirituality, of Delhi University Campus insider jokes, of the topography of North India, especially Kashmir and I fear the film could be condemned with the "E" word--elitism.

The starting point of the story is a young ordinary low middle class callow youth who is a wannabe singer, strumming his guitar to ordinary lyrics hoping to make it big. He is accused of being shallow by his mentor and advised to seek out "PAIN" in order to light the creative spark, that divine glow that accompanies great art. Unbeknownst to him, his casual and frivolous flirtation with this search for angst leads him into the deep end where he has to come face to face first with true love and then with the inevitable pain that comes with it.

The dialogues are fabulous. So is the cinematography. The snow clad mountains of Kashmir and the misty mornings of New Delhi, the green fields full of flowers in Prague place the story in the here and now when in truth the story could belong to any era, any century, any epoch. The universality of love, the self realisation that comes with it, the realisation that this life is but a dream is what the movie is really about. The essence of the story is not in the physicality of love but love beyond the here and now, beyond right and wrong and love for the Creator who was there when there was nothing else.

See what I mean when I ask Imtiaz--what were you thinking, bro?

And now for the piece de resistance-the music, the lyrics, the singer.

If there were any doubts being expressed by the hoi polloi about A R Rehman's diminishing creativity well then, here is his rebuttal.

The music is earthy, rooted in our traditions and culture, and designed to rock. It's astonishing how Rehman is able to dive into the musical traditions of the Punjab to create the "Saada Haq" and "Katiyaan Karoon". Irshad Kamil's lyrics, if you take the time to listen to the songs and understand the words, are beyond compare. Mohit Chauhan's voice is eminently suitable for all the songs. My favorite is "Naadaan parinde, ghar aajaa" Listen to the lyrics and cry.

We have been enjoying a lot of junk food lately. Now it's time for some haute cuisine.

Farhan Akhtar's Dil Chahta Hai was an iconic movie and was like a breath of fresh air at the time of its release. Zoya's film is a wonderful expression and exploration of the new social dynamics in a fresh new idiom heralded by her brother's earlier work.

In the last decade we have seen how some filmmakers have quickly adopted a new idiom, a meta language to depict the changing world order and the place that the modern urban Indian holds within it. Zoya does this beautifully thus elevating what could have been a very ordinary story to a level where it achieves an iconic status.

The film depicts the coming of age of a trio of young urbane successful Indians who have to go through certain rites of passage to reach self realization. The element of modernism comes in via the unorthodox paths that these young men adopt to reach that vital stage of real adulthood when they are able to exchange short term temporary needs for real happiness, a kind of worldly "moksha" (oxymoron!)

The trio undertakes a journey which becomes a metaphor for the journey of the self from boyhood to adulthood. Male bonding and real brotherhood (despite the fact that these men are just friends) is the thread that binds the story in a tightly woven fabric of delightful insights into the complexity of relationships in a modern milieu where the norms of old morality have been quietly exchanged for new ones. Love, romance, sexuality are dealt with in a way that is candid, frank and fresh. The locales that are chosen as settings for this journey are exquisite and breathtakingly beautiful, thus underlining the immense beauty of the world that lies at our feet when we are young and the world is still unexplored. So for example,we have one of the characters in a deep sea dive exploring the depths of the ocean and being reduced to tears by its beauty.

The movie abounds in such life changing moments and there is not a single scene when the audience finds it difficult to relate to the protagonists or the storyline. I watched the movie on a week night in a mid-Manhattan cinema and the audience was laughing and silent at all the appropriate places. The film had hit the right spot.

I congratulate Zoya and her team on the tight script, the casting, the excellent uplifting cinematography complemented by Shankar Ehsaan Loy's music and the wonderful direction of three great actors. I have always liked Abhay Deol. He is a brave actor and takes on roles that are not necessarily "heroic" (as in Bollywood) and always essays them well. Hrithik is seen in a new light and the sensitivity that he brings to his role is worth applauding. Farhan purports to be the "Joker" of the pack but is carrying a very real angst in his soul and that is done very well. For me the big surprise of the film was Katrina who comes across as having matured as an actor and looks gorgeous at the same time.

There is a new wonderful trend in Indian cinema which we hope will continue unabated and is not killed by the more inane, mind numbing Bollywood brand of cinema. The only thing that will go against this film is that it will not appeal to the masses in the hinterlands where "DABANGG" has set a benchmark.

I had liked Abhinav Deo's GAME too for its style and had not known at that time that he was directing DELHI BELLY or was from the advertising world. I mention this fact about being from the world of advertising because this would factor into the director's understanding of urban realities, most of all the language of real life.

Language is the MAIN character of this movie. The plot, the actors, the music, the songs, the chases-- all lean heavily on language and that's the most unique feature of this film. The language of the by now infamous lyrics, the "heroes" and the "villains" alike reflects the grim, gritty, sometimes squalid reality of urban India and translates it into images that are at once shocking, disgusting, entertaining and creatively ingenious.

Once the director has decided that he is going to use this language (both literally as well as metaphorically) he has complete freedom to depict urban realities-- sexual, emotional, physical, financial, marital, professional et al. The film is funny because beneath all the crudities and cuss words lies the recognition of ourselves in our day to day life, its frustrations, the curve balls that it throws us from time to time and our desperate attempts to keep our sanity in a completely insane world.

In a recent interview, Abhinav Deo thanked Amir Khan for his vision. This vision is possible only in a man who has the creative genius to shed the hypocrisy and double entrendres of Bollywood cinema and move on to a cinematic form that is so completely in tune with the 21st century India, the metamorphosis of our youth, the blurring lines that divide morality (as we knew it) from immorality, even amorality, cynicism from romanticism and so on.

The movie from start to finish is tightly held together. The cast is well chosen and so are the locales. Nothing jars in the movie. People look as much at home in a five star hotel as they do in the clogged by lanes and streets of Old Delhi. The screenplay is tautly held together by an equally taut editing. I loved Vijay Raaz who is able to depict the malevolence of a sleepy looking but deadly reptile with such finesse, the two young men who share Imran's filthy apartment and the young woman who tempts Imran to break his engagement. The contrast between the old Maruti and the red new (Santro?) car that can zip through the flyovers of Delhi is as meaningful as the black eye that Imran sports through most of the film.

I am sure some reviewers and certain sections of the audience will slam the movie for various reasons. But that is because the movie is ahead of its time and will make people uncomfortable because of its iconoclastic nature. I salute Amir and his team for this and wish them many many years of great film making.

It has become a practice with some of our so-called movie "critics" to pick holes in every movie they watch and critique. This could be a way of justifying what they do to earn their daily bread but sometimes it's for the sake of being "critical". So negative reviews by "critics" have been very irritating because I saw most people in the audience enjoying the movie.

I am not suggesting GAME is fabulous but I will say it's fun to watch. For one thing it is slick. The frames, the locales, the settings-- all are glossy and very urban (which is why this film cannot be a huge nation wide hit). Abhishek looks very good. I think Gauhar Khan deserves a mention here. She acted well. Kangana needs diction lessons.

I liked the film because it ran well. I wasn't thrilled by the music (Shankar et al have been churning out lackadaisical music for a while now) but I enjoyed watching stuff that was so un -Dabangg like. I am getting tired of watching that Eastern UP rustic tripe-- a bandwagon that every film maker now wants to climb on, post Dabangg.

I wish Farhan Akhtar had tweaked the script a little more to make it tighter with no sags. But, no problems. Chalta hai. This is Bollywood and not every film is aspiring to go to the Oscars!

I have been so impressed with Madhur's films and expected to see something good when I went to watch his latest offering but sadly, the movie was a huge disappointment. Every thing was below par ( when I say that I mean compared to the standards set by MB himself)--- the humour is self conscious and falls flat even though the writer has made full use of sexual innuendos, the actors (the male protagonists) are all wasted and this is such a pity because we know all of them are capable of much much more, the women are ridiculous caricatures of the 21st century woman and the entire story line on which all this hangs seems terribly contrived and predictable.

Pritam's music is good; the song by Mohit Chauhan is great but even this fails to lift the film. A comedy of this sort needs to be running on wheels not dragging as it does and at the end one feels as frustrated as one does at having to eat a collapsed soufflé.

In spite of a very heavy schedule I took time off to watch this because I was curious to see how a film would handle the fantastical elements of the book.

I am sorry to say this so baldly: the film borders on the absurd in some parts and proved to be a damp squib in others despite the (ridiculous)numerous shots of bright red hot chilli peppers in almost every frame.

There was absolutely no chemistry between the two main characters,bunches of hot chilli peppers notwithstanding. I have no doubt Aishwarya has thousands of loyal fans who would defend her "acting talent" but again I failed to see any evidence of it in this movie.

That the director is a novice, a wanna be, and could do with some training is a given. He simply did not know how to handle material so rich in possibilities. He lost every opportunity in the book to make the characters come alive. Even worse, he fails to lift the movie from being a mere depiction of absurd hocus pocus to one where magical elements would seem almost natural even in the humdrum life of a Western city.

In the end, I felt impelled to laugh every time I saw Aish go up to the window to gaze out wordlessly with a bunch of red peppers hanging behind her.

Perhaps the director believed he could ride on the bandwagon of success that all Indian things seem to have currently but he seems to have miscalculated his own ability to interpret a story such as this even with wife Gurinder standing by his side.

I am not going to write a critical review of this movie simply because it doesn't need one. I am just going to say that it kept me and a hall full of at least 200 people laughing non-stop. Everything in the movie made us laugh. I had left all my critical faculties at home when I went to watch this movie. It's pure fun. AK is great-- I have always loved him especially in comedies-- and all the other characters were great too. The timing was great and all the twists and turns kept us rolling on the floor. I certainly did not go there looking for some dark comedy or a serious movie. In any case, what credibility does the Indian audience have, if they could reject a well made film like Korbaan? If you haven't watched De Dana Dan yet, I say, buy a ticket and go for the next show. You will forget all your troubles and sleep well that night.

I saw the movie today and the enjoyment of the film was spoilt by the meaningless and unceasing laughter of four women seated behind us. These women obviously perceived the movie to be some kind of comedy.

Yes, the film has some bitter satire, some very dark humour and some situations where and didn't know whether to laugh or cry but I would not call it a comedy.

The film itself has a grimy, grainy quality to it which is, of course, immensely suited to the subjects it explores: speech impediments obviously symbols of psychological problems in the lives of the two protagonists, psychedelic dreams and visions, sepia images of the past, bloody corpses, fascism and jingoism, crime with its inherent root in human failings--- in short, everything that Bollywood has explored in the past but NOT in the bold, aggressive, brazen way that Bhardwaj does.

There is no doubt that Bhardwaj is our very own Quentin Tarrantino (it has been said by someone in this forum). He deals with the grime of life with the dreaminess of a hardened and cynical poet.

To help him do this are Shahid and Priyanka who have proved once and for all that all good actors need good directors. Priyanka has outdone herself (I though Fashion was her pinnacle but it is clear the film was just the tip of the iceberg where her talent is concerned) in her memorable role of a gangster's sister.

Shahid is fabulous. He is restrained in his enactment of two roles. Charlie is cold and ambitious (but allows us a peek into his dreams) while Guddu is mild and somewhat wimpish.

The casting is par excellence. Every character in the movie has been well chosen.

The music is lively and suits the film and the characters.

The script is tight and seamless. Wonderful. What a talented cast and director. The photography takes you to another level, especially in the last few scenes where everything is covered in the thick smoke of gun-fire between the rival gangs.

Don't miss the movie--you will regret it.

After reading all the comments posted on this board, I feel a little guilty about saying what I am going to say next.

1.Most viewers who are fed up of the formulaic masala films that are churned out unceasingly from Bollywood, are applauding the movie and its plot/story etc. I don't think the plot is anything to sing about because it skims over the surface of a very very complex issue. What happened after 9/11 cannot be explained away in the trite dialogues uttered by Irfan at the end of the movie. In fact, even during the course of the movie, other than the horrifying visual images of the torture of the prisoners, the movie was not able to dissect or delve into what really happened and why.

2. Other viewers are giving back handed compliments to Katrina and John and completely forgetting that this movie fell not one, not two but several notches BECAUSE of the poor acting of that very good looking bloke, Neil Nitin. In fact, whoever did the casting should be the one held responsible for the fact that the movie did not reach the heights that it could have, had the actors been selected for their acting and not for their looks. Though I am not overly fond of Katrina, I must admit that in this movie, she comes across as someone who is learning on the job. She is becoming better. John saves the day. Irfan, that powerhouse of talent, wore a look of cynicism all through the film and I don't blame him.

3. When a film maker decides to pick such a complex and layered issue, an issue that has been discussed, written about, explained, argued about endlessly,then he needs to get his intellectual hat on and involve himself in all aspects of film making, including editing. He needs to understand that this was not a trite, nor a regional issue that can be explained in platitudes but something that would demand uncomfortable admissions. None of this is present in the movie.

4. The photography is excellent and Manhattan looks glorious in all the evening shots. The music is passable.

5. I had been quite impressed by the film Kabul Express and had expected the director to have honed his talent. However, it seems he bit off more than he could chew.

6. And, my two cents worth,Neil Nitin, please take some acting classes.

I have always held AK in high esteem and have lauded all his recent successes. I went as far as spending a big sum of money to buy tickets for a special screening of his most recent film, the much talked about Ghajini.

I think it's awful.

I like AK, his body is a marvel and worth staring at; his talent is unquestioned but what the heck is he doing in this movie? Forget the fact that people who watch movies a lot know that this is a copy of a great Hollywood flick. It's happened before and no one complains much.

The fact is we are left wondering--what is the point of this movie? There is some bad acting (the actor playing the police officer is awful and so is the so called "Ghajini"). The story line is held together loosely and has several loopholes.

The song and dance routine really hurts , man!! And, it's time to accept that the South Indian method of cinematics is completely different from the rest of the world. The sensibilities are different so this movie just doesn't work.

"Kalpana" is good but not Jia Khan.

Poor Amir! I wish him the best and hope his next venture is a huge success to make up for this one.

I was dragged into the movie theatre by my daughter to watch this remake. My reasons for resisting were two: 1) I absolutely don't like SRK and 2)I loved AB and all his films and had really liked DON.

Well, I sat enthralled by the movie through those three hours that that a Hindi movie usually takes to unfold.

Shahroukh is able to portray a power hungry ruthless gangsta type with absolute believability. He is immensely believable in his role as a youthful, die-hard diabolical ambitious gangster who will do anything to retain his power. I did not experience the familiar sense of disbelief that usually accompanies one when watching a Hindi movie. Mercifully, SRK abstains from dishing out his goat like laugh or his standard expressions. He looks mean,suave, smooth,cruel,sexy,conniving, ruthless-- everything.

Thunderous applause!

Farhan Akhtar has done what is acutely difficult--direct a remake of a cult classic. I know there are those on this forum who are perhaps too young to have watched the older version and then there are those who like to sneer at everything from the 80s but back then when the first DON was made we ere very impressed indeed. AB was fabulous. We loved the music and accepted even the impossible sequences in the film.

This film, made in 2006, when the film-goer is jaded, cynical and extremely demanding, is equally impressive.

Akhtar,has the contemporary feel for cinema. He knows how to deal the cards when it comes to direction and producing a great slick, smooth, thrilling, fast moving action movie.

The story moves effortlessly,the screenplay is seamless and the camera-work absolutely fabulous.

The men in the movie are great (with the possible exception of poor Chunkey Pandey). Arjun Rampal looked like a "Jasjeet" and Boman Irani is growing by leaps and bounds in his repertoire. Om Puri was great as usual though a trifle wasted (and, I noticed, was looking considerably bigger than usual)

The women,on the other hand,were mere molls. That was the big disappointment for me. I mean, why would Farhan not want to make use of the talented Priyanka and if she was not talented enough, then why not choose another female lead? Priyanka, Isha both were completely sidelined in the movie though the first scene of Priyanka really built up audience expectations.

Kareena was sexy,buxom and beautiful.

I know Farhan did not have much luck with his second movie but I remember Dil Chahta Hai and even then we were struck by his sensibility as a director--totally 21st century.

I watched the movie ONLY because I wanted to be able to talk about it with friends etc.

I have always believed that Karan's success lies in his being part of the band of beautiful people of Bollywood. His movies have succeeded because they provide the audiences of the Indian subcontinent and now of the diaspora, predictable story lines, comforting endings, rich pageantry of costumes, music, dances and a vivid colour palette. Very rarely has KJ delved into any serious cinema and no one should fault him for that.

Unfortunately, all this success has gone to his head and he has actually started to believe that he can handle the complexity of adultery, failed marriage, infidelity and painful divorces. (Karan, please watch Arth, Ek Bar Phir)

He has begun to believe that if he brings in his usual hoopla and the stuff that had worked so well in all his previous films this movie too would rake in the moolah and help to ensconce him even more strongly as one of the "top notch film makers of Bollywood"

What he doesn't realise is that in making such a film he would have to walk the alleyways of the dark emotions of adultery,deceit,pain, and the anguish of leaving a spouse and a child, the confused emotions and all the angst that accompanies infidelity. And this Karan is either too afraid or complacent to do.

Picking the basic plot from the Hollywood movie CLOSER, and then superimposing his formula on his version of the story is a lousy idea because he fails to notice how depressing and bitter CLOSER is-- simply because adultery is a BITTER subject. SRK is not able to assume the hard and bitter role that Clive Owen portrays in CLOSER simply because SRK is not only mediocre but also lacks the versatility that is necessary to portray the entire gamut of emotions that are necessary in this role. SRK's set of expressions, body language and sounds simply do not STRETCH to what is required to make the character of Dev plausible and sympathetic.

So here is my opinion in brief:

SRK is mediocre and unable to rise above himself to portray the role that KJ thrust on him

Rani's wooden heavily made up face fails to win any sympathy from the audience for her failed marriage because the story does not provide a credible reason for that failure other than some hidden insecurities behind her obsession for cleaning

Poor Preity has been cheated out of a good role. She could have done better if the story had allowed her to. By the way, how is it that she is never actually shown WORKING? I mean, isn't this the root cause for the dismal marriage?

Abhishek is doing better and better. His character is well portrayed and he does justice to it

In contrast Amitabh looks Rey, aged and sickly in his disgusting portrayal of a father! I would advise him to be more discerning in the future when KJ approaches him again

And, what on earth made John Abraham accept that pathetic cameo?????

Kiron Kher is good as always.

I wonder if Karan would ever have the time to go through these audience reactions. I wish he would. This would help him in the future and tell him that really good cinema doesn't need all the glamour props that he leans on so heavily.

Also that he needs to mature as a person to be able to deal with intrepid and bold issues that cloud human relationships. This means necessitate stepping out of his comfort zone.

I do believe that despite all the rubbish that we have been forced to accept as mainstream Indian cinema, there is a new dawn which will soon turn into a full blown Renaissance, one hopes, and sweep away all the Mallika Sherawats, Imran Hashmis and the entire Karan Johar camp in one fell swoop.

After watching the movie, as we drove back from the cinema, my two normally garrullous teenagers were as silent as mice. I share this with you only to indicate that this is what a good movie like Rang De Basanti can do even to young people normally prone to sneering at the nonsensical stuff they see promoted night and day on Zee and Sony.

It is easy to relate to the movie because even though it is fashionable to be bitter and cynical about the state of affairs in one's country,India, there is still within us that little kernel of hope that we, as citizens, as individuals, as Indians, would be able to make a contribution to our nation. If not that then at least dent the pernicious corruption that threatens to demolish all notions of civil society and good governance.

The question is-- how many of us actually have the courage to step out of our comfort zones and take that life threatening step to challenge the all powerful bureaucracy and ageing satanic politicians who continue to rule over a nation that has long outgrown that antedeluvian style of politics??

The story is set in New Delhi and has a wonderfully brisk screenplay (absolutely sag free)that tells of a motley group of young people, some of them quite easily classifiable as wastrels, (lounging around eating "dhaba" food, dancing at midnight on small hillocks of the adjoining Faridabad area, racing each other on motorcycles and cars)suddenly faced with the dilemma--to be or not to be?

So in essence this is what the movie is about :the classical angst of young people of any century, the love hate relationship that we have all had with our parents, the dislike of ageing and outmoded traditions and beliefs and above all to be able to stand out as individuals when it is so easy to get lost in the crowds of an over populated third world country, the slow and gradual identification with their alter egos (freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh and Chandra Shekhar Azad)--- all this is what makes Rang De Basanti a great movie.

The superiority of the movie lies in the deftness with which the director proceeds to portray the anguish of the young, even the young idealistic party worker who believes he is so superior to the westernised group of college goers. The freshness of the new actors is like freshly brewed coffee, stirring and stimulating--totally unlike the nauseatingly stereotypical performances of a lot of young actors in films today. Every actor is unique and leaves an indelible mark on the hearts and minds of even the most jaded cinema buff.

The modern day tragic protagonists move through the story with adroitness and one gets a sense of their total immersion in their role. There is none of the artifice and adam's apple bobbing that describes all of Sharoukh Khan's recent portrayals of patriotism.

Even though the subject is noir the colors, the photography and the music are not. In fact, the music is upbeat and uplifting throughout and I do believe that is in keeping with the final message of the movie which is not to say the movie is didactic but that there is definitely a message and it is a positive one. In keeping with the spirit of the movie AR Rehman creates a score that is youthful and energetic and Daler Mehndi's rendition of a particularly popular song is great. It contains all the elements of the spirit of Punjabiat, of the energy and the vigour of that most beautiful part of our country.

What else? Loved it, loved it, loved it.

Amir Khan-- Shobha De should eat her words--the foolish woman called you an over rated actor on Karan Johar's tutti fruity show. You are GREAT-- I have always said this and I am happy to repeat myself. People, go watch the movie-- for God's sake don't miss it.

I saw the movie Mangal Pandey yesterday and the images are still quite vivid in my mind. I attribute this to the wonderful cinematography and the colourful canvas that Ketan Mehta uses to unfold the story before his audience.

The madness in Mangal Pandey's, roughly translated as "junoon", can only be portrayed by a great actor. A. R. Rehman's music is so good that it can make your hair stand on end. The four story tellers atop an elephant visiting villages as they tell their story is a great narrative technique.

The reviews of the film in the Indian film media shocked me. I fail to understand the motive or even the thought process behind them unless it is that we are all in the danger of succumbing to cheap cynicism when feelings or ideas of patriotism come up in a creative form.

People have complained about the colour and the song and dance that Ketan has used. I believe this is because of two reasons--one is that Ketan has a theatre background and this is a part of folk theatre -to use music and dance to convey messages. The other reason is that in a movie dealing with the tragic consequences of brave actions it is important to to provide some kind of relief.

Even the presence of the two women which has has been criticised, is important to give the feel of the time. Mangal Pandey had to be shown as a real living human being not some flat lifeless character unearthed from dusty history books. One of the female characters brought to light the repugnant practise of Sati whereas the nautch girl was used to depict the presence of pleasure houses for the company employees. Both are necessary to give us a realistic picture of that era.

A comment was made elsewhere that the younger audiences found it hard to connect with the historical character. Is it easier, then,for the youth of modern India to connect with MTV and reality shows with no content? And if this is so then does it not become even more important for our film makers to produce films with real content that may inspire pride in our culture and history?

Mangal Pandey is a great film. From the first scene to the last you can see the immense amount of hard work that has gone into its making.

The only thing that rankled was the voice over provided by Om Puri. It was unnecessary.

I think the movie deserves great accolades.

I love Astitva.

The story is unusual and extremely balanced. I like what the scriptwriters are doing with it.

The portrayal of a mature Indian woman going through life's trials and tribulations with as much maturity as she can is what makes this show one of the most popular on Sony TV.

I think Simran is beautiful and I love the way she carries herself. She is elegant without being unbelievable. The storyline helps the audience to identify with her.

The main characters are very well etched, especially the father, the maid and Abhi. I also like the girl who portrays Sia. She is wonderful. I wish they hadn't changed the young man who plays Siddhant. The current actor just cannot carry off the role of a successful doctor who has suffered pain in his life as a young child. When he wants to portray pain he looks sullen. He should also learn to keep his mouth closed--some of his facial expressions are not very pleasant.

I am just worried about the direction that the story is taking. I hope the scriptwriters get to read this-- I am afraid that the writers may be falling into the trap of stereotyping the adopted girl. Her portrayal borders on being quite negative. Sia seems to be an angel in comparison.

Also, the fact that Simran seems incapable of a single negative action takes away somewhat from the credibility of the story.

The actor playing Abhi is becoming better and better as time goes.

Everything about the serial is good. It's polished and elegant and does not slide into the melodramatic vulgarity of some other shows that are currently being aired on Sony TV.

I liked Dus a lot even though some unfair comparisons may be made with Hollywood thrillers.

I liked Dus mainly because of its because of its slick editing. I also liked the performances of Abhishek, Shilpa Shetty, Sunjay Dutt and most of all, Pankaj Kapoor.

I loved the music. It's sharp, original and melodious without descending into chaos or plain stealing.

The cinematography was fabulous and the dialogues great.

Shipla Shetty is a treat to look at,gorgeous without being half naked or cheap.

Abhishek is going to be the next King of Bollywood. Sanjay looks mature and is an honest actor. Suneil Shetty hams throughout the movie and one is forced to wonder why he was there at all. He is so irrelevant to the script.

Zayed has a long way to go though he is quite good at shaking a leg.

More than anything else the movie is hugely entertaining even though a large dose of "willing suspension of disbelief" is required in some instances.

I would never have gone to watch this movie if the media had not made such a hoopla about it.

The film is clearly inspired by Bonnie and Clyde. There is nothing great about the storyline. Bollywood has made scores of films on adventurers from small towns out to try their luck in the big bad world.

The music is loud and jarring. I have read elsewhere that it sounds "Bihari". I would say that it tries to imitate the sound of the folk music of the region which then comes out sounding common and totally unmemorable. I was amazed to learn that SEL had composed the score.

There are, however, a few brilliant moments.

Amitabh as the drunken cop gone to seed is fabulous. He plays his role to perfection down to the cynical sneering smile and the awful jokes that he makes when he is questioning the riffraff of UP.

Abhishek--hang in there! You have it in you. You are what we call a late bloomer. You are good especially as the safari suited, paan box holding con man in Agra.

Aishwarya's dance in which she comes out looking like a seedy trollop is SUPERB. The dance moves, the song, the choreography all justify the addition of what is euphemistically called an "item number"

The movie redeems itself at the end when we watch the two protagonists finally being able to make their escape from their REAL prison-- their stifling middle class existence in a small town in the back waters of Eastern UP. That is where I saw the real Bunty and Babli.

I have not enjoyed such a wonderful movie in years.

I don't watch very many Hindi movies but decided to watch this one when I watched an interview of Vidhu Vinod Chopra on MTV. The few clips that I saw during the interview convinced me that the movie was one of the best Hindi movies ever made.

Everything about the movie is enchanting- the music, the wonderful shots of Calcutta at dusk, at sunrise, in the winter fog, in autumn, the churches, the old houses with their colonial architecture, the warm portrayal of those exquisite times, the delicate filigree of relationships, the simplicity of the childhood bond that describes the relationship between Lolita and Shekhar, the realism of the story. Everything was absolutely marvelous.

I have never doubted Saif Khan's great talent and my faith in him was vindicated in the movie. He plays his role with great finesse.The heroine may be debuting in this movie but she will definitely go places. She is talented, she is graceful, she is beautiful without having to thrust her body at the camera to capture the audience's attention. I sat enthralled through the love scenes that reminded me of a watercolor painted with a very fine brush.

The music was absolutely wonderful and captured the sound of the 60s. Every song was a treat--not just the music but the picturisation especially "piyuh bole".

All through the movie I sat and marveled at the amount of work that had gone into the making of such a film. The research, the reproduction, the faithful details(even the oven that was used to bake a cake!)

There are only two aspects of the film that jarred. One was the casting of Sanjay Dutt as Girish. I like Sanjay and he was super in Munna Bhai but he looked too old in his role here. The other thing that somehow spoilt things was the Sanjay Leila Bhansali moment that crept into the movie towards the end.

Even so, if the movie were to be compared with(I confess that it is an unfair comparison) Devdas, Pareenita would win hands down. For all the song and dance hoopla of Devdas, the movie failed to tug at one's heart strings.

For me the most wonderful thing was the fact that both my children, young teenagers, enjoyed the movie and loved it.

Thank you, Pradeep Sarkar and Vidhu Vinod Chopra!