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Dil Bole Hadippa! (2009)
Dil Bole Hadippa - Review
Following the phenomenal success of New York, Yash Raj Films returns with the much anticipated 'Dil Bole Hadippa'. With many expectations and questions tied to the film. Will Yash Raj's winning streak continue after the success of New York? Will Rani Mukherjee be able to deliver an equally stellar performance as Veer and Veera? Is the Rani and Shahid Jodi's chemistry quotient high? The plethora of questions are answered with a resounding-Yes! Dil Bole Hadippa is a highly enjoyable, light-hearted family film with a theme that connects with one and all-Cricket.
The film does give one a sense of déjà vu with the essence of a typical Yash Raj Film where you are taken back to the days of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Veer Zaara and many other Yash Raj classics. Dil Bole Hadippa is a light hearted romantic comedy which touches on serious issues in our society such as gender biases and inequality existent in society, but does so in a very light-hearted manner.
Veera (Rani Mukherjee) lives in Amritsar with her Uncle where they coordinate for an Art/Dance show to make a decent living. Despite having a 'Nautanki' show where you have Shanno (Rakhi Sawant) stealing the hearts of all the men, Veera dreams about playing cricket in the big leagues with Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. In short Veera is a small town girl with big dreams and she eats, breaths and sleeps 'CRICKET'.
Rohan (Shahid Kapoor) lives with his mom Yamini (Poonam Dhillon) in England. He's an all rounder for English County Team. Rohan is Indian at heart but is a foreigner outwardly. Due to unforeseen circumstance Rohan parents are separated but the bond between the father and son continues. Rohan comes back to India to help his dad Chaudhry Vikramjeet Singh (Anupam Kher) who has dream to win the Aman Cup (Peace Cup) but has been on a losing streak for the past 8 yrs. Rohan takes up the challenge to make winners out of the 'Indian Tigers'. Sheer circumstances turn Veera into Veer to break the barrier to fulfilling and living a dream and what follows is hilarious, touching and moving all in one breath.
Will Veera be able to pull the double role 'Veer' convincingly without being caught? Will Rohan be successful in fulfilling his dad's dream? Will Veera finally achieve her dream of being a cricketer? Anurag Singh makes a confident directorial debut with Dil Bole Hadippa. From the first frame till the climax the director definitely delivers a promising debut venture. The emotional sequences are well executed and the comedic scenes are absolutely hilarious reflective of sincerity and immense maturity.
The film could have been crisper in terms of editing and scripting. The film has its share of faults which make you wonder such as Why Shahid Kapoor who plays an NRI from England didn't have a British accent? Rani's speech where she is trying to convey a message to the crowd is not as compelling as it could have been. Furthermore, the film has a lot of resemblance with previous Yash Raj Films and may leave a segment of the audiences looking for something hatke a tad discontented.
The film works because of the equation between Shahid and Rani. The two wonderfully complement each other and their love story is pinned not as a conventional candy floss tale but the story is told in a delicate manner. After the success of Kaminey, Shahid's portrayal as Rohan introduces a new age romantic hero.
Rani fits the roles of Veera and Veer to the T! The body language and the right accent required to play a 'Bindaas' Sardarji is challenging to say the least but Rani pulls the character off with such ease, it is a stellar performance from the actress and should definitely win her many hearts and accolades. Rani as Veer makes you fall in love with the character so much so that you find yourself forgetting at times that it is actually Veera playing Veer.
The supporting cast: Rakhi Sawant, Anupam Kher, Dalip Tahil, Poonam Dhillon, Sherlyn Chopra are first rate and add a freshness to the film. The music of the film by Pritam brings the earthy feeling of Punjab which is incorporated well with the story of the film. Ishq Hi Rab Hai and Discowale Kisko being the pick of the lot.
The film should prove to be lucky for the Yash Raj Films banner. The film will be facing fierce competition at the box-office from the Salman Khan starrer, Wanted. Who emerges as the winner will be upto the audiences' verdict. Dil Bole Hadippa is a simple, inspiring tale of hope which makes one feel joyful and cherry and will your heart go Hadippa!
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009)
it delivers the goods with shameless entertainment.
THE SUMMER blockbuster season goes out with a bang in the action-packed adrenaline ride G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.
Director Stephen Sommers, whose previous films include The Mummy, The Mummy Returns and Van Helsing, piles on the pyrotechnics in a full-on assault of action and visual effects.
G.I. Joe is an American line of military action figures marketed in the UK as Action Man and Action Force. The toys were also adapted into comics and cartoons, with Sommers saying he drew mainly on the comic books for the film's story.
Paramount Pictures and toymakers Hasbro are hoping for another big-screen franchise after previously collaborating to turn Transformers into a monster hit at the box office.
For those unfamiliar with the G.I. Joe brand, imagine putting Top Gun, The A-Team, Thunderbirds, the earlier Bond movies and the X-Men into a blender with a hefty dose of steroids, and this is what might result.
You get super-weapons, secret lairs, dastardly villains, gadgets galore and an abundance of explosive action sequences as Sommers empties his toy box and throws it all on screen with brisk and breathless editing.
But it's not just about boys and their toys – there are also girls with guns and gizmos too. It's a thrill ride of escapist popcorn fun – lads, their dads and those who are still kids at heart will love it. Girls will coo over the square-jawed hunkiness of Channing Tatum and wish they had the killer curves of Sienna Miller and Rachel Nichols, who strut about in skintight leather and end up rolling on the floor in a vicious catfight.
It begins with a prologue establishing the heritage of unscrupulous arms dealer McCullen (Christopher Eccleston), who has invented nanomites – swarms of microscopic machines capable of destroying anything in their path.
Special forces operatives Duke (Tatum) and Ripcord (Marlon Wayans) are hired by McCullen to deliver warheads bristling with his new technology. The convoy is attacked by the Baroness (Miller) and her cohorts who aim to steal the payload for a terror group led by Destro and the Cobra Commander.
Into the fray steps G.I. Joe, the US Government's top-secret military defence division, who include Dennis Quaid as leader General Hawk, Rachel Nichols as Scarlett, Ray Park as gimp-masked silent swordsman Snake Eyes and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Mr Eko from Lost) as Heavy Duty.
Duke and Ripcord are recruited into the team and, with the help of advanced skills and technology, the good guys leap into action to stop the terrorists. The battle for the warheads takes us to the Sahara, the polar ice-caps and also to Paris, where there is a long, stunt-packed chase sequence and an onslaught of destruction. Without spoiling it all, let's just say Paris is changed forever.
Amid all the carnage, flashbacks help to lift the story beyond superficial spectacle, fleshing out the back-stories of some characters in assorted subplots of romance, revenge and rivalry.
The key performers deliver, including all-American stud-u-like Tatum; Miller as a gun-toting, raven-haired vixen; Wayans and his flippant wit; and Nichols as the action babe for the good guys.
In contrast, the more heavyweight performers such as Eccleston, Quaid and Gordon-Levitt seem constrained by the limits of the material, in particular Eccleston (with dubious Scottish accent) who is lost in the mix and lacks a potent presence.
Although the film is less cheesy than The Mummy and far better than the monster mish-mash that was Van Helsing, this is pure pulp adventure.
The dialogue is either hammy or inconsequential while attempts at humour are mostly forgettable. The initial set-up for the story whizzes past too quickly to take it all in and the action is relentless – some will find it excessive even for an action movie.
But the world is in peril and we're whisked along for the roller-coaster ride. The sheer absurdity of it all is smothered in computer-generated effects and delivered at a pace that doesn't allow you to question it too much. Which would spoil the fun completely.
For a film based on a toy, a cartoon and a comic, it delivers the goods with shameless entertainment.
Agyaat (2009)
Agyaat is a disappointment. Enter this jungle at your own risk
Irrespective of the fact that his last few films haven't really been great experiences, one still enters a Ram Gopal Varma movie with certain expectations in mind.
But Ramu nowadays it seems is hell bent on scaring even his most loyal fans away. Agyaat turns out to be one such experience wherein you go in expecting a thrill ride but come out absolutely unmoved rather irritated.
Agyaat tells the story of a film crew arriving in a dense forest to shoot their film. The team comprises of a tantrum throwing hero Sharman (Gautam), the heroine he badly lusts for – Aasha (Kothari), a South Indian producer Moorty (Ishrat Ali), an eccentric director JJ (Howard), a submissive spot boy Laxman (Ishtiyak Khan), the philosophical cameraman Shakky (Kali Prasad), a forever frustrated action director Rakka (Kale), Assistant Director Sujal (Nitin) and the simple script supervisor girl Sameera (Rasika Duggal) who has a secret crush on Sujal.
While Sameera pines for Sujal, he dreams of attaining the film's leading lady Aasha. Circumstances lead to a two day shoot break. Setu (Joy) the local jungle guide then suggests a small camping trip in the jungle. During night when everyone is enjoying the bonfire, following a strange sound Setu goes on to find out more about it but doesn't return. When the crew members go on to find him they find his dead body. Petrified, they all try to run out the jungle but their car meets with an accident.
Now trapped in the unknown terrain as they try to find their way out more crew members start dying under mysterious circumstances. With hardly any known faces amongst his cast members, Ramu manages to hold your attention to some extent by his gimmicky shot taking and effective use of background music.
Agreed in a thriller with a short running time of under two hours there is less time for character development but what about the screenplay Sir? Also, the placing of the annoying item song in the opening credit titles serves no purpose. Most of the actors too are a huge let down in the sense that they simply end up grating on your nerves and in fact you feel relieved that they have been bumped off.
Agyaat through its promos and Ramu's interviews appeared to be his ode to films like Predator, Blair Witch Project etc but in reality it appears an insult to them.
At the end by literally keeping the mysterious killer "Agyaat' (unknown) he seems to have already made a preparation for a sequel.
Telugu star Nitin Reddy making his Bollywood debut is earnest. Priyanka Kothari shows a bit of improvement in her acting. Gautam Rode fits the part. Amongst the rest cast, none really impress.
Agyaat is a disappointment. Enter this jungle at your own risk. Then don't complain we didn't warn you.