FILM REVIEWS
BY RAMA GAIND
FROM BOLLYWOOD
ZINDAGI NA MILEGI DOBARA: Zoya Akhtar is one Indian female director who is intrepid in the way she shoots, intent on presenting a wholesome cinematic experience.
“Live today as if there is no tomorrow” is a well-worn phrase that delivers with an understated emotionality in this romcom, buddy-buddy, road trip that comes together beautifully as a great feel-good film.
After Kabir (Abhay Deol) becomes engaged to Natasha (Kalki Koechlin) he goes on an extended bachelor party with his two best friends — Imran (Farhan Akhtar) and Arjun (Hrithik Roshan) — on a road trip they had actually planned together four years earlier. They go to Spain after agreeing to each pick an extreme sport: Arjun picks skydiving — and Imran is afraid of heights. Kabir chooses deep sea diving and Arjun can’t swim. Imran tops them both with the most dangerous activity of all — the Pamplona Running of the Bulls as part of the San Fermin Festival.
They discover that the point of all this risk-taking was to help them confront and overcome their fears. By realising that the sweetness of life was in the face of death, each man achieves a personal breakthrough.
Arjun makes a strong emotional connection with their diving instructor, Laila (Katrina Kaif), who instantly recognises his airs as defensiveness. She makes him realise the importance of being “free”.
Abhay is the group’s anchor, Farhan’s prankster is full of beans and Hrithik’s transformation from an uptight, money-hungry stockbroker to carefree wanderer is a refined act.
The catchy music and score is composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy with meaningful lyrics by Javed Akhtar.
Zoya Akhtar is an expert storyteller with a visual sense that has no dialogue, giving enough details to make an impact and revealing enough backtrack story to make her characters complex without overwhelming the plot.
MAUSAM (Season): An old-fashioned romance underlies this eternal journey of love between Harry and Aayat, spanning 10 years, that loses its appeal over nearly three hours.
The love blossoms between Harinder Singh (Shahid Kapoor) and Aayat (Sonam Kapoor) against the backdrop of several political events: 9/11 terror attack, Mumbai bomb blast, Ayodhya dispute, Kargil war and Gujarat riots. The world seethes to the fury and gives way to the violence, but it’s disconcerting to see that the couple constantly struggle to be together.
The film has a refreshing start, with plenty of atmosphere enhanced by Shahid’s boyish optimism and Sonam’s bashful femininity. Shahid, as an Indian Air Force pilot, looks dashing and Sonam was more enchanting with her native innocence than a diva persona.
Binod Pradhan’s cinematography captures it all concisely with sweet music by Pritam.
However, Pankaj Kao’s screenplay lets it down as does first-time director Pankaj Kapoor who loses control with sluggish, temperamental pace which even overseas backdrops in Scotland and Switzerland could not compensate.
Doesn’t live up to expectations.
MERE BROTHER KI DULHAN (My Brother’s Bride): The heart guides this Bollywood movie, and the singing, dancing and settings, including the Taj Mahal, are stunning.
The lively, good-natured romantic musical comedy gives up it plot in the first 10 minutes and the remaining 130-plus are spent weaving your way through many plot twists and turns, amid an excess of pleasant musical numbers making for lots of fun to the end.
Debut director Ali Abbas Zafar strings it all together fairly well.
In another romantic film, Katrina Kaif enacts her lively, spunky, rockstar babe role with ease, as against the mellowed Imran Khan.
Kaif carries the film on her agile shoulders, displaying a range in her acting for the first time. Her lively, energetic, rock star babe role has been enacted with ease. While she might have overdone the act int some places, you really can’t ignore it because that is what the character of pretty Dimple is all about – animated, impulsive, nonchalantly unafraid, amusing and spirited.
Music by Sohail Sen is good. Cinematography by Sudeep Chatterjee catches the eye.
