Agneepath movie review

A remake of the 1990s movie of the same name. The treatment is also outdated. The only pluses are Hrithik Roshan's incredible looks and screen presence, Ajay-Atul's songs and the rich production design and sets.

It's a typical revenge saga and a blood bath. Vijay has to avenge the death of his father Master Deenanath Chauhan who is killed brutally by Kancha in front of the entire village (Mandwa) because Kancha's ways are opposed by the Master.

After 15 yrs Vijay completes his life's mission of revenge and joins his father in the afterlife. There is a love track, lots of blood, songs, an honest policeman, a corrupt politician, mother/sister sentiment and another gangster in the form of Rauf Lala who opposes Kancha. Stale remake.

Review

• The success of this movie proves that Bollywood is mostly just about a big hero, lots of hype, an item number and very little stuff. Sad state of affairs. Our audience is still welcoming such stale affairs purely believing the hype. Ra.One and now Agneepath, didn't deserve big success. 
• Sanjay Dutt looks seriously scary and overacts at times. Rishi Kapoor is a surprise casting in a negative role. Priyanka Chopra stands beside her man and looks pretty. She emotes well in one dragging scene prior to her marriage and death. Katrina Kaif dances as if she is possessed by a dancing spirit. Chikni Chameli rocks purely as a music video. The sister looks pretty and has some sister sentiment scenes with the Greek God. Om Puri is earnest as always. 
• Too much religious flavor in the songs. The music of the movie is a major plus though. 

VERDICT

Outdated revenge saga and a bloodbath at that. A movie that didn't deserve success. Our audience has been cheated by marketing hype once again. Sad!!!

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011)

The Plot
3 long time friends, Kabir, Arjun and Imran decide to go on a bachelor road trip to Spain, to celebrate Kabir's last few days of bachelorhood. The plan is to try out 3 surprising adventure sports that would help overcome their fears. Deep sea diving, sky diving and bull fighting are the 3 chosen sports.

The 3 guys realize their life's true existence and after the trip they get what they want in life and are free from all confusions. Arjun meets his true love Laila, the sea diving instructor. Imran knows the truth behind his mysterious father and Kabir realizes that his marriage is nothing but an effort to appease his family. Some solid male bonding and dreamy romance are also part of the package

                                                                           
Hits

• The 3 adventure sports have been shot like a dream. We can literally feel the adrenaline rush and the swirl of emotions. Beautifully shot. All the 3 episodes take the cake.
• The Spanish locations are worth catching up on the big screen. Magnificent locales. We yearn to see these places
• Farhan Akhtar as Imran scores the maximum brownie points among this ensemble cast. He is spontaneous with his jokes, emotes well and dances cool too. 
• Katrina Kaif as Laila is every man's dream girl and her pleasant smile and elegant dressing add to her splendor. She emotes very well nowadays. The way she rides the bike and proposes to Hrithik is one solid romantic moment
• Hrithik as Arjun carries the business dude look with the yo accent and the money minded nature perfectly. He is a Greek God, plain and simple. His reactions when he is about to leave Laila are really endearing. His friendship with Farhan has its share of frictions and it pans out nicely in the end. 
• Abhay Deol's voice is girly but still he impresses with his honest portrayal. The Dev D star is better off doing the drugged and spoilt brat rather than playing the rich and decent lad. 
• The songs are a major plus and they are picturized as expected, in a grand manner. 'Paint it Red', 'Udi', 'Senorita' you name it, the movie has it. 

Misses

• A bit slow in the second half with a cameo for Naseeruddin Shah thrown in. Anyone could have done this role but, the surprise factor is what must have brought Naseer in. 

VERDICT

Bollywood's answer to the Hollywood road-trip genre with a nice message about 'living life to the fullest' and 'following your heart'. Fairy-tale like and feel good to the core. 

Dhoom 2 (2006)

What’s it about

2^nd installment of the Dhoom series. This time Jai and Ali are after Aryan, a high profile high tech thief who steals only rare artifacts. Aryan leaves behind the A sign at all his crime scenes. He uses many disguises and getups to commit his thefts and heists. Shonali, a female bomb cop and Jai’s batch mate is also in Jai’s team in his pursuit of A.

        Jai also uses Shoneri as a rat to infiltrate A’s plans. But Shoneri and Aryan fall in love and Shoneri is more loyal to her love than the police. Finally, Jai lets the lovers loose after they decide to put an end to their shady activities and lead a normal life as restaurateurs.

       Loads of glamour, skin show, style, classy stunts, bike chases and MASALA.

                                                                      

Hits

• Aishwarya Rai. OMG. What a woman. As Shoneri, she is super duper hot and her figure and body belie her age.
• Bipasha Basu also oozes sex appeal in her dual role as Shonali and Monali, the sisters. While Shonali is a strong policewoman, Monali is a dumb bombshell.
• Hrithik is as usual stylish. Abhishek, with his stubble suits the part of the serious policeman. Uday Chopra’s wise cracks and antics are as usual laughable.
• Great production values. Rich sets, Brazilian locations. A rich glamour feast for the eyes
• Nice songs and BGM by Pritam and co.

Misses

• Hrithik’s many disguises are not always distinct. Easily identifiable.
• Jai lets go of many chances to nab Aryan while committing the heists. It’s as if Jai wants Aryan to escape.
• An unconvincing climax
• Stunts go overboard be it Hrithik’s intro stunts or the climax stunt at the waterfalls.

VERDICT

Not as impressive and crisp as Dhoom 1. Still watch-able for the super hot lead ladies and the great production values. 

Kites (2010)

Whats it about

J, a superb dancer is looking to make it big in Las Vegas. He does all sorts of things to earn a quick buck including fake marriages. A rich & powerful casino owner’s daughter Gina is madly in love with J. J acts as if he is in love, just for the money. Gina’s brother Tony is in love with Natasha, an illegal Mexican immigrant. Natasha is also after the money. J and Natasha had in fact a fake marriage

        When J and Natasha meet again, sparks fly, they fall madly in love, they elope, ditch their respective fiancées, start robbing for money and really irk Tony. They keep evading the police, the bounty hunters and of course Tony. Finally when they marry, Tony and his gang catch up with them and their union is abruptly and violently cut short. J comes to know that his lady love is no more and he also eliminates the baddies and ends his life at the very same spot as Natasha had. The screenplay is non-linear. 

                                                                           

Hits

• Greek God Hrithik. Dances like a dream and looks a billion bucks. STYLE. His first dance sequence in particular is awe-inspiring.
• Barbara Mori. What a sexy, divine looking beauty. Emotes ok too. A great Monica Bellucci look-alike.
• The making is truly international. Cinematography is a major plus.
• The action sequences are no way short of Hollywood standards
• Nice songs and BGM.

Misses

• For a movie with such a classy making, the story could have been deeper than just being a love story with familiar opposition.
• The action sequences though spectacular stand out sorely in an otherwise romantic movie. The effort to make it look grand, I guess.
• A bomb like Kangana Ranaut is wasted. She looks absolutely sexy but appears just in the start and towards the end in a couple of scenes.

VERDICT

A nice attempt at going international. A better story could have made this a classic given that it has the best on screen pair in recent times.