The Dirty Picture (2011)

The Plot
It is the real life story of the late South Indian item queen 'Silk' Smitha, with extra masala flavor added. Silk's journey is well documented, from being an ambitious small town girl named Reshma to her encounters in the film industry with various men ranging from a big star Suryakanth to his brother Ramakanth and finally finding a soul mate in a director named Abraham who initially hates her.

Silk carries her reel life glam avatar in her real life as well. She shuns the rules and lives her life the way she wants. She dresses uber glamorously, smokes and drinks to her hearts-fill. She is looked down upon, by the majority of the industry and she is betrayed by most of the men she trusted. Ultimately, she suffers major financial losses and decides to go away in peace.

Hits

• Vidya Balan. SEXY, SEDUCING, DARING, BOLD, VAMP-LIKE etc. etc. It is a shocking make-over where Vidya exposes to the maximum extent permissible on an Indian screen. It is a cleavage fest on screen and it is jaw dropping stuff. The over exposure of her belly could have been avoided. 
• Her acting skills have always been terrific. Be it the sexy/bold attitude or her anguish, she is the best actress around by a mile. Perfect combo of skin show and acting caliber - Kate Winslet like. She is a benchmark in daring and guts among the mainstream Indian actresses 
• Naseeruddin Shah as the southern superstar Suryakanth is natural and elegant as the ageing superstar. His mannerisms and casual attitude are classic. Emraan Hashmi is intense and earnest as always. 
• The dialogs send the masses into a frenzy. Such punch and raunchy in their meaning. 
• The songs are already popular. Oh La La and Ishq Sufiana are the picks. 
• The period feel is quite authentic save 1 or 2 glitches. 

Misses

• The item song featuring Silk and Shakila in the 2nd half is a sore miss. 
• The skin show becomes too much to digest beyond a point.
• The delightful Ishq Sufiana song doesn't suit the overall mood of the film. 
• Tushar Kapoor with his soft voice, is the biggest minus of the film 

VERDICT

A Vidya Balan festival. Sure to become a blockbuster among the masses. 

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.