Dhobi Ghat (2011)

The film is a 'ground level' look at the hustle and bustle of Mumbai city through the eyes of the 4 lead protagonists - an introverted painter (Arun), an NRI investment banker (Shai) who is on a sabbatical in Mumbai, a young Muslim woman (Yasmin) who wants to give a video tour of Mumbai to her brother through a series of tapes and a young dhobi (Munna) who wants to make it big in the movies.

There isn't any particular story as such, as just some incidents affect these 4 protagonists. While Arun gets hold of Yasmin's tapes and is engrossed by them, Munna falls in love with Shai. Shai is attracted to Arun's intense yet recluse nature while she treats Munna as a good friend.

Prateik Babbar as the young dhobi is too good to be real. His style sense, his dressing, his shoes and grooming are hard to believe, given his social stature. He acts earnestly. Aamir Khan in a de-glam avatar tries to be cool and casual. There are generous helpings of English in the movie giving it a 'wannabe' effect. Monica Dogra as Shai is super smart and heavily anglicized. Kriti Malhotra is beautifully naive and wins us over with her pure innocence and intentions.

The way Tushar Kanti Ray has captured Mumbai is the highlight. The crowd, the hustle and the bustle etc. are all 'live' on screen. The shots on the streets of Mumbai are another example of smart production. Internationally renowned composer, Gustavo Santaolalla's music is there as a support stream without being particularly brilliant.

VERDICT: A different, offbeat attempt by Kiran Rao. Though not uplifting, it has good intentions nevertheless. 

Ekk Deewana Tha movie review

Gautham Vasudev Menon brings his much acclaimed 'Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya (VTV)' to Hindi with two fresh actors - Prateik and Amy Jackson. The support actors have also matched well with the original cast. The setting of the movie has been changed for nativity sake, obviously.

The girl Jessie is a 23 yrs old Malayalee Christian while the guy Sachin is a 22 yrs old unemployed Mumbaikar. He wants to become a film maker and he falls in love at first sight with the alluring and uber sexy Jessie. Sachin befriends Anay, a cameraman and he is his mentor both in the film world and also his buddy in love matters.

Jessie is a very confused girl who isn't decisive about falling in love due to fear of troubles and parental opposition. There is indeed a lot of opposition from her parents, her brother and her own fickle nature.

In the end, Sachin makes his dreams come true by making his debut film about his own life and also accidentally manages to meet Jessie and nails his love affair for good. The magical pair unites in the end much to the delight of the viewer.

Review

• The dialogs are really on the mark and send the meager crowd into raptures on many an occasion. 
• The feeling and emotions in the original version are almost there in this version too. A job well done. 
• The way The Taj has been used in the place of the US (in VTV) is magical and adds to the involvement quotient of the climax.
• Amy Jackson is alluring. Kudos to the Brit for shining in her Hindi debut, the same way as she did in her Tamil debut. Her lip sync is admirable. Prateik is youthful, earnest and fits the role to the T. Good casting. Manu Rishi plays the cameraman to perfection. He is a competent replacement for VTV Ganesh. He is THE entertainer of the movie, by a mile. The bald Kerala uncle is a laugh riot too, with his broken Hindi. 
• The technical finesse of VTV is there in Ekk Deewana Tha too. Gautham doesn't compromise on this, one bit. 
• The climax is different from the Tamil version and is a happy ending. A feel good one, that is quite apt for the hero's efforts and heartbreak. 
• Some intense portions that were there in the Tamil version like the chat between the lovers in the backwaters of Kerala, the extended coffee shop argument etc etc. aren't there here.

VERDICT

A worthy remake that sadly hasn't struck the right chord. Do catch it before it's out of the theaters ... 

Dum Maaro Dum (2011)

The Plot
How a lonely and aggressive police officer, Vishnu Kamath cleans up the drug racket in Goa is the plot. Kamath is after a major drug loot worth 670 crores that is stashed away somewhere in Goa.  He has his small team of 2 more cops. Lorsa Biscuta is the drug lord in Goa and many foreigners and locals work for him. Entire Goa is ruled by drugs and it leads to all the crimes.  Biscuta uses innocent, aspiring youngsters for his drug trafficking business. Lorry and Zoey are 2 such pawns that he uses. The former agrees for his education expenses and the latter agrees for her career as an air-hostess.

There is also a major mystery regarding Michael Barbosa, a mysterious character. In the end, everything becomes clear. Joki, Zoey's former lover is also involved in this as he wants to save Lorry. One of Kamath's trusted cops plays spoilsport and he is actually an informer to Biscuta. After many deaths, some needless, all the drugs are found and burnt in the end leaving Biscuta fuming. Joki also clears himself and Lorry of all the criminal charges and they get back to their normal lives in the end.

                                                                         
Hits

• Abhishek Bachchan is picture perfect as the aggressive cop. Top class show. He looks the part as well.
• Good songs by Pritam
• The film moves very well in the initial stages due to some stylish editing and great visuals. Quite daring for Indian film standards. 
• Rana Daggubati looks macho and mean but is very limited in emoting. Bipasha Basu again looks fabulously sexy. 
• Prateik Babbar as the young Lorry is a natural. His childish voice also suits the part he plays

Misses

• The film loses grip towards the end. A slow moving screenplay might be the reason. 
• The climatic twists are also not very shocking. They leave very little impact.
• The decision to kill the lead police character really backfires. That too for a movie of this genre and that too after showing him in all his glory for most of the film. 

VERDICT

Half baked attempt. Could have been much better given the promising plot and interesting initial scenes.