Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic Review

Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic, a fair attempt by Kunal kohli, with a good combination of peppy music, laughter, pyar and magic for the kids! The story is about Ranbir Talwar(Saif Ali Khan), a cold and emotionless businessman who has from the beginning of his life been subjected to loss of love. Losing his mother at a young age, he is much accustomed to being the one who takes his award and leaves the party first. But one night, when he is the cause of an accident resulting in the death of two other people, leaving their children orphaned, the court decides to give custody of the children to him, to take care of and be responsible for.

Along with his bimbo girlfriend (Amisha Patel), whose primary concern in life is the new release of Prada bags, he takes up the responsibility rather lightly. But on the other side, the four children - Vishisht, Iqbal, Aditi and Avantika are waiting to meet the mThoda Pyaar Thoda Magican who brought them to this state, and at any price, take their revenge. One day when the children can tolerate it no longer, and they pray to god to get them out of staying this way, God (Rishi Kapoor) listens in, and sends down his favourite angel Geeta (Rani) to help them. Ranbir brings in the Nanny (Rani) for them, and THAT is where all the magic begins. From how he finally gets them to like him, to the "thoda" pyar right at the end.

Saif and Rani have done a good job on the acting, and while the movie is an entertainer, it does tend to bring a sense of Tara Rum Pum deja vu along with it, with the kids and the "rona dhona" that comes with it... The songs however are in no way crying material, what with Shankar Ehsaan and Loy outshining themselves with the tracks in this movie! Nihaal ho gayi being immediately one of the favourites, and Lazy Lamhe with Amisha Patel sizzling it out is another favourite. While the other tracks like Bulbula and Beetey Kal se, with Rani dancing it out aren't as peppy, they do get the mood of the movie set in place!

Over-all, a good movie, a good watch for children and Rani Mukerji fans. But if you didn't enjoy Tara Rum Pum, chances are, you're not going to enjoy this too much. Nothing too unpredictable about the story line here, so don't expect too much suspense! The love between Rani and Saif kicks in only in the last 20 minutes of the movie, so let's not expect too much romance either! A clap for the songs, and a one time watch for this one!

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Love Story 2050 Review

It’s the same age old Love Story set in 2050

Director: Harry Baweja
Producer: Pammi Baweja
Music: Annu Malik
Lyrics: Javed AkhtarLove Story 2050
Screenplay: Harry Baweja, Rowena Baweja
Dialogue: Mayur Puri
*ing: Harman Baweja, Priyanka Chopra, Boman Irani, Dalip Tahil, Archana Puran Singh, Harsh Varisth, Mehzabin Sarela and others

It’s a beautiful dream for those who love living in the dreamlands only; but what about the audience who are quite bored with repetitive Bollywoody love stories!

Karan Oberoi (Harman Baweja) is the only son of famed businessman Mr. Oberoi (Dalip Tahil). Karan is not happy with his father as because his father is more interested in cars, business and achievement than his only son. Being very lonely and having the thought in mind that his unfortunate accidents would bring no loss to anyone, Karan always prefers to play with danger. In the course of the mundane story, Karan meets Sana (Priyanka Chorpa) and for obvious reasons (love, I mean to say) they decide on getting married. And here comes the twist. Sana meets an accident and she dies leaving Karan all alone.

On the other hand the Love Story has Karan’s uncle, Dr. Yatinder Khanna (Boman Irani), who by profession is a scientist. Dr. Khanna has been working on a time machine for last fifteen years so that he can poke into the future to how the things will change (obviously).

Karan meets Dr. Khanna and recapping Sana’s dream about entering the year 2050, they go to the year 2050 with the time machine. Entering the future Karan comes to know that Sana is now the best rock-star of the world living in Mumbai and is named as Zaisha. Ultimately Karan succeeds in getting his love, Sana alias Zaisha, back to the present with the help of QUTY and BOO, two robotic dolls taking care of Zaisha.

Harry Baweja has beautifully taken care of direction as well as the story but at some places the story becomes little slow. Music and lyrics of the film looks nice but at the same time it appears little difficult to say that songs will look something like that with flying cars in the year 2050. Priyanka has worked well in accordance with her character. Whether Harman’s resemblance with Hrithik is a bane or boon is a quiz immaterial but his impact on the screen is quite impressive. Boman Irani has depicted his character quite well. Archana Puran Singh looks good in her charaPriyanka Chopra and Harman Baweja in Love Story 2050cter of Priyanka’s mother.

The first part of the film is based on the love story between Priyanka and Harman and the funny thing is the second part of the film is also based on their love story. The only difference is the second part happens in the year 2050.

Coming to the much hyped special effects, Harry has proved it a mark in Indian film history but it’s quite difficult to say whether the world, especially Mumbai, will look somewhat like that in the year 2050. This possibly is the first Indian film that marvels in special effects and people seem really amazed but at the same time few people are inclined to believe it a copy of some Hollywood flick. Being neutral it’s better to buy both the opinions. One funny thing is, even in 2050, corruption remain our inseparable characteristic. On the other hand the robot snake shows the fatal future of today’s reptiles (?).

QUTY and BOO show the great creative status of the director but the size of BOO is little small than what people have expected it to be. The film, flaunting a budget of fifty crore, must have earned a cool amount from Lux and Lawman. At the same time, the brand owners must be feeling good thinking about how their brands will be famous among stars even in 2050.

Well, it’s time to say adieu to you all but before signing off it’s better to say that you must watch the film once to witness Harman’s acting, special effects and not to forget, Mumbai in 2050.

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Movie Preview : Via Darjeeling

Shriya Saran In Bikini

Darjeeling is a global melting pot of tourism. The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, a 126-year-old cobalt blue narrow-gauge train still chugs and snorts its way from Kurseong to Darjeeling via Ghoom, winding its way along the serpentine route, against the shimmering silver of the Kanchenjunga Range in the backdrop. Along the way, it leaves behind the lush, green-layered mantle of its velvet tea gardens, shanty teashops with the smoke rising from earthen cups, the locals helping themselves to their favourite momo with its clear soup, and huts with tin roofs. Correspondent Shoma offers a sneak preview of VIA DARJEELING, a Hindi film shot against the intriguing landscape of this hill city.

Chillers and thrillers are a fashion statement in the Hindi mainstream today. Arindam Nandy, who honed his skills in advertising and made a documentary on the poet-couple Radharani Debi and Narendra Deb, called Bhalobashar Kobi Dampati, steps into the world of feature films with VIA DARJEELING, a Hindi suspense thriller.

The film is co-produced by Joy Ganguly, a Bengali producer and presented by NFDC under the Moxie Entertainments banner. The other 'Bengali' identity the film boasts of is its unusual storyline that revolves around the concept of the 'adda' – or informal chat sessions within homes, in public spaces, between and among friends, that usually begin as a friendly chat but could diversify into other streams evoking different emotional layers of response like nostalgia, anger, affection, friendship, hate and even violence. Subjects can be anything under the sun - politics, love, college life, family, children, psychology, sex, murder, adultery and so on.
'The film is set in modern day Kolkata and Darjeeling and is based on an age old Bengali tradition called 'adda' where friends get together in the rains, & exchange stories & gossip, over drinks & dinner,' adds Nandy.

Others in the cast are Rajat Kapoor, Parveen Dabas, Sandhya Mridul, Simone Singh, Arindam Sil and Prroshant Narayannan.

Prabuddha Banerjee has done the musical score. The film has been shot extensively in Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kolkata and Mumbai.


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Movie Preview : Via Darjeeling

Via Darjeeling

Shoma A. Chatterji, TWF, Bollywood Trade News Network Send to Friend


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Darjeeling is a global melting pot of tourism. The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, a 126-year-old cobalt blue narrow-gauge train still chugs and snorts its way from Kurseong to Darjeeling via Ghoom, winding its way along the serpentine route, against the shimmering silver of the Kanchenjunga Range in the backdrop. Along the way, it leaves behind the lush, green-layered mantle of its velvet tea gardens, shanty teashops with the smoke rising from earthen cups, the locals helping themselves to their favourite momo with its clear soup, and huts with tin roofs. Correspondent Shoma offers a sneak preview of VIA DARJEELING, a Hindi film shot against the intriguing landscape of this hill city.

Chillers and thrillers are a fashion statement in the Hindi mainstream today. Arindam Nandy, who honed his skills in advertising and made a documentary on the poet-couple Radharani Debi and Narendra Deb, called Bhalobashar Kobi Dampati, steps into the world of feature films with VIA DARJEELING, a Hindi suspense thriller.

The film is co-produced by Joy Ganguly, a Bengali producer and presented by NFDC under the Moxie Entertainments banner. The other 'Bengali' identity the film boasts of is its unusual storyline that revolves around the concept of the 'adda' – or informal chat sessions within homes, in public spaces, between and among friends, that usually begin as a friendly chat but could diversify into other streams evoking different emotional layers of response like nostalgia, anger, affection, friendship, hate and even violence. Subjects can be anything under the sun - politics, love, college life, family, children, psychology, sex, murder, adultery and so on.
'The film is set in modern day Kolkata and Darjeeling and is based on an age old Bengali tradition called 'adda' where friends get together in the rains, & exchange stories & gossip, over drinks & dinner,' adds Nandy.

Others in the cast are Rajat Kapoor, Parveen Dabas, Sandhya Mridul, Simone Singh, Arindam Sil and Prroshant Narayannan.

Prabuddha Banerjee has done the musical score. The film has been shot extensively in Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kolkata and Mumbai.





Synopsis:

Ankur (KK Menon) and Rimli (Sonali Kulkarni), a newly married couple, visit Darjeeling for their honeymoon. The evening before they are to return to Kolkata, Ankur goes missing. Robin Bose on the eve of their return to Calcutta, Ankur disappears. The Inspector in charge, Robin Bose (Vinay Pathak) is committed in his search for Ankur but he is never found.A visibly shocked and disturbed Rimli gives him just a few clues. She tells him about a fight Ankur had with a cabbie and a mysterious man who, she felt, kept stalking her during her stay in the hill town. Two years later, Inspector Bose narrates this story to a few friends on a rainy evening during an adda session. When he cannot give him or her definite answers to where and why Ankur went missing, each adda member begins to give his/her individual version of what might have happened. One suspects Ankur committed suicide while another says he has probably been murdered. A third suggests that he was probably a con man who had his fun and disappeared. During this adda session, there is a purging of personal emotions of these people themselves, as their versions begin to blend into problems in their personal lives. Thus, the adda brings the mystery to Kolkata one night...'via Darjeeling'. Faces are unmasked and new ones emerge.

Lastly Nandy elaborates, 'The tributary of tales that our epics, Ramayan and Mahabharat are made of are primarily oral in nature. They have journeyed through tales, songs, paintings, murals, folk arts, and sculpture through the ages. This is probably whey Rama of Ramayan and Krishna of Mahabharat blend into one another as 'avatar' of the same entity - Vishnu. The roles change though the face remains the same'.

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Jannat : Movie Review

‘Jannat’ is an engrossing, touching tale of an intuitively gifted bookie who loses his love in pursuit of his idea of heaven.

Writer Vishesh Bhatt deserves a pat on his back for writing a simple story and providing it two distinct yet continually intersecting layers that eventually unite at the end with a dramatic climax. First-time director Kunal Deshmukh ought to be commended for his controlled and smooth handling of the subject and for giving the love story a tone of impending doom.

However, what mars ‘Jannat’ is the lack of sufficient development in the romantic track. After a while the story seems to go in circles. On top of it you don’t strongly relate to the emotional turmoil of the lead characters.

Arjun ( Emraan Hashmi ) comes from a middle-class family, but his dreams are big and he doesn’t mind taking the short route to riches regardless of morality, or the lack of it. He graduates from being a gambler to bookie, solely by the dint of his intuition to predict correctly. He falls in love at first sight with Zoya ( Sonal Chauhan ) and eventually goes on to win her heart, her trust, and her respect with his love and his riches. But when she comes know the source from where the riches come, she hands him over to the cops.

Arjun goes to jail and vows to reform himself – all for the sake of love. But then, one sight of jannat, one last temptation to fix a match, gets the better of his senses. And situations turn around so unexpectedly that he finds himself sinking just when he was about to come ashore.

Like all the Bhatt films, the story of ‘Jannat’ steers clear of the good-versus-bad formula. It is a subject in which both good and bad coexist inside the leading characters. There is no moral message, no sermonizing, but just the poignancy of a tragic love story.

Without doubt the man-of-the-movie trophy goes to Emraan Hashmi – the blue-eyed boy of the Bhatts – who gives a skillfully restrained performance, playing an ambitious man with shaky morals and firm equanimity in the face of success or failure.

Newcomer Sonal Chauhan catches your attention more because of her looks than acting. Samir Kochar is terrific in his role as an Indian cop in Cape Town, on the trail of bookies. Javed Sheikh brings an imposing demeanor to his character of a kingmaker don who takes Emraan under his wing.

The songs by Pritam may not be chartbusters, but they go along well with the mood of the film.

All in all, ‘Jannat’ is eminently watchable. Just don’t go expecting heaven from it.

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Tashan Movie Review

Tashan has been in news for a long time now. The movie stars Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan and Anil Kapoor in the lead. Akshay Kumar seems to be unstoppable with 4 back-to-back successes in 2007. Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor are on an all time high after the super success of Race and Jab We Met. Anil Kapoor’s last two movies have been blockbusters (Welcome and Race). The curiosity around Tashan has built up steadily over the past few weeks, major credit of which should go to the star cast. Does it live upto the enormous expectations? Will Kareena sport a bikini? Is it a out-n-out Akshay Kumar movie or does Saif Ali Khan have some part to play? What about the chemistry between Saif and Kareena?

Before the review, let me introduce the characters of Tashan.

Lakhan Singh urf Bhaiyyaji (Anil Kapoor) is a trigger-happy gangster who enjoys gunning down people and speaking English in his own inimitable style.

Pooja Singh (Kareena Kapoor) is a girl whom you just can’t trust. She doesn’t mind playing with anyone’s feeling to achieve her goal. She uses her beauty and jawani as her main tool to make others dance to her tunes.

Jimmy Cliff (Saif Ali Khan) works at a call center but his main job is to flirt with girls. He is not a bad guy but doesn’t mind turning to one just to survive. He is more like a chameleon in his characters. He changes his side just to escape out safe and sound.

Bachchan Pande (Akshay Kumar) is an electricity stealer. He can climb, jump and fly with the support of just about anything. He can break all bones of the body and the result will always be 100%.

Bhaiyyaji is hoping to sign a big project with some foreign delegates. But just then Pooja with the help of Jimmy steals his money. Pooja abandons Jimmy and runs away with the money. Just then Bachchan Pande comes into the scene. He is appointed by Bhaiyaaji to catch hold of Pooja and get him his money back. In search of money they all go on an adventurous journey across spectacular India that changes the course of their life altogether.

Tashan Review

Tashan is yet another Yashraj movie with a wafer thin and nonsensical storyline. A few stupid twists and turns make the characters look like fools!

Vijay Krishna Acharya, add another name to the long list of below average directors in the Yashraj camp! The first half drags endlessly, its honestly tough to sit through it. Comparatively, the second half is slightly better, thanks mainly to the scenes involving Akshay Kumar.

At most times the change of sets and locations is totally absurd. How can someone travel from extreme North to extreme south of India in just seven days by lorry, jeep, boat or on elephants? Also our characters have traveled from North to South and again back to North in what seems like minutes.

The same goes with the fight scenes too. Although the action sequences are interesting at times, why make it so unrealistic? When will Bollywood learn to create action sequences that look realistic? The strength and flexibility that our Bachchan Pandey possesses and his power to turn even the hardest object into spring to help him jump high, is something that may not even have crossed the minds of Hollywood directors. And seriously how can a normal freaking human being survive, without a single expression on his face, after being electrocuted? Also, the camera angle during most part of the fight scenes is inexcusable; it gives away the magnetism that is usually seen in Akshay Kumar’s stunts.

The placement of songs is bad and they act as speed breakers. Dialogues are bad at most times, Anil Kapoor’s Hinglish is hilarious in the beginning but later it tends to get monotonous and even difficult to understand at times. Music by Vishal-Sekhar is just average. Dil Haara and Chaliya stand out.

Tashan Performances:

Akshay Kumar is the only saving grace of Tashan. He delivers a power packed performance and manages to entertain like he always does. Anil Kapoor is equally good.

Now, what is an actor of Saif Ali Khan’s caliber doing in a movie like Tashan? He has absolutely nothing to offer. Very disappointing!

Kareena Kapoor too has no scope for histrionics. She looks smoking hot in a bikini, although probably a bit too skinny. The chemistry between Kareena – Akshay is better compared to the Kareena – Saif Jodi.

Overall, Tashan is weak in content and quality. The movie is high on Tashan (style), glamour and action but the content is sorely lacking.

At the box-office, the hype and Akshay Kumar’s star power will ensure a huge opening. But there are quite a few things that could go against the movie in the crucial first weekend. The lack of promotion by the makers, Indian Premiere League being the talk of the nation, negative word-of-mouth and the fact that the movie hasn’t released in any multiplex in India..

All said and done, a good movie would succeed against all obstacles, unfortunately Tashan is a major disappointment from Yashraj. This could just go the Jhoom Barabar Jhoom way!

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Bhoothnath Movie Review

Bhoothnath directed by Vivek Sharma stars Amitabh Bachchan, Aman Siddiqui, Juhi Chawla, Rajpal Yadav, Satish Shah, Priyanshu Chatterjee and Shahrukh Khan. Some good news for Shahrukh Khan fans. SRK has a good 30 mins long role in Bhoothnath! The movie is targeted mainly at the kids, so how good is it? Is there something in it for the older generation as well? Or is it an out-an-out kiddo movie?

Bhoothnath revolves around 2 characters, Banku (Aman Sidiqui) and Kailash Nath a.k.a Bhootnath (Amitabh Bachchan). Banku and family (Shahrukh Khan and Juhi Chawla) move into a mansion Nath-villa in Goa, which is haunted after the death of Kailash Nath. The bhoot tries every trick in its book to try and scare Banku away, but fails as he stays unaffected. Slowly but steadily a bond develops between the Bhoot and Banku, the bhoot gets a new name - Bhootnath! There is a twist in the movie when Bhootnath’s son returns from US and decides to sell the mansion away.. Catch the movie to find out what happens next as the movie definitely is worth a watch in your nearest movie-plex.

Bhootnath Review

First time director Vivek Sharma, has managed to extract an award-worthy performance from child artist Aman Siddiqui and good performances from the rest of the cast too. The first half is all fun and is targeted mainly at the kids between the age group of 4 - 12. They are gonna enjoy the first half immensely. The second is more of a emotional tale with something in it for everyone, the kids will enjoy it and so will their parents / family.

Vivek Sharma proves to be a excellent story-teller and a director to watch out for in the future. He truly believes in the fact that content is king and it shows on screen. The scenes between Banku and Bhootnath is scripted, performed and directed brilliantly. The special effects is another plus point of Bhootnath. Technically the movie is top-notch. Cinematography (Vishnu Rao) is good. The music is average at best. The only track that stands out is Mere Buddy. Also a few songs in the movie can be removed to enhance the pace of the movie, especially in the second half.

Performances are top notch. The legendary Amitabh Bachchan is brilliant. Watch him in the scenes involving Aman Siddiqui and you will realise, just why, he is in a different league altogether. His expressions alone are award-worthy. Hats off to the one and only Big B. Aman Siddiqui too is outstanding. His cute smile, laugh, expressions, dialogue delivery are brilliant. If Darsheel bagged all Best Child Actor awards and even managed a nomination for Filmfare Best Actor, Aman could probably achieve the same i.e if the movie succeeds at the box-office.

Juhi Chawla as Banku’s mother is great. Shahrukh Khan does well. Satish Shah is excellent in a comic role. Priyanshu Chatterjee deserves better roles. Rajpal Yadav surprisingly has a limited role.

Overall, Bhootnath has comedy, drama, emotions and the performances are brilliant. It has something in it for every generation. Do catch it this weekend. At the box-office, at lot depends on word-of-mouth. Should do well!

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Jimmy Movie Review

Jimmy marks the debut of a star-kid Mimoh Chakraborty son of yesteryear superstar and extremely talented actor Mithun Chakraborty. Directed by Raj Sippy (Satte Pe Satta, Inkaar) Jimmy also stars Vivana, Zulfi Syed and Rahul Dev. Is Mimoh even half as talented as his father?

Jimmy (Mimoh Chakraborty) is a mechanical engineer during the day time and a DJ at night. He works very hard to pay off his late father’s debts. But soon he is detected of Brain tumor and only has a few days to live. Soon, one night a woman’s dead body is found. All clues lead to Jimmy and like in the movies of the 70s and 80s Jimmy surrenders and is sentenced to death. Only Jimmy knows why he committed the murder and only in Jail does he realise that its a vicious conspiracy planned against him. What happens next forms the rest of the movie.

Jimmy Review

Jimmy is undoubtedly one of the worst movies in recent times. Its shockingly bad. How could a veteran like Mithun Chakraborty approve a script as bad for his sons debut? How can a star-kid be so under prepared for his debut? How could so many things go wrong in a movie especially from Raj Sippy director of movies like Satte Pe Satta, Inkar? The music is bad, ditto for direction and story.

Coming to the performances, Mimoh is horrible. Dialogue delivery, expressions, voice, body language almost everything is below average. You get to see better performances in B grade movies. He needs to work on his physique too. Vivana looks pretty but is a non actor. Zulfi Syed and Rahul Dev are strictly average.

Overall, Jimmy is a perfect example of every aspect of film-making gone wrong. Don’t ever watch it!

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Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic (2008) Bollywood Hindi Movie Trailer Video HQ

Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic (2008) Bollywood Hindi Movie Trailer Video HQ

Here is another trailer video from the upcoming Bollywood Hindi movie "Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic". From the trailer video, it seems that it is a good movie. Saif Ali Khan is doing good these days after the blockbuster Bollywood film Race. Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic is going to be released in the month of June.

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Love Story 2050 (2008) Exclusive Wallapers And Review

Love Story 2050 (2008) Bollywood Hindi movie teaser video

Here is the wallpaper for the upcoming movie "Love Story 2050" scheduled to be released on July 4, 2008.

Director
Harry Baweja

Star Cast
Harman Baweja
Priyanka Chopra
Boman Irani
Archana Puran Singh
Harsh Vasisht
Mehezabeen Sarela
Rachit Trehan
Karan Verma

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Jodhaa Akbar - Hindi Movie Review

Let's get one thing straight: You haven't watched anything so opulent, so magnificent like this in a long, long time on the Hindi screen. It's not just body beautiful, but there's soul as well.

It requires courage, prowess, patience, aptitude, knowledge, passion and of course, loads of currency to attempt a movie like JODHAA AKBAR. But more than anything else, it requires your firm belief in the subject, the belief to attempt a historical when historicals are considered an absolute no-no in the industry, the belief to spend almost Rs. 40 crores in a film that could go either ways.

Only when you're convinced yourself can you convince millions of moviegoers. And convinced you are after watching JODHAA AKBAR, a film of epic proportions.

Now let's clear a few misconceptions pertaining to the film…

* It's blasphemous to compare MUGHAL-E-AZAM and JODHAA AKBAR. While MUGHAL-E-AZAM was primarily about the legendary romance between Salim and Anarkali, a subject that has been attempted quite a few times on the Hindi screen before, JODHAA AKBAR is about the relationship that the young Akbar shared with Jodhaa.


* A lot has been said and written about its length [3.20 hours]. Does the viewer of today have the patience to watch a really lengthy film in today's times? But once into JODHAA AKBAR, the sequence of events, the drama, the romance, the war… every aspect keeps you mesmerized. Oh yes, the length does pinch you at one crucial point [second hour, which is relatively shorter], when a song breaks out. Otherwise, the 3 + hours are very well spent.


* When you watch historicals like MUGHAL-E-AZAM and RAZIA SULTAN, the usage of chaste Urdu is difficult to comprehend at times. Not here! The language is simplified - Akbar speaks in Urdu, Jodhaa in Hindi - and it's easy to decipher.

As a cinematic experience, it would be wrong to compare JODHAA AKBAR to any of Ashutosh Gowariker's previous endeavors. Why, it would be erroneous to compare the film with any film ever made before in this genre. This one stands out and stands out the tallest.

To sum up, JODHAA AKBAR leaves you spellbound, enthralled, entranced and awestruck. Ashutosh Gowariker makes the legendary characters come alive on screen. Take a bow, Ashu!

Set in the sixteenth century, JODHAA AKBAR is a love story about a marriage of alliance that gave birth to true love between a great Mughal emperor, Akbar, and a Rajput princess, Jodhaa. Little did Akbar [Hrithik Roshan] know that when he married Jodhaa [Aishwarya Rai Bachchan], he would be embarking upon a new journey -- the journey of true love.

The daughter of King Bharmal of Amer [Kulbhushan Kharbanda], Jodhaa resented being reduced to a mere political pawn in this marriage of alliance, and Akbar's biggest challenge now did not merely lie in winning battles, but in winning the love of this defiant princess.

One of the prime reasons why JODHAA AKBAR works is because the present-day viewer is unaware of the romance between Akbar and Jodhaa. Sure, we all know of Akbar as a great emperor, but the love story makes for a refreshing subject. And the execution of a number of sequences makes JODHAA AKBAR extremely special.

Some instances:
* The war sequence at the very outset. You realize the scale and magnitude of the film at the very beginning.
* Hrithik taming an out-of-control elephant. It's hair-raising.
* The two pre-conditions set by Jodhaa, before her marriage to Akbar. Very interesting.
* The confrontation between Ila Arun and Ash at the kitchen, when Ash decides to make the meal herself.
* The immediate sequence, when Ash is asked to taste the food herself by Ila before she's about to serve the food to the Emperor and his associates. Once done, Hrithik demanding that he be served the meal from the same platter that Jodhaa had used.
* The intermission point, which sows the seeds of a misunderstanding between Hrithik and Ash.
* Post-interval, Hrithik returning to Amer to get Ash back to Agra and the welcome ceremony by his mother-in-law [Suhasini Mulay].
* The sword fight the very next morning, between Hrithik and Ash.
* The 'Azeem-o-Shaan Shahenshah' track, when the entire kingdom hails Hrithik.
* The fight in the climax [reminds you of the fight between Brad Pitt and Eric Bana in TROY].
Amazing moments indeed…

Ashutosh Gowariker knows that historicals have to be simplified while narrating on celluloid so that the moviegoer is able to grasp and comprehend the plotline and the sequence of events. Thankfully, JODHAA AKBAR is not in the least difficult to decipher. Gowariker's handling of the subject deserves the highest praise, for it's not everyday that you come across a film like JODHAA AKBAR.

A.R. Rahman's music is not the type that you take to instantly, but yes, it gels beautifully with the mood of the film. 'Azeem-o-Shaan Shahenshah' and 'Jashn-e-Bahara' are the best tracks in terms of tune. In terms of choreography, 'Azeem-o-Shaan Shahenshah' is awe-inspiring, while the execution of 'Khwaja Mere Khwaja' is outstanding. Rahman's background score is simply extra-ordinary.

There's no room for dullness in Haider Ali and Gowariker's screenplay. The writing is tight, the drama keeps you hooked and the romantic track is wonderful. The film also talks of secularism, an issue so vital in today's times. K.P. Saxena's dialogues are amazing. At places, soaked in acid. The writer comes up with several gems, yet again. Kiran Deohans' cinematography matches international standards. The movement of camera at various places, especially in the battlefield, is breath-taking. Also, the D.O.P. captures the grandeur to the fullest. The production design [Nitin Chandrakant Desai] is, again, awesome. Recreating the bygone era requires not just money, but also the vision and Desai proves his supremacy yet again.

Be it the war sequences or the sword fights or general action, Ravi Dewan's contribution to the film is incredible. Especially noteworthy is the fight between Hrithik and Nikitin Dheer in the climax. It's simply outstanding! Editing [Ballu Saluja] is perfect, although the romantic song between Hrithik and Ash can be shortened in the second hour. The costumes [Neeta Lulla] as also the jewelry also deserve special mention.

JODHAA AKBAR also works because of the right casting. It's difficult to imagine anyone else in the role of Emperor Akbar. Hrithik seems born to play this role and he enacts it with such precision, such flourish, such confidence that it leaves you asking for more. A mind-boggling performance without doubt!

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is superb. Oh yes, she looks ethereal -- a compliment she has heard a trillion times before. What's new in that? But watch her emote in this film. You realize the amazing talent that has hitherto not been tapped by any movie maker. A flawless performance indeed!

JODHAA AKBAR has a host of characters, but the ones whom you carry home, besides Hrithik and Ash, are Sonu Sood [excellent], Nikitin Dheer [fantastic], Ila Arun [electrifying; her finest work so far], Punam S. Sinha [graceful], Kulbhushan Kharbanda [perfect], Raza Murad [effective] and Rajesh Vivek [good]. Amitabh Bachchan's rich barritone voice adds lustre to the magnum opus.

On the whole, JODHAA AKBAR is, without a shred of doubt, a brilliant film in all respects. This historical has all it takes to prove the first blockbuster of 2008. Very strongly recommended!

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