Movie Review: Ru-Ba-Ru

Cast: Randeep Hooda, Shahana Goswami, Rati Agnihotri and Jayant Kripalani; Director: Arjun Bali; Rating: 2 out of 5

Ru-Ba-Ru is a Hindi version of Hollywood’s ‘If Only’ (2004; Jennifer Love Hewitt and Paul Nicholls).

Being made as a modern urban love story, Randeep Hooda and Shahana Goswami are the lead characters who are madly in love with each other yet find each other’s attitudes and ways of leading life clashing and creating a rift which they never expected.

Shahana, who is a professional theater actress, plays Tara and Randeep plays the character of Nikhil. The love birds get the feeling of being made for each other till the individual needs and priorities take over casting doubts and sadness between them. This happens as Nikhil is a workaholic and is always pre-occupied with his clients.

The sparks of trouble starts off when Nikhil starts to continuously forget small things that goes a long way in showing the affection towards his lady love and makes a relationship stronger.

Tara wants to get married and settle down as soon as possible but her lover is in no hurry and as the time passes by his tendency to take his girlfriend, her family and friends for granted, increase creating tension. Finally the day comes when Tara’s mind, inflated with the thoughts of being not cared for, burst out and she takes some decisions to put her love saga behind and move on.

Then a magically mystical force intervenes and a whole new drama unfolds.

As per the needs of the script, the lead couple had to share more than ten intimate kisses as their relationship is shown as a very passionate and deep-rooted one.

Shahana Goswami thinks that a kiss is an eternal sign of romance and love and to portray the intensity of the chemistry and intimacy on screen it was part of her job as an actress to do what the director says. Randeep Hooda, being the more experienced actor and true professional, made sure that Shahana gets very comfortable before each scene was shot.

On the flip side, RU-BA-RU unfolds in a slow pace. Also, the second hour of the movie could have been shorter. The song in the pre-climax should’ve been deleted. Even otherwise, music (Satyadev Burman, Sameeruddin) is somehow effective though proving visually better. Andre Menezes’ cinematography captures the beauty of Bangkok in a mesmerizing way.

Randeep Hooda is a fine actor is confirmed yet again as he plays his part without overdoing it one bit. It’s a complete departure from his violence-laden roles (D, RISK) and he must build his bridge in romantic roles as well. Shahana Goswami is decent enough. RU-BA-RU should only cement her status after giving a great performance in ‘Rock On’. Rati Agnihotri and Jayant Kripalani are perfect for their parts.

All in all, Ru-Ba-Ru is a decent film and a one time watch.

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Movie Review: Last Lear

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Arjun Rampal, Preity Zinta, Divya Dutta, Shefali Shah, Prosenjit and Jishu; Director: Rituparno Ghosh; Rating: 2 out of 5

The film, ‘The Last Lear’ has a good performance of Amitabh Bachchan who tries to play a man who worked long in Shakespearian Theater and he starts living in the Shakespearian stories only. His skills in theatre is exploited by a movie director as he is called to perform a role in modern cinema. The actor is left with fatal injuries after the shoot. The film tries to say that cinema as a medium is less powerful and unrealistic, when compared to stage.

The film script has been taken from a play by Bengali actor and playwright, Utpal Dutt and the realistic performance of Amitabh Bachchan makes the audience to stay glued to the screens from the very outset. Indian cinema generally has less of Shakespearian stuffs but in Hollywood you have many actors who did Shakespearian roles. Bachchan looks very powerful in the movie, as if everything has been made for him to perform that way; in a way establishing how he is also capable of surviving in Hollywood, too. It’s amazing to watch him perfect confident in the film.

The story of the film is about an actor, Harish, who is bedridden and Shabnam, his co-star comes to meet him. Movie director Siddarth refuses to give interviews and Vandana and a nurse named Ivy, is taking care of Harish. Vandana does not want anybody to meet Harish because she thinks that people are responsible for Harish’s troubles.

The story is about a theatre artist who dreams of performing the “King Lear” and he is made to meet a director by a journalist Gautam. The director convinces Harish to work in his film and Harish agrees to play a joker in his film.

Harish teaches his co-star Shabnam about acting and helps her improve her professional and personal life. In the last shoot of the film, Harish gets hurt. There are many ambiguities in the script because it’s unclear why Harish does the stunt himself and gets hurt, when it was not compulsory.

Amitabh Bachchan is the life of ‘The Last Lear’. It’s definitely his best performance so far. The actor has been delivering strong performances in the past also. Arjun Rampal is evolving into a fine actor; which is very clear in this film. This is another performance that would fetch Arjun great applause. Preity is ok enough. Shefali Shah is superb. Divya Dutta is wasted. Prosenjit is alright. Jishu is impressive.

The good part of the film is that the cinematography is beautifully done. The locations are superb. Most of the shooting has been done in Himalayan location of Uttaranchal.

The problem with ‘The Last Lear’ is that there’s too much of Shakespeare in the movie, which, to put it bluntly, isn’t everyone’s cup of tea for a simple reason that Indian audience are not much into Shakespeare. Besides, certain themes may hold some appeal for those into theatre, but don’t work on cinematic level.

Also, Rituparno Ghosh’s choice of the subject has its limitations. It’s good to think different, but only when you know you can appeal to the crowd.

On the whole, ‘The Last Lear’ has something for the Festival circuit, but nothing for the cinema-going general audience in India. At the box-office it can attract people mostly from the urban sectors of the society.

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Hari Puttar release date posponed

Mirchi Movies’ ‘Hari Puttar’ has been postponed after Warner Bros studios sued, feeling its name is too similar to that of the Harry Potter franchise.

The Hollywood giant ‘Warner Bros’ recently started it’s legal proceedings against Mirchi Movies over the film in question and its release has now been delayed until the end of the month.

Hari Puttar - A Comedy of Terrors, tells of a ten-year-old boy who moves to England with his parents and becomes involved in a plot concerning a secret microchip was set for a September 12th release in India.

The makers of ‘Hari Puttar’ say that Warner Bros chose a date which unfortunately was very close to their movie release date.

Warner Bros recently confirmed that the release of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, the sixth film in the franchise, has been delayed by eight months until July 2009.

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Traffic jam saved Abhishek from Delhi blasts

A traffic snarl proved providential for Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan, who decided to turn back just as he was nearing Connaught Place to attend a function there Saturday evening - minutes before two blasts shook the area.

His father, Hindi film icon Amitabh Bachchan, wrote on his blog, "Shattered and shocked he called to say he was alright."

"Abhishek had left in the afternoon for New Delhi and was on his way to Connaught Place for a function he had to attend. Minutes away from there, the traffic became a snarl and he knew he would not make it in time so he asked to turn back. And the blast happened just then, " Amitabh wrote on his blog www.bigb.bigadda.com on Sunday.

Abhishek was here as part of a media promotional event and to shoot for the last scenes of his "Dilli 6". However, he had to cancel his programme after the blast, considering the gravity of the situation, his father wrote.

"He was just not able to conduct them (activities). Cancelled them. It would have been too insensitive, " he wrote. The veteran actor revealed that his son has left a decision on whether to continue the shooting to the producers.

"He has left the decision to the producers. Cancelling would be interpreted as succumbing to the threat. I wonder what they decide."

Amitabh also expressed his grief for the victims of Saturday's serial blasts.

"Jaya and I sit alone in the house, our hearts still with the tragedy in Delhi. What of those who bore the brunt - innocent unaware and victims."

"We live in difficult times. What kind of an environment are we leaving behind for our next generation? Or do we not concern ourselves with that? We need peace and harmony, " he concluded.

The serial blasts - two each in Connaught Place and Greater Kailash M-Block market and one in Gaffar Market - left 23 people dead and around 100 injured.

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Revealed: Saif Ali Khan in his new 'Sardar' look

The turban is slowly and surely finding its way with our very own Bollywood actors. After Akshay Kumar's super-duper sardar act in the blockbuster Singh Is Kinng, every actor worth his salt is donning the pagdi these days.

By now its common knowledge that Salman Khan would be seen playing a sardar in Samir Karnik's multi-starrer Heroes and even chocolate boy Ranbir Kapoor is all set to play a sardar in Shimit Amit's next. Now the latest actor to don a pagdi is none other than cool dude Saif Ali Khan.

Saif was seen shooting in this completely new get up for his as yet untitled home production directed by Imtiaz Ali.

The film pairs Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone for the first time. The unit recently shot in and around the Lake Market area of Kolkata. In order to avoid any disruptions during the 4 day shoot, the hawkers, vendors etc. were given adequate compensation.

As for Saif's get up, the buzz is that he sports this look during certain flashback sequences in the film. Whether the audiences will warm up to this avatar of 'Chhote Nawab', only time will tell but going by the increasing number of actors donning a pagdi, we can't help but agree that Singh is indeed King.

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Dream to be like Kareena Kapoor? Click!!!

Her glowing skin and svelte figure has millions of girls aspiring to be in her shoes. But Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor says it is her 'vegetarian' diet that keeps her fit and glowing.

"Apart from doing yoga to keep myself fit, I am a pure vegetarian. I don't eat meat and that has helped me a lot to keep fit, " Kareena told reporters here over the weekend.

"I am proud to be a vegetarian and I am against those who eat meat. Go green to be fit, that's the best way for me at least, " she added.

Kareena had given up non-vegetarian food in 2006, that is two years after she started dating actor and former beau Shahid Kapur, a strict vegetarian himself.

But even after her break-up with Shahid, the actress has continued to follow a vegetarian diet to keep her weight in check.

In fact, in 2007, Kareena had also won the 'Cutest Vegetarian' online poll conducted by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India's youth division 'PETA Dishoom'. She shared the title with actor R. Madhavan.

Apart from eating vegetarian food for her figure and fitness, Kareena's water intake is high to keep her skin radiant.

"I drink a lot of water for my skin. And yes, my mom is beautiful, so it is also my parents who have gifted me with beautiful skin, " she said

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Hey Ya - Kidnap Movie

Hey guys check out this hot song from the movie Kidnap featyuring Minisha Lamba in a bikini dancing her way on the beach and having a bash...

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It's leaked out: Nandana Sen's Bosom

Yes, Nandana Sen's bosoms are revealed out. It was in a scene from Ketan Mehta's coming film, 'Rang Rasiya'.

For people who are already on the edge of their seat after reading this can silently calm down and get back to their seats because the censor board has already cut the scene saying it to be too revealing and eye-catchy for the Indian audience.

While scrutinizing the film, 'Rang Rasiya', the censor board saw that in a particular scene Nandana Sen's breast could easily be seen. Immediately after seeing that scene the censor board sent a notice to Ketan Mehta.

Ketan Mehta did confirm the news but said that the scene is very long and if cut by the censor board they will have to re-do it all over again.

Rang Rasiya stars Randeep Hooda and Nandana Sen as leads and is already certified as an 'A' Grade film.

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