Aashiqui 2 (2013) - Drama / Romance

I was 14 when Ashiqui came and can never forget what magic it had on all of us, songs were awesome, Rahul Roy was too good, always wanted to keep my hair like him – at times I still try to explain the same to my barber and fail. Today while watching Ashiqui 2 – I realized the maximum people in the hall were teenagers or in the early 20’s. Somehow I had my full trust on Mohit Suri because of the background he comes from and for the kind of movies that he has made – most of them I indeed end up liking if not loving. Here he totally bowled me over – what a Fantastic movie he has made – superb! Right from the very first frame he made sure that one falls in love with the characters and develops a deep connect. I never checked its songs earlier but now I am doubly sure that they will be a permanent part of my collection. I sincerely believe if a movie is able to make you breathless half a dozen times, makes you smile a lot like the way it does and still breaks your heart in the end and then you realize what the title actually stood for – its worth all the money you put in watching it. What I missed today big time was presence of my wifey – who is vacationing with my kiddo – I wish she was with me – watching this kind of a movie holding her hand would’ve been a dream come true. Another thing that I loved about the movie was – the kids sitting besides us kept singing every song word to word – I tell you – this guy has some following, Looking forward to it again some time soon. If you loved and lost – go for it, even if you have never loved – go for it – its one of those rare movies made in our part of the world where you see a Director’s passion in every frame but if you hated “Rockstar” – leave this one alone too – you aren’t missing anything and its seriously not for you. Btw if you do see – check out the last scene of the movie where Shradha is sitting on a tree trunk at the beach – we were standing right behind her while that scene was shot. I will definitely give it a damn good 4/5 with a must watch recommendation for those - who like watching Drama cum Love Stories. Two great things this movie is surely going to do – One – Aditya Roy Kapoor has finally arrived and Shradha Kapoor is one stunning beauty with very expressive face – kudos to them – they are definitely going a long way in Bollywood.

Chashme Buddoor (2013) - Comedy

Three generations of our family saw the movie together so the reaction had to be different. First things first – I went along with my teenage nephew and parents to see the old Chashme Buddoor but wanted to keep it a surprise for both the parties. But the moment I stepped in the queue – my mom who I always believed was a big Farukh Sheikh and Dipti Nawal fan said “Let’s check out the new one, original we have already seen couple of times”. I was shocked and kinda surprised too. I actually like Ali Zafar, love his style of dialogue delivery, body language, my wife loves his voice big time, hence I did not complain plus that other guy Siddharth who made his mark in Bollywood with “RangDe Basanti” is anyways a good actor down south, plus the 3^rd dude we all have seen and loved in “Pyaar Ka Panchnama” and to top it all with David Dhawan the comedy king behind the whole movie – it had to be a laugh riot from the very start. Although it was way too loud beyond my taste but was able to make me laugh and love it anyways. Just that I wanted the Cineplex guys to keep the volume a little low, my parents loved it big time and trust me – they actually said that this one is better than its original counterpart, although the original has its own sweet flavor but this was an apt remake as per them. I found it to be too loud, rash but yet entertaining, loved the one liners, chick is cute, guys did their part pretty well, songs were unwanted and crappy, my nephew had “WTF” expressions on his face throughout. Yet he managed to sit thru the movie, but not recommending anyone I believe. I will definitely give it a good 2.5/5 and will call it a nice one time watch. If you like comedies – chances are – you wont mind this one much, wont remember it for long but will come out of audi smiling for sure.

Mere Dad Ki Maruti (2013) - Comedy

Another light hearted comedy which may not rock you off your chair but still impresses you big time and is a kind of a breeze with hardly 100 minutes of running time. A total roller coaster ride with two young guns and their story of one quick ride to impress the girl friend gone awfully wrong. In the backdrop of a typical Punjabi family wedding going on – makes up for a superb time pass movie. Co-incidentally we had a better connect with the movie as the Maruti Ertiga – the one that they buy and it vanishes in no time is actually going to be our next car – booked a few months ago – should be delivered any day now. Maruti has done a perfect advertisement of the car through this movie and what a way to show off all of its good features as the movie progresses. It’s an out and out comedy and kudos to the young generation stars – they all almost play their part to perfection and never bore you for a moment. Ram Kapoor is too good as the father and unfortunately Ravi Kishen is wasted big time as the mechanic cum goon who deals in stolen cars. Saquib Saleem as the protagonist is too good, Rhea Chakraborty as his girl friend Jazzleen is cute and so is his side kick, Prabal Panjabi who kept reminding me of a Veer Dass. It’s a movie that you won’t remember for a long time but will surely have a good time watching it. My ratings – a good 2.5/5 with two thumbs up, movies like this should be encouraged. Go for it – you will like it.

Chopper (2000) - Crime Thriller (Biography)

Somehow I missed it earlier but couldn’t miss it any long after I was told that the title character of Mark Brandon “Chopper” was played by Eric Bana. I could never imagine him in that kind of a character as he is too cute, sensible, serious and fragile looking guy – how would he fare as a criminal killer was beyond me. Boy O Boy – I was surely in for a super surprise – what a fantastic movie it turns out to be especially for those who love Blood n Gory movie about killers who love killing people for no rhyme or reason on top of that the punch line of the movie is “I never killed anyone that didn’t deserve it”. It’s based on the autobiographical novel by Mark Brandon Chopper himself, who I guess became a bestseller novelist behind the bars. This movie is all about his histrionics in the Australian underworld, his experiences of in and out of jail since he was 16. How he becomes a leader, makes his own gang, gets back stabbed and kills anybody and everybody having issues with him. Rocking is the way how they have made this one and Eric Bana is super in the lead character – he actually gets into the skin of the character and actually looks totally like the real Chopper. His body language, accent, the way he talks, laughs, stabs and gets stabbed is out of this world. The movie actually has a great shocking value and it indeed made me jump couple of times on my chair. It has its own comic timings too and it’s too good to see him doing all of that and being proud of it too. The way he interviews with TV people and proudly watches it with cops in his cell at the end of the movie is truly awesome. If you like thrillers and crime movies – you must see this as this is one of the very best from the genre. Totally amazing job and I will definitely rate it a damn good 4/5 with two thumbs up. A must watch for all thriller /crime lovers.

3G (2013) - Horror

My decision of not watching trailers paid off this time as I didn’t see a single trailer of this one and straight went ahead with no expectations whatsoever. Being a Neil Nitin Mukesh fan since his first film – this one unfortunately doesn’t works for him either as it starts with a Bang! But soon in the first half hour only derails totally, before turning idiotic to a super stupid climax. Although I must say this that it’s a stunningly beautifully shot movie right from the very start and it’s a guarantee you haven’t seen the Fiji they have shown in this one anywhere else, full credit to Keiko Nakahara for its superb cinematography. Neil Nitin Mukesh is a good actor when compared to his counterparts but unfortunately it’s too much weight to be carried on his fragile shoulders; unfortunately neither he has a personality nor the panache to carry it forward, he doesn’t look one bit menacing or scary in the scenes he is supposed to give those killer looks rather I found him funny and he actually made us laugh. Initial half hour to first 45 minutes is simply too good and stunningly shot with a fantastic background score which actually shocked us a couple of times and soured our expectations but then onwards it takes a nose dive never to pick up ever again leading to as I said “A super stupid climax”. It’s actually a revenge drama depending on out of this world 3G technology – imagine a dead man is trying to kill all those responsible for his girl friend’s murder from his own hands. Whatever that may sound to you. Sonal Chouhan and Mrinalini Sharma both make a big mark through this movie – I never knew that they could look this good ever and if you plan to see this – I must tell you this too – watch out for the last ten minutes of the movie – it’s a typical porn movie stuff with Mrinalini Sharma giving an unbelievable shot (from Indian standards) that I couldn’t believe my eyes what I saw. Its another fantastic opportunity lost for poor Neil – full sympathies with him, I am sure the marked anyways had no expectations from this one and it will sink soon. Give it a miss but do get a good DVD print and watch out for the first 45 minutes – now don’t miss that after my recommendation. My ratings – 2/5, One for the Cinematography and the other one for background score.