By Vinay sharma

Cast: Imran Khan, Deepika Padukone, Sharmila Tagore, Lillete Dubea, Shahana Goswami, Navin Nischol, Yudhistir Urs

Director: Danish Aslam

Rating: ** 1/2

Bollywood has a sub-genre of romantic-comedies meant for urban, chic teenagers, first pioneered with its full frontal glory by our very own coffee drinking Karan Johar.

These films, and the people that inhabit it, are nothing like you have ever known, or are ever likely to know. But the reality inside it is so glossy and Cinderellaesque that everyone aspires for this free floating, un-rooted, but super fun unreality.

"Break Ke Baad" is a fun example of that.

Aaliya (Deepika Padukone) and Abhay (Imran Khan) are childhood sweethearts whose sweet course of sugarcane love encounters the roadblock of youthful ambition. Aaliya, a fiercely independent, risk-taking person decides to go to Australia to pursue her acting ambition, thus breaking the relationship. Both make mistakes, but eventually discover themselves only to realize that it's not that easy to say 'talaq' to a love, that has now matured.

"Break Ke Baad" is the ultimate, teenage, escape, love fantasy of 2010, much like "Jaane Tu…" in 2008 and "Love Aaj Kal" in 2009, in whose magical world, almost everything happens coincidentally and all loose ends are tied up perfectly in the end and all that you see makes sense. But we know that such a mythical, unreality can exist only in Bollywood.

Yet, the film is good in its own sub-genre. The strongest part of the film is a well-baked script; tight, crisp and thankfully contemporary and often rooted dialogues of Renuka Kunzru, which are funny at times, and profound in a cliched way at others.

Yet the film will never make it to the annals of Bollywood greats. Neither does it have the cuteness of Aamir Khan's launch vehicle "Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak", or the undertone of class struggle depicted with extreme melodrama in "Maine Pyaar Kiya", the overtone of struggle against tradition of "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge" or the excessive sugar-pulp and totally nonexistent reality of "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" (KKHH) - a film which this one pays hearty tributes to.

The conflict is mostly in the minds of the protagonist, and not real. Ironically its fault would perhaps be that it is not unreal enough like KKHH.

Though the characterizations, at least in the beginning and in a few side characters, has the smell (or stench if you consider the escapist drama) of reality, it flies off to KKHH land. At least the old films were caricatures, exaggerations of people you would have encountered somewhere. No such luck with "Break Ke Baad".

But it is fodder for teen fantasy, seeped in the dual confusion of maturing while finding true love. It's over two hour ride is fun, full time-pass and paisa vasool.

By Satyen K. Bordoloi

Cast: Kareena Kapoor, Ajay Devgn, Mithun Chakraborty, Kunal Khemu, Tusshar Kapoor, Arshad Warsi, Johny Lever, Ratna Pathak-Shah

Director: Rohit Shetty

Rating: ***

It is touted as the first trilogy of Indian cinema. It's about time that the distant cousin of Hollywood had one. Yet, what's important is that Bollywood did not need to have trilogies as one hit film has the habit of spawning a whole generation of films that look and feel like the original. "Golmaal 3" also suffers from that syndrome. Thankfully, it only feels like its previous avatars.

Despite retaining most characters from its previous outings, "Golmaal 3" enters a hitherto uncharted territory. Madhav (Warsi), Laxman (Khemu) and Lucky (Kapoor) are the three scheming sons of Pritam (Mithun) who manage to lure Vasooli (Mukesh Tiwari) into one scheme after another.

However, as luck would have it, in everything they start, they find competition from three other down-on-their-luck kids Gopal (Ajay Devgn), Laxman (Shreyas Talapade) and Dabbu (Kareena Kapoor) with funding from Puppy bhai (Johnny Lever). Gopal and Laxman are the sons of Geeta (Ratna Pathak Shah).

Inevitably, locking horns they end up destroying each others businesses. What the two groups don't know is that their parents are unrequited ex-lovers.

When Dabbu finds out she schemes and unites the two lovers in a marriage without letting their children know about their step-brothers.

All hell breaks loose when they finally find out and a hilarious war engulfs between the two groups right under their parents noses.

Like its predecessors "Golmaal 3" has enough laughs going through the film to keep the momentum.

Johnny Lever as the Ghajini-style forgetful don who adopts a new filmy avatar every few minutes has the audience in splits.

The few spoofs of old Hindi films, full of camera pans and quick zooms, will nostalgically tickle the funny bone. The twists of various popular phrases and known adages, raises more than a chuckle.

Mithun gets to do his "Disco Dancer" once again. Theatre veteran Ratna Pathak-Shah waltzes through the film with aplomb. Arshad Warsi is his usual tapori self while Shreyas Talapade and Kunal Khemu do a good job.

It is however the beefed up Tushar Kapoor who seems to be trying too hard, and despite raising giggles, fails to arouse laughter. In the first part he, looking the most vulnerable, was the funniest of the lot.

Director Rohit Shetty tries his best in merging comic vignettes into one comprehensible film. However, had it not been for the funny dialogues, his lack of directorial verve would have shone out.

He is spared the fate by some ingenious dialogue writing by Robin Bhatt ("Aashiqui", "Sadak", "Baazigar") and Yunus Sajawal.

Now that Bollywood finally has a trilogy, will it please also make one that also has some real standing in the world of cinema?

Guzaarish

Shahrukh Bola Khoobsurat Hai Tu

By Taran Adarsh, November 12, 2010 - 12:58 IST


Call it a coincidence, most Hindi films focus on haunted homes when it comes to the horror genre. A FLAT is no different. In fact, it brings back memories of various films, including BHOOT [was it shot in the same housing complex?] and also Chetan Anand's multi-starrer KUDRAT. Of course, it wouldn't be right to compare A FLAT with BHOOT or KUDRAT or even VAASTU SHASTRA or 13-B or PHOONK/PHOONK 2 because the plotline of each is different, although you can't ignore the uncanny resemblance with the finale of KUDRAT.

Dunno Y Na Jaane Kyun... 


By Taran Adarsh, November 12, 2010 - 12:59 IST


In an informal chat with me a few months ago, after watching DUNNO Y... NA JAANE KYUN at a private screening, director Sanjay Sharma enlightened me that his endeavour in making the film is to drive home the fact that there's nothing anomalous about being homosexual. "Through this film, I want to highlight and draw attention to the relationships between gay people. Their sentiments and emotions. The idea is not to poke fun at the gay community. In fact, the intent is to make a film that looks at the issue and the gay community in a very serious perspective," he remarked.

By Taran Adarsh, November 12, 2010 - 13:01 IST


We often grumble that we don't make films targeted at kids, unlike the West where this genre has cut across barriers and reached out to not only kids, but also teens and adults. RAMAA - THE SAVIOUR tries to go into a zone where no Hindi film has visited in the past: Video gaming.

But a terrific idea is no guarantee for a terrific film. Everything depends on how gripping and absorbing the screenplay is and how deftly the director executes the subject material. RAMAA - THE SAVIOUR has some attention-grabbing moments, but they are few and far between.