MERE BAAP....

Film: Mere Baap Pehle Aap

Dir: Priyadarshan

Starring: Akshaye Khanna, Paresh Rawal, Om Puri, Genelia Desouza, Manoj Joshi

Date of release: 13/6/08

approx run time: 2hr 35 min

Rating: ***(3/5)



REVIEW

Paresh Rawal says that Priyadarshan doesnot go over board with comedy. Bhool Bhulaiya is one very good example and MBAP also falls in a similar genre. A masala film which has comedy, romance, drama. But it is a tough job to manage all in one single film. And probably thats where the problem lies.

The story stats off with two friends (Paresh Rawal and Om Puri) getting into trouble because the later is too desperate to find a bride for himself. Daddy Paresh ends up getting scolded by his beta Akshaye. In the meanwhile Shikha(Genelia) who had been ragged in her collge by senior Akshaye comes back and starts taking her revenge creating a lot of funny situations. Soon the two fall in love. There is one more twist Daddy Paresh finds his old love back who turns to be Sikha's music teacher. from here on the story takes the turn towards drama where Akshaye and Genelia try to bring the old lost lovers together, sometimes putting a lot at stake.

The first half is fun filled with a lot of funny situations but moulds into drama at the interval point and there on. But the point where the film goes off balance is when the marriage of daddy rawal is opposed by some distant family members and beta Akshaye's to be father in law. This is where the film loses its fizz and makes it too long an outing. The film is trying to pack in so much that some tracks remain half baked. It feels that some tracks are just being brushed upon without being given due importance.

Technically, the direction is all right, script could have been better, editing is slightly two paced sometimes trying to be too fast, you could some times feel a jerk as if you were watching a pirated cd and some portions were taken off. Music is nothing to brag about.

Performance wise, the film belongs to baap beta i.e. Paresh Rawal and Akshaye Khanna. Some scenes between the two are just fantastic. Genelia Desouza comes as a breath of fresh air and does more than justice to the role. The romantic track betwwen Akshaye and Genelia comes out as another winner. Genelia doesnot sound too comfortable with her Hindi though. Om Puri is ok, Manoj Joshi is good, Rajpal's role is inconsequential but he does a very good job out of it. Archna Puran Singh track stats of promisingly but is forgotten in the later reels and comes to a very tame filmy end when Om Puri decides to marry her. Nasseruddin Shah makes his presence felt but the track was not required.

What makes it win is the fresh main plot and good execution of the same. In all an all a decent film but had it been trimmed by atleast 15- 20 minutes especially post interval it would have been much better.

SARKAR RAJ

Film: Sarkar Raj
Dir: RGV
Banner: K SERA SERA
Featuring: Amitabh Bachhan, Abhishek Bachhan, Aishwariya Bachhan
Rating: **1/2(2.5/5)
REVIEW
We are talking about a much hyped film, in which a great director was supposed to make a comeback. A film which is a challenge to make because it is a sequel to a very well made and successful film. So does Ramu get it right? Well he definitely makes a film better than ‘RGV ki Aag’ but this was a smaller challenge. Now does the sequel captivate you as the original did? Lets analyse.

The script, which is the base, is very good throughout. It keeps up with Sarkar quality. But drags along where the film should have ended much earlier. I read recently that the film was chopped off from2.48hrs to just slightly more than 2 hours. A thought comes that the film could have been trimmed off slightly more at places especially the last 10-15 minutes.

Ramu succeeds as a director too. He gets some gem of performances not only from the lead but also the supporting cast as well. All the bachhans are in top form. Editng is two paced. The bullet fast first hour loses pace in the last few reels. Cinematography is very good.

But the point is that the film did not move me anywhere. It looked like a body beautiful film. Why this happened? Sadly the background score never remains in background. It tries its best to make sure that people know that there is something called as background score in every scene. I felt it took away a lot of beauty of the film.

Two corrections would have taken the film to a zone totally different. Slightly low profile score and slight lively pace in the last few minutes

But it is worth a watch for the performers.

AAMIR

Film: Aamir
Dir: Raj Kumar Gupta
Banner: UTV Spot Boy
Featuring: Rajiv Khandelwal
Rating: ***1/2(3.5/5)
REVIEW
Aamir is a very pleasant surprise. Though I never expected the film to be the worst I have seen, I got to see a much fresher and an honest attempt than I expected.

Aamir is a story of a young doctor ‘Aamir Ali’ who returns to India, and the worst journey of his life begins. In one single day his destiny makes him play a hand in terrorism. The narrative tries to present how a totally innocent person is pushed into terrorism and he has no choice.

The idea is new. That keeps you captivated but the screenplay could have been better because in some portions just before the interval and towards the end could leave a viewer not too interested. Also the kind of network the terrorist has is slightly difficult to digest as if one out of every 3 people is a part of the network.

What makes Aamir the film that it is, is the direction. All the scenes are expertly executed and the nuances and detailing is applaudable. The cinematography is par excellence. Be it the look of the film or the detailing in each frame or the reactions of the Mumbai public.

The editing, art design, and the background score really complement the film wonderfully. No one tries to ham for once. But the film belongs to Rajiv Khandelwal. His performance is as honest as you will see in the recent times. There are so many places where he communicates without a dialogue or a word. See the scene where he goes to a ‘loo’ in the slums to recover an address. You almost feel the stinch around and when he pukes out you almost puke too.

Had the screenplay slightly been better, the film would have been a new chapter in the history of bollywood but never mind Aamir keeps you captivated and is a very good attempt in taking bollywood ahead.