Movie Review: 3 Idiots

Aamir Khan is one of the superstars of the Hindi Film Industry, he can make a movie work entirely on his shoulders. He proved that as a mediocre film like "Ghajini" achieved blockbuster success mainly due to him. Few years ago Aamir started a trend of doing one movie at a time, so he has one release every year. First it was "Rang De Basanti" which was a big hit and then "Taare Zameen Par" which was another big hit. I didn't watched these two movies on the big screen so i decided that from the next time i will surely watch Aamir's movies only in theater. Then came "Ghajini", i went only because of Aamir, the movie was decent but i didn't liked it. One year later "3 Idiots" came and this time i thought to give Aamir another try. Another main reason for me going to this movie was the director Rajkumar Hirani who has given us two wonderful movies of "Munnabhai" series. From the trailers it seemed like Aamir has over acted to compensate for his age, so i was skeptical but i still decided to give it a go. Thank God i did.

This is one of the best Hindi movie i have ever seen. Like all other Rajkumar Hirani movies this one is a satire and places some messages subtly (and sometimes loudly). The story is broadly similar to the famous novel "Five Point Someone" but is no way identical to it. It has an entirely different storyline and a wonderful one. Three college friends dealing with the pressure and the problems faced in the college is really heart touching. Anybody who has gone to a college would instantly identify with the characters. The connect which Rajkumar Hirani makes with the audience is instantaneous and amazing. I am not an Engineer, i am a Commerce graduate but it doesn't hamper me in any way in enjoying this movie. Aamir Khan, Madhavan and Sharman Joshi plays their characters perfectly. Mention should be made of other nice characters like Millimeter and Silencer (Omi Vaidya), this guy Omi Vaidya is also a star attraction of the movie. The funny scenes featuring him are simply amazing. These scenes would make your stomach ache with laughter. All the credit to him for pulling off such a role with panache. Boman Irani as a stereotyped villain is as usual good, he is at his best in Hirani's movies and once again he delivers. Kareena Kapoor is endearing in her small role. Aamir Khan as expected takes the movie entirely on his shoulders and delivers a flawless performance. R Madhavan and Sharman Joshi provides adequate support by giving a good performance.

The crackling chemistry between the trio is amazing. I was puzzled by the director's choice of these actors to play college boys when there is immense young talent out there, Hirani said that he wanted three guys who looks like genuine friends, do these 3 look like genuine friends? oh yes they do. They touch our hearts with their friendship with ease. Many heart touching moments in the movie are created by this trio so easily that they don't seem middle aged anymore. Once you see this movie, you cannot see any other actor playing these characters with such perfection.

The dialogues are funny, the one liners are well delivered by the entire cast. Some funny scenes are simply amazing. I won't divulge them here as i don't want to be a spoilsport. Rajkumar Hirani's narration style is brilliant, he has a unique style of showing things. For e.g. The family of Sharman Joshi is shown as a 50s house with a paralyzed father, coughing mother and an unmarried sister. As soon as the focus is on the family the camera turns black and white and an appropriate music starts playing in the background. The situation in reality is grave but the audience sympathize and laugh both at the same time. This is in reality Hirani's biggest achievement, to say something deep in a humorous tone. Many issues prevalent in educational system are touched like excessive pressure and stress on students, excessive importance on grades, difference between learning by rote and by understanding, how our current education system rewards learning by rote and is just treating students like a product out of a factory rather than teaching them to think, invent and innovate.

New concepts like "Aal Iz Well" works well (like "Jadoo ki Jhappi" in Munnabhai series). Some scenes are over-the-top but that adds to the entire drama. There is not a dull moment in this movie. I don't like many hindi movies, if you look at my blog i haven't given rave reviews for any Hindi movie, but "3 Idiots" deserve it. Its a superb movie that is lighthearted and sends out a message at the same time. When the audience walked out of the theater everybody was smiling and laughing. Thats the main strength of this movie, the feel-good factor which will touch every person who will watch it. Don't watch it on your laptop (by downloading or buying pirated DVDs). It would be an injustice not to watch it in a theater. Go and watch it on a big screen. Not many Hindi movies would make me say this but this one is a "Masterpiece". I loved it!!!

Movie Review: Avatar

I am a big fan of James Cameron, i have liked all his works like Abyss, Aliens, Terminator 1 & 2, True Lies except Titanic. I know people would hate me for saying this but i found Titanic to be too long and boring at times. Titanic was good but not great, and not James Cameron's best, it went to be the biggest box office success in the history is something for which i give due respect to Titanic but it will never be one of my favorite. So after a relative disappointment of Titanic as we don't expect "good" from James Cameron, comes Avatar. So how was Avatar?

Only one word: Breathtaking. This is the only word i will use for this movie. This movie is out of this world. A visual spectacle. Luckily i watched it in 3-D and the effect is amazing. The movie barring its clichéd storyline is amazing, you gotta see to believe it. The alternate world created by James Cameron is simply amazing, it looks strikingly real. The amount of thought that would have gone in designing the entire ecosystem like plants, animals etc. would have been astounding. I heard that James Cameron had scripted this movie many years ago but didn't made it because he thought that the technology to justify the script was not there, he was right as the movie special effects are groundbreaking even according to the current standards. The wait done by James Cameron is well justified. The characterization of the leading characters at times seems like a caricature. There are stereotyped characters which some people might find annoying and too old fashioned but then it was scripted many years ago so some old styles would be reflected in it.

If i say about the direction it follows the signature James Cameron style. A good beginning with introduction of various characters and their motives well set, then for some time the script just goes at a slow to normal pace with some twists and turns, sometimes some of the scenes would seem unnecessary, then the build up to the climax and in the end an elongated epic fight or battle scene which seems worth the wait. Also the unnecessary scenes comes together in the end and becomes relevant. Another signature James Cameron style is that the movie is long and to some people would seem like half an hour too long. I won't divulge much about the script but all the characters whether it be side characters are well defined and every character gets enough screen time. Even the love story is handled well. The performances from characters are decent, Sam Worthington as expected gets most of the screen time and he does well. Another thing which should be mentioned is the soundtrack, the background music enhances the impact of many scenes.

I would highly recommend this movie to be watched only in 3-D to enjoy it fully. The effort invested by the technical team becomes all the more evident as compared to 2-D. This is not James Cameron's best work but still it is good. And if you can keep your eyes off some small glitches this movie would definitely work for you.

So, go out there and book your ticket for the next 3-D show. Its going house full every show so it would be tough, but trust me it would be worth it. James Cameron is back and that too with a bang!

India No. 1 in Test Ranking

India managed to get on to the no. 1 spot in the test rankings by beating Sri Lanka 2-0 in the recently concluded test series. Its the first time India has reached the top ranking and only two other teams - Australia and South Africa - have managed to get to the no. 1 spot since the introduction of these rankings in 2001.

This ascendancy to no. 1 started in 2001 when Sourav Ganguly's team stopped the Australian Juggernaut of Steve Waugh who were rolling along with 16 consecutive victories in tests. Who can forget the performances of Harbhajan Singh, VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid in arguably the best series of modern times. Specially the 2nd test at Kolkata when India came back from a follow-on to defeat the mighty Aussies. VVS Laxman's 281, Rahul Dravid's supporting act, Harbhajan "The Turbanator" hat-trick and the flurry of wickets which he used to take whenever he came to bowl is unforgettable. This killer instinct and the belief to be no. 1 was instilled by Sourav Ganguly during this era. India started winning test matches overseas during his tenure in Australia, West Indies and England but they never were able to win a series there. The other notable achievement was winning a series against the arch rivals Pakistan in Pakistan for the first time in more than 55 years. Then came Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble who in my view were just short-term replacements so that a next generation captain could be appointed which eventually was MS Dhoni. MS Dhoni has taken forward the legacy of Sourav Ganguly and has managed to raise it by one more level. Now, India has the batting talent to stay at top with people like Sehwag, Gambhir, Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman. The bowling is decent with bowlers like Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth, Ishant Sharma and Harbhajan Singh. On their day these bowlers can prove to be a handful.

Now the big question - Is India no. 1 in tests?. I rather doubt it, for various reasons. Firstly India doesn't have a bowling attack that can dismiss quality batting line-ups twice in 5 days on batting friendly pitches. Secondly, India is yet to win a series in Australia and South Africa, though they have managed to win a test match in their previous trips. Another reason is that the batting which is looking so good nowadays is mainly because of presence of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid And VVS Laxman in the middle order. These all-time greats would retire in 2-3 years, and then they would be replaced by younger guys like Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma etc.etc. who are no match for these all-time greats, this would leave a big hole in the Indian batting line-up. According to me Murali Vijay is a nice exciting prospect in test cricket and he should be developed by keeping an eye on the future. I believe that the batting which is our main strength would come under a lot of strain within 2-3 years, people like Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina are not suitable for test cricket as they are technically not correct and also they have that one-day and 20/20 mentality of hit-every-ball philosophy. Another area of concern is that India doesn't play that many test matches as compared to Australia and South Africa so that also reduces their chances of staying at no.1.

To conclude i would say that these ranking doesn't matter in the long run. India is a seriously good team, but i don't think it is the best team in the world. Indian team is one of the best along with other teams like Australia and South Africa. When India starts beating Australia and South Africa in their own backyard on a regular basis, then India will be no. 1 for sure.

Movie Review: De Dana Dan

A comedy movie made by Priyadarshan featuring Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty and Paresh Rawal, that resonates of Herapheri in my memory - one of the best comedies ever made. The trio of these actors recreated their magic in Phir Herapheri but for me that movie was inferior to the first one (it was not directed by Priyadarshan also).

Herapheri came around 10 years ago in 2000. During that time Priyadarshan was known for making remakes of south movies and was never known for making good comedies. Akshay Kumar was just another actor in the fray. Johnny Lever was the only famous comedian at that time and Paresh Rawal was known for his serious character roles and as a villain sometimes. Then came Herapheri and it started many things that are still true today. It shot Akshay Kumar to fame and that was the beginning of making of The Star Akshay Kumar. Paresh Rawal achieved prominence as a comedian and after that he got known in film industry as one of the better comic actors. After that Priyadarshan churned out various comedies of a similar genre but was never able to repeat the success that Herapheri achieved.

Now the trio is back along with the same director in "De Dana Dan". The story is on a similar lines as Herapheri. Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty are friends and want to get rich as soon as possible otherwise their girlfriends would be forcibly married by their family to someone else. Their scheme of getting rich lands them in Pan Pacific Hotel where Paresh Rawal is trying to get his son Chunkey Pandey married with Sameera Reddy. Now starts the confusion of mistaken identity, lies and what not.
All the confusion reaches its summit and explodes in the end. The only regret i have is that the trio of Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty and Paresh Rawal doesn't feature even in one frame together. Crackling chemistry between these 3 actors in some scenes could have enhanced the impact of movie a lot more, the reason of it could be that Priyadarshan didn't wanted audiences to compare this movie to Herapheri.

First i would write about the bad parts which are not that many......there are some scenes where actors go overboard and the humor becomes slapstick to an extent that it leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Thankfully such scenes are not many. If a person is willing to put his brain to rest while watching it these scenes are also not bad. The pace of movie slackens a little bit at some places.

Now the good parts.....Akshay Kumar's comic timing is amazing. The chemistry between Sunil Shetty and Akshay Kumar is excellent. Paresh Rawal is nice in his role as a fraud business man. Other actors play their part well. Johnny Lever as a professional killer with his special solution that can make any person unconscious is funny. Rajpal Yadav who has become a permanent fixture of all Priyadarshan movies is impressive in his small role, he is funny as a foolish waiter. Katrina Kaif and Sameera Reddy are just there to soothe the eyes of audience. There are other supporting actors like Neha Dhupia, Archana Puran Singh, Asrani, Aditi Gowitrikar etc. who did justice with whatever they were given.

The amazing thing is that Priyadarshan has been able to manage all the commotion and confusion between all the characters. Its a big achievement to pull off this amazing feat while making people laugh hysterically. The one thing that went wrong was that Akshay Kumar was locked in a cupboard for around an hour. His presence was missed. Barring that drawback the movie was well handled.

Some people have criticized "De Dana Dan" for going overboard but for me this movie remains one of the better comedies i have seen in recent times. Its humor of a different kind and according to me it should appeal to masses. There were instances when i was laughing out loud hysterically and in some scenes i just couldn't stop laughing. If it was released before "Ajab Prem Ki Gajab Kahaani" and "All The Best" its box office collections would have been all the more. Nevertheless, i would recommend this movie to everyone. Don't miss this one, watch it and have a laugh!!!