sesht
From the director of 'Parinda', Vidhu Vinod Chopra. Based on a legend that is often considered a secondary tale to the grand Indian epic, 'The Mahabharata', or, in modern parlance, something I happen to agree with, a spin-off, of sorts, observing a character who could have played a major role in the epic itself, but was cut off, or not allowed in doing so, by the most revered person in society, even now - a teacher. However, other than the name, this particular tale has nothing in common with the epic spin-off, which was more about betrayal, and killing talent (imho), while this one, is about, sacrifice, something that has been highlighted in too many stories, and movies, to keep count. And yes, once again, it has been glorified. Nevertheless, it is in the telling of the tale, and drawing out effective performances, and constructing a few individual scenes, that this particular narrative succeeds. And the ensemble helps, big- time. Amitabh Bachchan. Saif Ali Khan.Both have been given enough material to showcase their respective talents, and they utilize the opportunity to the fullest extent possible. Watching them act, interact, is simply Magnificent. Sanjay Dutt - underused, and amazing at the same time. Like he's been in most movies where he's starred alongside the big B. Kaante, always comes to mind. Vidya Balan - underseen, and underused, though vital to the main plot. This was before she broke out, even though she did have the success of 'Parineeta', her debut, behind her. Parikshit Sahani - criminally underused in most of his movies, and yet, like he always does, rising to the occasion in this one, holding his own, like he's always done, opposite the big B, no mean feat that. The abruptness of the ending kind of takes away from most of the great ensemble scenes that play out before, including the twist of sorts (not really a twist in m opinion, but handled decently, almost expertly, in spite of the fact that the makers seem to think they have a bombshell, while, in reality, it does not pack as much a punch as they seemed to think it did, though, to be fair, it does not fizzle out). The scenes between Raima Sen and Saif Ali Khan are of a quality rarely seen in Hindi cinema, and it is a testament to the talent on display that I strongly feel (not just from Sen;s work here, but also in flicks like 'Honeymoon travels') that she has not yet received her due. Jackie Shroff, Jimmy Sheirgill and Boman Irani are fantastic, but once again, I strongly feel that they all could have done better with more scenes, more lines and better characterization, to their credit. Having said that, they literally come alive on the silver screen playing out what they've been given. Each and every scene they're in, quivers with amazing, resounding power. While I absolutely love the movie, and its 3rd act revelations, I strongly feel that the entire exercise is 1 wasted opportunity, for, with the talent assembled both behind and in-front-of the scenes, this could have been nothing short of an epic tale, almost with more than enough power to be comparable with the original Mahabharata. Pity. In spite of that, worth watching, even more than once. On the big screen, though unless it plays festivals or midnight showings, there's no chance nowadays. At the time it released, I felt this did not get much of a push from its distributors, or its marketing team, in spite of being made by a mainstream producer (Eros, I think). More's the pity.
kooleshwar
Vidhu Vinod Chopra has seemed to me in recent times to be a better film-marketer/producer than a film-maker, thanks to his marketing genius none of his recent films have ever received a low rating. Also he has a great eye for untapped potential (backing the likes of Saif , Nana Patekar, Vidya Balan when they were around but never stars and Sanjay Dutt who was giving one flop after the other till Munnabhai came along).His weakest movies are the ones which involve stars at the top (mission Kashmir, 1942 ) and Eklavya suffers from the same fate.Now if we consider this movie like an Auto-rickshaw (for the uninitiated it has 3 wheels) then ...THE REAR WHEEL.The first thing that struck me and everyone else too was the fabulous cinematography, its easily one of the most visually pleasing movies to come out in recent times, but is the effort really that good Rajasthan is one (if not the) of the most beautiful places in India, anyone who has visited will tell you that its any camera lovers nightmare as you can easily polish of a reel or 2 in a day even ordinary photographs of the palaces look spectacular, in any case this movie is my candidate for cinematography next year.Technically in all aspects to this movie is extremely sound with great sound, computer graphics, etc.The editing is slightly patchy but I don't think that has anything to do with the editor.So on the all important Technical Aspects this film is near perfect and like brand new, perfectly balanced wheel and tyre.THE OTHER REAR WHEEL.The acting in this movie is superb all around, there were a couple of scenes that were over-acted, but other that everyone including Boman, Amitabh, Saif were great.Special mention to Jackie who despite being a mighty fine actor and looker has been reduced to character roles, I really wish he goes back to playing a more central character in films.A wheels go this one is like the most expensive alloy wheel with run-flat tyres even.THE FRONT WHEEL.Anyone who experienced punctures in a four wheeler will tell you that a puncture in any of the front tyres will immediately affect your car while a car may go on four kilometers with a rear flat.If a movie is to be compared to an auto-rickshaw this spot will definitely go to the script.And this tyre (script) has not deflated but burst.The characters are so badly written that in the end you have nothing but contempt for all of them, you actually end up feeling bad for the so called bad guys,THIS MOVIE IS LIKE A SLAP IN THE FACE OF THE CONCEPT BEHIND ADOPTION.There is so little content in the film that even the extremely short film (by Indian standards) of 105 minutes seems like running forever, to add to it there are a number of over the top scenes (no fault of the actors), including the choking scene (at first I thought I had the dirty mind), and the Sholay scene.Picking out faults in the script and the plot will take days, even if you are able to digest AMITABH BACHANS SUPERHUMAN POWERS.THE RESULT Is exactly like what it would be if one the tyres of your rickshaw were to burst and had no other option but to ride it out till the end of your journey.Your trip would be a slow excruciating one once the tyre burst and would involve frequent veering of the course.You sat in a mighty fine rickshaw that looked superb (thanks to the cast), was famous (thanks to the Bentleys given as gifts), had a great engine (some of the names besides vidhu in the film crew have great talent), had great wheels, BUT HAD BAD MUSIC.But halfway through the ride you realise that your tyre has burst you have no spare and you have no option but to continue on the slow bumpy ride, the only consolation being that the ride is not long as you expect.Only recommended if you are a big fan of amitabh, bored, and willing to watch a movie that has lots of glitz and glam but no substance.Watching the matinée on screen is recommended to enjoy the visuals,a large screen TV (on DVD) will just about do but cable is a no-no.I for one would not encourage that we fall pray to such gimmicks and encourage more ordinary films in India.+s FINALLY AN ORIGINAL FILM +1 FOR THAT ONLY, SUPERB ACTING, SUPERB TECHNICALLY,short length.+/-s only one or 2 songs, hardly any romance.-s EXTREMELY WEAK SCRIPT AND RELATED ASPECTS (plot holes, super amitabh, predictable, some over the top scenes etc etc).total 5/10 (includes one for originality 2 each for acting and technical aspects didn't minus marks because after an hour i knew i was screwed but had enjoyed the movie till then plus this movie has many scenes that looked great and even though they were low on content managed to hold your attention)
