DHOBI GHAT review: Half - Slice of life cinema

A lazy weekend hello, frEek fellows!

Slice-of-life-cinema, in bollywood has tilted from the extremely schmaltzy genre such as "Life in a Metro" to the gut-wrenching such as "Mumbai Meri Jaan". Kiran "Mrs. Aamir" Rao's directorial debut, "Dhobi Ghaat" promises to be a slice-of-Mumbai-life film like no other. Does it deliver, or does it end up getting "washed up" (Dhobi...washed? get it?). Read on to find out:

Woh Dekh...Critics Award!!

What it is: Dhobi Ghaat, apollogetically publicised as the "the movie without an interval" tells the tale of a reclusive, divorced painter; Arun (Aamir Khan), a slum-teen; Munna (Prateik Babbar) who makes a living doing odd jobs from a Dhobi during the day, to a rat-catcher at night, and an NRI expat; Shai (Monica Dogra) who is on sabbatical in India. In very subtle strokes of circumstance, these characters from differing aspects of life are thrown together. Thrown together in this mix, is the video footage of Yasmin Noor (Kirti Malhotra); which Arun accidentally discovers and becomes intrigued with.

What works: Steering away from the above mentioned cliches, Dhobi Ghaat uses that long lost art of subtlety in telling its tale; Aamir Khan, known for his larger than life portrayals (Lagaan, Mangal Pandey, Ghajini) is refreshing in the role of the reclusive, temperamental artist. Monica Dogra displays earnestness, but the undisputed scene-stealer is Prateik; in his role as the odd-job Munna who lives in a shanty near the railway tracks, but earnestly harbours dreams of being a movie star.

What Doesn't: No Munni, No Sheila, No Interval: NO WAY!!

Rang De Basanti!!

Verdict: Shahrukh Khan in Om Shanti Om delivers a line which goes "Kahani ke end tak sab kuch theek ho jataa hai." Audiences in Bollywood are habituated to seeing a logical (mostly happy) end to their characters. Dhobi Ghaat steers away from this and other from melodramatic cliches, does a brilliant job in character study; while standard Bollywood characters are painted in borad strokes of black or white; Dhobi Ghaat allows each of its characters to display a wide range of emotions - and this is probably its greatest success.

DABANGG - Return of the Man!!!

A Macho hello, freEk fellows!

Wet N' Wild Sallu!

For years, Bollywood cinema was dominated by stock character, the gareeb gaon ki gori, the evil (rich) zamindar/thakur/neta and of course the macho, boorish hero..who smashed the evil zamindar and swooped away the lovely gori all in a days work. When the Johars and Chopras of the world intervened and Bollywood shifted its focus to NRI cinema, where men in Armani wooed women in Gucci and the village background was replaced by the Golden Gate/Venice/Eiffel Tower etc. Finally, after what seems like an eternity, Abhinav Kashyap's "Dabangg" threatens to return the macho hero of yore to his throne in Bollywood; does it succeed? read on...
What works: Dabangg is a rehash of the old gaon-in-distress story that Bollywood overkilled in the 70s-80s. Salman Khan plays Chulbul Pandey a boorish corrupt yet lovable cop who doesn't mind doing his job, as long he gets to make some moolah on the side. A misunderstanding leads to Chulbul seperating from his brother Makhanchand (Arbaaz Khan) and step father Prajapati (Vinod Khanna). Chulbul is also at loggerheads with Chedi Singh played by Sonu Sood. To add some meetha to this masala mix, walks in Rajjo (Sonakshi Sinha) to steal Chulbul's heart. While the plot is nothing new, its the little details that make this movie special. Chedi carries with him in his entourage a photographer, to capture his exploits! Chulbul manages to a dance sequence while bashing goons to a pulp! and yes, Sallu's bhabhi; the sizzling Malaika drops in to gyrate for the new national anthem.."Munni Badnaam"!

Bhala Mera cleavage, aapke cleavage se zyada kaise??

What Doesn't: The plot is old wine, in an older bottle, and actors such as Anupam Kher, Om Puri and Mahi Gill are wasted in slightly incosequential roles. But hey, I am just nitpicking here!

Verdict: Dabangg, rises over the maar-dhaad movies of yore due to one factor, and one factor alone: SALMAN KHAN! Sallu who previously portrayed the muscled buffoon in movies such as Wanted takes Chulbul Pandey a step further, from his tongue in cheek dailogue to his rippling muscles, he brings to screen a character worth remembering for a long time ( seriously in the recent past, after Munnabhai, which other Bollywood character is worth remembering?). The over the top action sequences ( apparently as much time was spent shooting them as a regular movie) and the pulsating movie add to this maar-dhaad-pyaar-vyaar-khichdi! Southern India always acclaimed Rajni as the king of the over the top films, where the hero performs superhuman stunts, passes ribald dialogue and has a laugh with the audience in doing so; with Dabangg, Bollywood has a Rajni of its own!! Critics always complained about Salman's lack of acting skills that put him notches below the acclaimed Aamir Khan, with Dabangg, Salman proves to the world, he may not be much of an actor, but he is the STAR!!

extra frEeky: I have a feeling Dabangg 2 will be upon us soon!!

Movie Review: Star Trek...The Adventure Begins!

STAR TREK - THE ADVENTURE BEGINS!

Hello, fellow frEEklings!

Following the legendary run of the first Star Trek series (now enjoying its billionth re-run at a local cable channel near you), Gene Rodenberry's sci-fi saga kept being stretched, molded into makes, remakes and increasingly bad motion pictures.

If my cob-webbed memory serves me correctly, the fanboys through several online petitions made it clear, that they only way they would be interested in another Star-Trek spinoff, is if it would involve the shenanigans of the original crew onboard the USS Enterprise, yes. Capt. James T. Kirk and his rag-tag crew.

Few and cherished are those moments, when us fan-freeks get exactly what they ask, and so don your freeksuits one more time and set your phasers to stun as we launch into hyperdrive, to review the revamp of perhaps the greatest sci-fi saga ever (yes, excluding star-wars).


Behind The Scenes: J.J. Abrams, who helms this current revamp of Star-Trek has well established his skill at interweaving terse human drama with thrilling action sequences in outings such as the Alias series, Cloverfield and of course the under-rated Mission Impossible III. Adding further to the fan-frenzy was the addition of Zachary Quinto (of the t.v. series HEROES fame) as Spock - due to his uncanny resemblance to Leonard Nimoy (who played Spock in the original series). The icing cake was the 150 million dollar budget that the studios had shelled out for this flick. Ever since the first trailer leaked on to the net, fan-freeks had been salivating with glee!!

The Plot: If you really haven't heard about Star Trek until now, well umm.. wow!!

The Yaays: Fan-freeks can relax, the series is in safe hands (read: a lot more sequels can be expected!) What really impressed me, are the subtle references that J.J. Abrams makes to the tone and mood of the original 70s star show, from young Kirk's introduction in a vintage (70s style car) to an old industrial setting where we get to see the birth of the USS Enterprise; the movie successfully in rekindling the kitsch that made it so popular in the first place.
Freeks would remember the unabashed racial stereotypes employed in the original series such as the befuddled Scottish engineer conviniently called "Scotty" , now portrayed aptly by funnyman Simon Pegg, the sultry african communications officer "Lt. "Uhura" played ever so sultrily again, by Zoe Saldana. Of particular note, is the otherwise b-movie actor Karl Urban in his portrayal of the neurotic ship's doctor "Bones" McCoy legendary for his quip "I'm a doctor Jim, not a magician!"; Ubran brings a wonderful insanity to this paranoid doctor who accompanies the crew in its myriad expeditions.

Kirk (Chris pine) takes Command!

What particularly stands out is the sizzling chemistry between the cavalier Kirk (Chris Pine) and the zen-like Spock (Zachary Quinto) the two actors are worthy successors to the legendary roles that they have stepped in to fill.
and yes, true-blue Fan-freeks will recognize the sly reference made to Capt Kirk's raging libido (which was one of the running gags in the television series!).

the Naays:
The Battle scenes, in this movie, are of truly inter-galactic proportions, and while that's a good thing (if you're a 15 year old) it take a bit away from the main plot-line, the space-chases, exoplosions and myriad boom-bangs make you appreciate where the largesse of the movie's budget has gone, but you keep wishing for more drama quotient. Also, the time-travelling story-line without giving too much away comes across as a very convenient device to create plot twists - and hopes it is used to limited effect in forthcoming sequels.

Eric Bana - as NERO

Lastly, the previous Star-Trek series have thrown up some worthy villains for our crew to battle, and sadly Nero played by Eric Bana, does not match upto the best of them. But really folks, I am nitpicking here, these are but minor flaws in perhaps the most enjoyable movie of the year so far!

the Verdict:
/5

a solid 4 /5 frEEkies!!! LET THE SPACE OPERA BEGIN!!