Bollywood Adda

Cast: Abhay Deol, Paresh Rawal, Neetu Chandra, Richa Chadda, Manu Rishi, Archana Puran Singh, Manjot Singh

Direction: Dibakar Banerjee

Most good films will engage you with their characters and their drama, but how many can claim to challenge you at the same time? Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, directed by Dibakar Banerjee, is a film that keeps you on your toes; it’s a film that never spoon-feeds you, instead expects you to read between the lines, to fill in the gaps for yourself, and to decode the subtext. It’s true, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye is the kind of film that expects as much of its audience as its audience expects of the film.

On the surface, it’s the story of a small-time Delhi crook and his rise to infamy and faux celebrity – much like Catch Me If You Can – but look closer and you’ll notice all the layers. It’s a film about wanting to belong, a film about the inter-class divide, and about shifting family dynamics.

Always getting on the wrong side of his father, and never quite able to fit in with the cool ‘English medium’ kids who drive fancy cars, Lucky Singh (played by Manjot Singh as a teenager and by Abhay Deol as an adult) finds himself drawn to petty crime so he can afford the lifestyle he’s always wanted. Working with his childhood friend Bangali, Lucky swipes everything from television sets and Mercedes to tennis rackets, violins and even a Pomeranian dog from the residents of Delhi’s posh colonies. But here’s what separates him from your ordinary chor-uchakka – Lucky does it with style, with flair, with a smile and with the ease of a magician. Lucky, you see is the most charming guy you’ll ever meet.

The thing is much of the film’s second act gets repetitive as scene after scene you must watch Lucky slip into people’s homes and walk out moments later with so much loot. His modus operandi is way too simple to be believable – the same trick can’t possibly work all the time, and the director doesn’t bother to show us exactly how Lucky keeps up his game even after his notoriety has spread.

What’s more the Gogabhai track involving Paresh Rawal as the sleazy black-marketeer is over-indulgent to say the least. Too much time and footage is spent establishing Gogabhai’s character and his business relationship with Lucky – as a result much of the film’s middle portion seems to go around in circles, unnecessarily adding to its length.

The writing, in all fairness, is much sharper when it comes to bringing Delhi and its characters to the screen. Director Dibakar Banerjee’s Delhi isn’t the Delhi you see in most Hindi films, none of the usual clichés – no India Gate and Qutub Minar – it’s the Delhi you’d know if you’ve lived there. It’s the Delhi he knows inside out, complete with smarmy restaurant waiters who size you up in an instant, and shrewd housewives who make you their brother and emotionally blackmail you into investing in their husband’s business plan. Much like his last film Khosla Ka Ghosla, the heart of Oye Lucky Lucky Oye lies in its colorful characters.

Abandoning the conventional formula of throwing in a comedian to provide the laughs, Banerjee packs the film with humor that arises out of everyday characters and seemingly normal situations. Like the scene in which the mother of Lucky’s fiancée pesters him to bring home a toaster because her husband likes his bread hot and smoothly buttered. Or the scene at the breakfast table in which the same lady alternates her attention between her two sons-in-law on the basis of which one seems more financially promising. The jokes in Oye Lucky Lucky Oye fly at you from all directions, and they seldom fail because in most cases the characters aren’t in on the joke.

Assembling a rock-solid cast of actors who seem to effortlessly inhabit their roles, the director strikes gold with his supporting players too. Manu Rishi as Lucky’s partner Bangali is a revelation, as is Richa Chadda playing Dolly, the starlet in Gogabhai’s music troupe. Archana Puran Singh nails it as Dr Handa’s crafty wife, and Neetu Chandra hits the perfect note as Lucky’s love interest Sonal.

Paresh Rawal delivers all the right ticks and quirks to separate each of the three characters he plays in the film – Lucky’s irritable father, the shady Gogabhai, and the opportunistic veterinarian Dr Handa. The director never reveals why he casts the same actor for all three roles; like I explained earlier, it’s one of those things he expects you to figure out for yourself. Not that’s it some puzzle really. If you consider the role each of the three different characters plays in Lucky’s life and the feeling they leave him with eventually, you will immediately understand why it made perfectly good sense for the same actor to play all three parts.

As Lucky, the acting honours are shared between Manjot Singh and Abhay Deol who play the same person at different ages. Unfamiliar to us movie-regulars, Singh makes a lasting impression as the sharp-witted hero, investing in him a boyish charm which Deol then exploits with full-blown impact. Abhay Deol, in fact infuses bagfuls of likability and a hint of sadness into the part, making Lucky a victim even when he’s actually the criminal of the piece.

Again, if you’re wondering why the younger Lucky wears a turban and the older one does not, don’t expect any answers from the director. Think about it yourself.

Come on, you’d expect a thief to be inconspicuous, wouldn’t you?

Aided by a catchy soundtrack, unflashy-but-intuitive camerawork, and remarkable production design, director Dibakar Banerjee creates a picture that is enthralling for the most part. The loose ends in the screenplay aside, this is a warm and welcoming film.

I’m going with three out of five for Oye Lucky Lucky Oye. Watch it because it’s a film that respects your intelligence. And films like that are hard to find.

Rating: 3 / 5 (Good)

Filmmaker Shyam Benegal's Welcome To Sajjanpur is not only one of the best films of this year, it's among the finest films you'll see in a long time. It is on the one hand, a humorous portrait of life in a small village in northern India; and on the other an honest exploration of human personalities.

It's also a remarkably progressive film that makes many important points, but does so subtly and intelligently, never beating its chest about it. ((pause)) With "Sajjanpur" Benegal proves once again that a simple plot with interesting characters is all it takes to engage an audience. Benegal is familiar with his milieu and understands his characters and their motivations intricately.

Shreyas Talpade plays Mahadev, one of the few literates in Sajjanpur, who makes a living writing letters for those who can't read and write themselves. For anything between fifty paise and two rupees, he'll dash off whatever communication the village folk urge him to.

For the compounder at the local dispensary who's besotted by a young widow, Mahadev writes a rousing love-note; for an elderly woman convinced her daughter's stars aren't quite in order he writes letters to her trusted astrologer enquiring how to ward off evil spirits; for a eunuch who's preparing to contest the village elections he scribbles off an impassioned plea for protection. His knack with words and his skill at writing persuasive letters makes him particularly popular with his neighbors.

When his childhood crush Kamla (played by Amrita Rao) approaches him to write to her husband in the city to communicate her frustration about being away from him so long, Mahadev lets his feelings for her get in the way. He manipulates the communication both ways in the hope of breaking up the couple and winning her heart himself.

Welcome To Sajjanpur is a placid film, not plot-driven but centred on the emotional journey of its characters. And what a colorful palette of characters Benegal serves up - the hassled 'mousi ' who cries through her nose, her headstrong scooter-riding daughter, the snake-charmer who carries around a rubber cobra, even the gangster-like politicians. It's evident that the director has nothing but affection for his characters, even the darker ones get their moments to shine. At the core of the drama, of course, is Mahadev.

Sometimes a character in a movie inhabits his world so freely, so easily that he creates it for us as well. Shreyas Talpade does that in Welcome To Sajjanpur, as the kind-hearted fellow who writes for free for those who can't afford to pay him, also the sly chap who plots to snatch his sweetheart from her absent husband. Benegal's protagonists are seldom black or white, and Mahadev can't be saddled with those labels either. He's a good man, but a little selfish. Not very different from any of us.

Welcome To Sajjanpur is one of Benegal's most evocative films, what a fine job he does of lacing it with social consciousness. The film dwells on relevant issues like widow remarriage, caste politics and superstition, but it's weaved intrinsically into the film's plot.

In this day of slapstick senseless comedy, Benegal delivers a film that's both witty and wise, and he's aided by a terrific cast that doesn't miss a beat. Divya Dutta, Rajeshwari Sachdev, Yashpal Sharma, Ravi Kissen, Ila Arun, every single one of them is in superb form. Amrita Rao is terrific as the conflicted, suffering bride, and Shreyas Talpade turns in a career-best performance as Mahadev. Watch him in that scene in which he's reading the letter Kamla's husband has sent to her in the end -- that is what you call an actor.

If Sajjanpur falters, it's in the length department. The film could have easily done with fewer songs, even though Shantanu Moitra's score is refreshingly wholesome.

In the end, the movie is a beautiful, complete, moving experience, and years from now will be regarded as one of Benegal's most layered films. I'm going with four of out five and two big thumbs up for Shyam Benegal's Welcome To Sajjanpur. It's a sweet, simple story of life in a village, a bittersweet tale of human frailties, a small film with a very big heart. Watch it because gems like these are hard to find.

Rating: 4 / 5 (Very Good)

by ibnlive.com

It's difficult to explain just how good A Wednesday is without giving away too much about the film. Because believe me, it's a film best seen without any impressions. It's a film whose charm lies in its unraveling.

The film stars Anupam Kher as Mumbai's Police Commissioner Prakash Rathore who receives a phone call from an anonymous person (played by Naseeruddin Shah) demanding the release of four militants, failing which he threatens to set off a series of bombs across the city.

The veracity of the caller's claims is confirmed when he leads the cops to a bomb he has already planted in a nearby police station. Unable to trace the caller or his location, the authorities decide to hand over the militants instead of watching Mumbai burn.

Written and directed by Neeraj Pandey, A Wednesday is an engaging thriller with a twist that's more dramatic and unpredictable than anything you're likely to imagine.

Films about terrorists holding a city to ransom aren't new. It's a theme that's been exploited many times over in the movies, especially in standard Hollywood action films like the Die Hard series.

What elevates A Wednesday from your average action thriller is the fact that it comes loaded with a very solid ideology - there's more to this film than just a race against time to save a city. It's well-intended and makes its point emphatically.

Dissecting the film in further detail would amount to giving away too much, and that's a crime you don't want me to commit. A Wednesday may not be a perfect film - there are clichés that could have been easily avoided, and you may or may not agree with the moral decision in the end - but the film still makes a very important point, and does it bravely, so you're willing to overlook its handful of flaws.

The director assembles an ensemble of fine actors who perform their roles competently - Anupam Kher as the conflicted Commissioner, Naseeruddin Shah as the anonymous caller, Aamir Bashir as one of the two younger cops assigned the job of transporting the militants to the designated spot, and finally Jimmy Shergill as the other young cop, hot-blooded and impulsive.

It's Shergill who shines in this film with a performance that is measured and meticulous. It's the most 'showy' of all roles in this film and the other actors allow Shergill to steal the film. Meanwhile, Naseeruddin Shah's greatness as an actor is evident just in the manner in which he doesn't draw any special attention to his performance even though he's the film's most central character.

The real hero of A Wednesday however, is writer-director Neeraj Pandey who makes an assured, confident debut with a film that truly pushes the envelope. I'm going with four out of five for A Wednesday, it's a film you'll find hard to get out of your head days after you've left the cinema. At last a film that has the power to change how we look at the world.

Rating: 4 / 5 (Very Good)

by ibnlive.com

Cast: Harman Baweja, Priyanka Chopra, Boman Irani

Director: Harry Baweja

There is no easy way to put this so I'm just going to come out and say it — Love Story 2050 is a film so preposterous, it makes you want to round up the people associated with it and flog them publicly till they apologise for wasting your time and for burning up good money making this trash.

The movie kicks off in present day Adeleide where Karan (Harman Baweja) falls head over heels in love with Sanaa (Priyanka Chopra) the moment he sees her chasing butterflies in a park. An hour of childish wooing and many songs later she returns the sentiment, but is killed by a speeding truck when she's crossing the road with an ice cream. Such a scream!

Unable to put up with his whining, Karan's maama, mad scientist Uncle Ya (Boman Irani) cranks up his time machine and takes off with Karan for a trip into the future. For some strange reason that I can't be bothered to explain, they're convinced Sanaa is alive and well in Mumbai 2050.

Once there in the land of flying cars, virtual maids and robot sidekicks, Karan tracks down Zeisha, an international pop star, who's a dead ringer for his dead girlfriend. Showing up everywhere she's scheduled to be — from her mid-air pop concert and a meet-and-greet fan event to her ridiculous Xbox gaming session — Karan stalks Zeisha like an obsessed teenager and doesn't give up till he convinces her she's his sweetheart from another time zone, and takes her back to present day.

Somewhere in the middle of all this, there's also a Darth Vader-like villain (complete with black cape, silly mask and heavy breathing voice) who's got his eyes on the mad scientist's time machine, and won't give up till he's chased our protagonists through this special effects-heavy futuristic city.

Sitting in the cinema watching Love Story 2050, you realise you're watching something historic — a film that for years to come will be the punch line of jokes about bad movies. A film people will use as a benchmark to compare other bad movies. After all, it's that rare breed of film that gets almost nothing right — starting from a script that's part-predictable-part-gobbledygook, direction that is surprisingly conspicuous by its absence, and acting that is so amateurish you want to admit them all into Kishore Namit Kapoor classes.

The special effects aren't half bad, to be honest, but director Harry Baweja is so clearly out of his depth in the sci-fi department that he manages to misuse even those. Unable to integrate them intelligently into the script, I can literally see him in front of the computer screaming, "More, I want more" to his effects guys, making sure his every frame is littered with effects even if they seem to make little sense in the context of the story.

Love Story 2050 is a love-story after all, and an insipid, passionless one at that. The leads share no chemistry whatsoever, and their innumerable love songs only slacken the pace of this film, which hobbles along punishing, clocking in at three monstrously long hours.

Boman Irani hams it up as the mad scientist maama, and Priyanka Chopra pouts and preens and flutters her eyelashes, she's earnest too but fails to inspire either affection or sympathy. The crippling blow, however, comes in the form of the film's hero, newcomer Harman Baweja who is so busy trying to look, sound, dance and fight like Hrithik Roshan that we get no glimpse at all of Harman himself.

I'm tempted to use that inevitable line — the robots in the film perform better than the actors — but no, that's not true. I believe they're merchandising scale versions of Boo and Q2, the film's two robotic characters and I'm considering buying them just so I can smash them into pieces for being the most annoying sidekicks on screen since Jar Jar Binks.

If there's one thing the film succeeds in doing, it's in uniting the audience in their relief as they step out of the cinema. Coming out of the film you feel like prisoners of war who've finally been let out of concentration camp.

For the halfway decent special effects and the sheer courage to embark on this impossible moviemaking mission, I'll go with one out of five for director Harry Baweja's Love Story 2050, go in with no expectations at all and you'll still come out disappointed.

Rating: 1 / 5 (Poor)

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Cast: Imran Khan, Genelia D’souza, Ratna Pathak Shah

Director: Abbas Tyrewala

Even before I'm ready to share my views with you on Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, I have A question to ask: Is it unfair to go into a film with a certain level of expectation, especially when the film's been made by someone whose work you have always admired? If it is indeed unfair, then forgive me Abbas, for I have sinned.

But if I'm allowed to expect clever writing, an original screenplay, fleshed-out characters and a fresh plot from the writer of such gems as Maqbool, Munnabhai MBBS and Main Hoon Na, then perhaps you will understand why Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na was a letdown for me.

Don't get me wrong; I wasn't expecting another Maqbool or a Munnabhai from Jaane Tu. It promised to be a light-hearted romance and that's exactly what I went in to see. But a light-hearted romance from Abbas Tyrewala — the original, imaginative, inspired writer of those afore-mentioned films.

Tired of everyone misunderstanding their strictly platonic friendship for love, 20-year-olds Jai and Aditi (that's Imran Khan and Genelia D'souza) decide they must find each other suitable romantic partners who aren't threatened by the closeness the two of them share. Little do they realise however, that what they feel for each other is indeed love — it's a reality that dawns upon them later when they're with other partners.

Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na plays out as a predictable Bollywood love story, sticking faithfully to old formulas, even culminating in that now obligatory airport climax. As far as the film's plot is concerned, there's very little that's original. Jaane Tu is not your traditional plot-driven film.

It is, in fact, a film propelled by its characters and their motivations, much like Dil Chahta Hai in a sense, but without the emotional depth of that film.

The characters in Jaane Tu are all cool, light and easy. So cool in fact, that they sometimes come off looking silly. Am I really being unreasonable if I can't understand why Abbas would give us such stereotypes as the gujju in the group — Jignes(h), or the fat sulky one who can't stop whining? Is it really my fault if I'm surprised a writer of Abbas' calibre wrote that ridiculous opening scene in which a group of 20-year-olds sit around in white and deliver sentimental soliloquies for their friend's dead cat? Is it really my fault if I expected a fresh take on love, if I was hoping Jai and Aditi would realise their love for each other, but not because they realized their previous partners were such idiots? Did it have to be so simplistic; did it have to be so clichéd? Indeed it's the silliness in the writing that is my biggest grouse against this film.

Silliness aside, at its heart, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na is a refreshing film. Refreshing because of its spectacular performances. Refreshing because of A R Rahman's outstanding soundtrack. Refreshing because the film's actors look like they actually enjoyed making this film. And refreshing because sitting there watching the film, you can't help feeling very old.

For every Jayant Kriplani, Anooradha Patel, Rajat Kapur and Kitu Gidwani that Abbas has wasted in this film as mere caricatures, he's given us the spirited and feisty Ratna Pathak-Shah, the brooding and brilliant Prateik Babbar, the luminous Manjari Phadnis, and then those three cameos.

The dead parent in the photo-frame may be an old plot-device (as old as Hum Paanch on TV), but it's a stroke of genius on Abbas' part how he ties it up so smartly in this film. Also the horsemen — at first such a harebrained and pointless idea, but so cleverly incorporated in the narrative.

So there, that's the Abbas I was looking for from the start of the film, but truth is, these masterstrokes are few and far between. The film battles between cutesy and clever. And cutesy wins over clever.

The only good thing that comes out of that is the electrifying chemistry we get between Imran and Genelia who literally bounce off each other and keep you spellbound when they're on screen, even in the film's dullest scenes.

Genelia is what I'd call a pathaka — she's spontaneous and sparkling. And Imran is the best young actor we've seen on screen for months. He's unconventional and vulnerable and he knows how to use both to make a lasting impression.

Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na is not one of my favourite films this year, far from it. But it's a respectable first film for any director. Even if one expects more from this one. It is, then, at best an above-average film, but since you won't find any half-stars from me, I'm going to go with an average rating — that's two out of five for Abbas Tyrewala's Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na.

But make sure you watch it. Watch it for some sparkling dialogue, some fantastic music, but most of all, watch it for Imran and Genelia who conceal the film's many flaws.

Rating: 2 / 5 (Average)

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Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukherji, Amisha Patel

Director: Kunal Kohli

In director Kunal Kohli's Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic, four kids who have lost their parents in a road accident are packed off to live with the man responsible for their parents' death. Saif Ali Khan plays Ranbir Talwar the hard-nosed businessman who opens his home to the kids, but can't seem to reach out to them emotionally.

Meanwhile, the kids determined to seek revenge on Ranbir for orphaning them, decide to make his every waking moment a living hell. To help the kids deal with their grief, and to help Ranbir deal with the kids, God (played by Rishi Kapoor in an all-white ensemble, a French-beard and slicked-back hair) picks out his most spirited angel Geeta (Rani Mukherji, that is) and summons her to set things right in that house.

Thrilled to land this assignment, Geeta shows up at the Talwar residence as the kids' new nanny and with the help of a little love and a dash of magic, repairs the relationship between Ranbir and the kids, and brings them together as a family.

Simplistic in its premise and basic in its treatment, Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic is what you could call a 'by-the-book' children's film. It's predictable every step of the way, but it's still an easy watch because the kids at the centre of this story are so endearing, they suck you into their story even though their story itself doesn't throw up any surprises.

The gags are old-fashioned, and the special effects rather ordinary, but despite the shortcomings the film works because it's never contrived. Sure it tends to get preachy at times, but Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic has its heart in the right place. And in this age of such mindless children's entertainment as violence-themed videogames and comedies filled with sexual innuendo, a simple good-natured morality tale is not such a bad thing after all.

What Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic could have done without, is that inappropriate Lazy Lamhe song with the camera lingering lovingly on Ameesha Patel's every curve.

Also the film overstays its welcome when it drudges on for a good 15 minutes after the kids have resolved their issues with Ranbir Talwar. The romantic track between Ranbir and Geeta seems obligatory at best, and it doesn't help that Saif and Rani have zero chemistry together.

Of the cast, Rishi Kapoor is wasted as the Lord up there, saddled with a role he can't seem to make head nor tail of, drifting through his lines mechanically. Heaven too, seems like an odd place, populated as it is by angels who behave more like witches, bickering and bitching each other out.

Surprise, surprise, Amisha Patel is spot-on as Ranbir's bimbo girlfriend, stealing every scene that she's in.

Meanwhile, Rani Mukherji as Geeta is surprisingly a little out of form. But that has more to do with her poorly written role than it does with Rani's at-best-satisfactory performance. It's a shame, the writers fail to exploit the actress' natural charm and invest some of that charm into her role.

Saif Ali Khan slips naturally into the role of the nostril-flaring Ranbir Talwar. Saif invests sincerity in his character, making him vulnerable and endearing.

But Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic is about the children, and the actors in those roles perform exceptionally. All four kids play their parts convincingly, and for a film about kids pestering the living daylights of a grown man, surprisingly you never once want to wring their necks.

Of the four child actors, I have to single out little Rachit Sidana who plays Sardar kid Iqbal – he is so adorable, so fragile, your heart goes out to him spontaneously.

Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic is not great cinema, but it's a completely watchable children's film. As a movie it's just about average, but bonus points for the kids who keep your interest alive throughout.

I'm going to be a little generous here, I'm going to go with three out of five for director Kunal Kohli's Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic. This one's strictly for the kids, it's an enjoyable one-time watch, you won't complain.

Rating: 3 / 5 (Good)

Seldom have I seen as confident and competent a first-film as Aamir. It's a tight little thriller that sucks you into its drama less than five minutes into the film and keeps you hooked till the end credits roll.

Television's wonder-boy Rajeev Khandelwal stars as Aamir, a Muslim doctor returning to Mumbai after a stint in the UK, who finds his life turned upside down from the moment he steps out of the airport. A stranger slips him a mobile phone and a voice at the other end threatens to kill his family if he doesn't follow instructions. From confusion, to shock, to fear, to anger, Aamir goes through all the motions as he follows the voice that leads him in and out of Mumbai's impoverished neighborhoods to have his nose rubbed in the stink and the poverty of the life he abandoned for the comforts of the West. As the voice on the phone leads him through a series of increasingly dangerous errands, it becomes clear what the caller's agenda is. In one last fateful instruction, Aamir is given the grim choice of carrying out a terrorist act or losing his family forever.



Skillfully directed by debutant Rajkumar Gupta from a story that sounds suspiciously similar to that of the Filipino film Cavite, Aamir works because it's filmed documentary-style, creating a breathless, urgent tempo, transporting the audience out there where the action is, side-by-side with the protagonist.

The film's only weak link, is the absence of any convincing explanation why Aamir and not anyone else in similar conditions was singled out for this operation. In fact, you'll find that little detail is satisfactorily handled in Cavite where there's a very specific back-story behind the selection of that particular protagonist. Also despite its running time of only 90 minutes, Aamir does, in a few places, tend to get repetitive and loose. But for the most part the film moves at a brisk pace, never really deviating from its thriller format.

The success and the impact of a film of this nature depends greatly on the credibility and the performance of its protagonist who occupies virtually every frame of the film from start to finish. In Rajeev Khandelwal, the filmmakers have found the perfect man for the job. Uninhibited, spontaneous and blessed with unmistakable presence, Khandelwal holds the screen like a seasoned artist. Using his face as a canvas to display emotions, he emerges the biggest strength of this little film.

More relevant to an Indian audience than Phone Booth or Cellular, two popular Hollywood films with a similar premise, Aamir has a moral core that will no doubt resonate with discerning viewers.

I'm going to go with three out of five and a thumbs up for Aamir, it's a remarkable film that you mustn't miss if you're tired of all the mindless entertainment that's hurled at you week after week at the movies. And Rajkumar Gupta is a director to look out for.

Rating: 3 / 5 (Good)

Ram Gopal Varma's Sarkar Raj is a gabfest. There's really no other way to describe this film — it's all talk and very little action. And excessive talk seldom makes for exciting viewing.

Intended no doubt to be an intense political drama, Sarkar Raj is sadly not a patch on Varma's original film Sarkar, of which this one is nothing but a watered down sequel. The Nagres, when they were first introduced to us in the 2005 film, were an uber-powerful family whose patriarch Subhash Nagre (or Sarkar as we came to know him) was a mafioso with a righteous streak. Pilfered from the plot of Coppola's Godfather, Varma's previous film ended with Sarkar's younger son Shankar following in the footsteps of his father. A US-educated lad who reluctantly embraces his destiny and joins in the family business so to speak.

It was a dramatic film, remarkably enacted by both Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan, and one that left a lasting impression. Sarkar Raj doesn't have either the dramatic tone of the first film, nor a premise that's particularly engaging.

Despite his reservations, Subhash Nagre gives his beta a nod of approval when Shankar convinces him that a power plant project in rural Maharashtra will benefit the state and its people. Teaming up with an NRI corporate head, Shankar takes to the villages to gather support from the masses. Unfortunately for the Nagres, things don't go quite as smoothly as they'd hoped. Too many parties have too many interests and as a result, this project becomes something of a political minefield.

To be entirely fair, Sarkar Raj is not a bad film, it's just not good. There's little in the plot that's original or imaginative, and it doesn't help that Varma lazily shoots his sequel exactly the same way as he did the first film, complete with lighting tricks and booming theme music. The problem here is Varma's characters. Amitabh Bachchan plays Sarkar as a sort of preachy grandfather who's dripping words of wisdom everytime he thinks Shankar may be taking a wrong step. You might remember, much of the reason why Sarkar appealed to us so much in the first film was because he was a man of a few words. A man whose silences said so much. In this film, you long for him to be silent — if only for a few moments. Abhishek Bachchan, meanwhile, as Shankar Nagre, bears a pained expression throughout the film and does little else. As the corporate head who proposes the power plant to Shankar, Aishwarya Rai is restrained and stays within character for the most part.

The biggest blow comes in the form of the film's drudging pace. It's only two hours and a few minutes in running time, but it felt like the longest two hours of my life. A film so punishingly slow I think I felt my nails grow sitting in that seat.

So that's two out of five and at best an average rating for Ram Gopal Varma's Sarkar Raj, it's a disappointing follow up to a very good film. Now we can only hope Part Three will be better. Because all evidence indicates that Sarkar will return.

Rating: 2 / 5 (Average)

Director: Hansal Mehta

Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Gulshan Grover, Arbaaz Khan, Neha Oberoi, Sikandar Kher, Sachin Khedekar

The best thing about director Hansal Mehta's Woodstock Villa is that it's only about an hour and a half long. And for the first hour and fifteen minutes, nobody knows what's going on in the film. Nobody but the characters in the film, I presume.

Sitting there in my seat I felt like I was being repeatedly stabbed in the eye, blinded by the saturated tones, the zip-zap editing, the crazy camera angles and generally by the filmmaker's irritating attempt to show off with stylish technical gimmickry. How you wish he'd paid as much attention to his wafer-thin plot.

Without going into too many details, let me just say the film centres around the kidnapping of a successful businessman's wife and the ransom demand that follows.

The kidnapper, one later discovers, may not be calling the shots in this operation after all. Woodstock Villa is one of those films where nothing is what it seems, it's a story of cheating spouses, double-crosses and mistaken identities. Constructed from a screenplay that's full of little holes, the film trades common sense for convenience.

And as a result, you find yourself gasping in disbelief at the half-dozen or so slip-ups in the plot. It's the kind of film where cops talk in riddles, and Sanjay Dutt pops up in a pop song for no reason at all. It's the kind of film that thinks adultery and murder are the most lethal ingredients for a tight thriller.

On the upside, debutant Sikander Kher delivers a confident performance as a morally questionable lothario caught in a web of deceit. He has an engaging presence and impressive dialogue delivery. Now if only he'd chop those long tresses and take a nice, clean shower.

His co-star newcomer Neha Uberoi is easy on the eye, and fortunately is not expected to perform any acting histrionics. Arbaaz Khan, as the businessman whose wife goes missing, turns in a competent performance.

Much like Rise and Fall, the short film he co-directed with Sanjay Gupta for that anthology of shorts Dus Kahaniyaan, Hansal Mehta's Woodstock Villa too suffers from the same disease - it's all style and little substance. I'm going with two out of five for Woodstock Villa, watch if you have time to spare, it's not a film I can recommend strongly.

Rating: 2 / 5 (Poor)