Don 2- A deliciously, wicked and charming movie.

My rating for Don 2 is 4 out of 5 stars!

It's time for the SRK fans to go weak in the knees again. The superstar's back with a bang.

Don 2, the sequel starts off almost from where the earlier episode ended and while it attempts to maintain some continuity with the last installment. Here comes the Don, his spectacular entry on a speed boat across a meandering Thai river defines his cool attitude. Smoke twirls around his face in a circular motion, he lazily twists the ‘D’ tattoo on his biceps, his dreadlocks blow in the wind and the piercing eyes peek above the RayBans. It’s an entry that sets the tone, and raises the expectations for the rest of the film. I’ve never seen such an amazing entry sequence ever in a Bollywood movie.

Don emerges in Malaysia and gets himself arrested only to get the convicted Vardhan (Boman Irani) out of jail. Vardhan has keys to a video footage which they use to blackmail a bank vice president (Alyy Khan) to get access to a German bank's security systems. The big plan is about of robbery of the currency printing plates from the bank. The plotting and scheming starts in the second half with an easy induction of a hacker (Kunal Kapoor) who can not only barge into the security systems of the vault but also seems to have blueprints of the bank building.

The plot has been finely crafted, with every twist and turn. With Don 2, Farhan Akhtar reasserts himself as one of Hindi cinema's stylish storytellers. Farhan Akhtar yet again shows his brilliance as a director. Barring few loopholes which can be neglected like Vardhan despite in the hit list of police gets an easy entry into the bank is highly indigestible, Don 2 impresses at various stages. The breath taking prison-break sequence, where Don escapes with his old foe Vardhan. The car chase sequence between Priyanka and Shahrukh. The theft sequence is amazingly   shot especially the way Don escapes the inside chamber with plates in his bag. The chases, the fights, the demolition, destruction, break-ins, escapes have all been done with a polish like best of Hollywood.

The plus point of the movie is none other than Shahrukh himself. His portrayal of the character of the Don is flawless. The acror interprets him as an arrogant, agile, wicked and wild dare-devil person. Don 2 marks Shahrukh's return to anti-hero roles after acting out such roles with boom so early in his career. Recall Baazigar, Darr and Anjaam. Don’s entry and exit on the pressure-controlled floor in the vault is a homage to the iconic scene in the first Mission Imposible film.

Priyanka revisits her character of Roma in Don 2. Not only is the character more evolved, even her performance is of a high order. In fact, she enacts the role of an angry, tough lady. Priyanka Chopra kicks ass with some well-shot action sequences and shares crackling chemistry with Shahrukh. Lara Dutta only used to molls up the glam quotient is simply a substitute for Isha Koppikar from the prequel and is hardly there for a few scenes. Boman Irani is effectively evil.  Kunal Kapoor is decent, though he doesn't really get the scenes to prove his credentials. Om Puri, Alyy Khan and Sahil Shroff are plain functional. Hrithik Roshan is looking dapper in an unintentionally hilarious cameo.

The cinematography captures the virgin locales of Berlin, Thailand, Malaysia and Zurich is a pleasure to watch. However Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's musical score doesn't leave a mark this time and the background score has to repeatedly resort to the theme-piece from the original for some impact. Farhan Akhtar's punch-lines in dialogues are initially amusing but with a Don-ism in every second line.

On the whole Don 2 rides on star power, brand value and a classic action crime thriller that doesn’t let go, even for a moment. The plot has been finely crafted, with every twist and turn.

Don 2 ends with the promise of Don 3 (that's what the number-plate of Don's bike reads) and the trademark dialogue 'Don ko pakadna mushkil hi nahi, namumkin hai'. But we would surely want to catch up with a more worthy sequel to this. Ye to namumkin nahi hai! Is'nt it guys?

The Dirty Picture- BOMBAAT movie of 2011

My ratings for this movie is 4 out of 5 stars.

Many will argue that this film is filthy, lewd, sleazy and every other word that conveys the same. But since it's based on a character who personifies all these adjectives, it only ends up being a deliciously dirty tribute.

The unofficial biopic is based on the life of famous south Indian dancing diva and actress, Silk Smitha. The story shows her erotic personality and her lustful life.

The ’80s was probably the lowest point in our cinema. Doodh ka karz, behen ka badla and maa kasam ruled, as plot lines of each film. The story almost always revolved around the film’s lead star, a comedy track was a must, there had to be a punch line in every scene, and it was a necessary ingredient. There was also a vamp walk an attempt to impress others in skimpily clad outfits around the good-hearted hero.

And that is what The Dirty Picture does. Meant to be a biopic of south siren Silk Smitha, the film really is a recreation of an era when this type of cinema was cool. It also pays tribute to all things silly about our films.  Vidya plays a struggling junior artist Reshma, she gets a small break in a song but film’s intellectual & rigid director Ebrahim(Emraan Hashmi) edits it out. When the film bombs, the desperate producer Selvaganesh(Rajesh Sharma) reinserts the song is in theatres and the cash registers begin to jingle. Selva traces the girl and renames her Silk. She got her first big break -- an item song with superstar Suryakant. Suryakant does not like her but Silk decides to seduce him and he quickly turns into her mentor. Wherever she goes, she snatches the spotlight, drawing attention to herself using her body, “Jab uparwaale ne zindagi ek hi di hai toh dobara kya sochna” is her philosophy of life. When a lover wants to introduce her to his parents, she cheekily asks him what his dad;s age is! The Indian man derives his desires from ancient sculptures, like from the caves of Khajuraho or Ajanta-Ellora. Silk is that for the silver screen. Soon Silk became as the top celebrity, at that stage, Suryakant’s younger brother Ramakant (Tusshar Kapoor) enters her life and falls in love with her. He is an aspiring scriptwriter. But this relationship also fizzles out when Ramakant wants her to leave films and get married. Silk’s journey comes to halt when a new girl arrives and she alienates all her fans & supporters. But Ebrahim is a failed filmmaker and he finally decides to make an entertainer with himself as a hero in a triple role. Competing with him Silk invests all her earnings into a similar script. Ebrahim’s film is a hit, Silk loses all. And a strange love-hate bond develops between them.

Vidya Balan pulls off Silk in a manner no current female actor can. This Vidya’s performance is one of the boldest & bravest roles so far in the history of Bollywood. Emraan Hashmi, on the other hand, is good. The chemistry between him and Vidya is sizzling (the two dislike each other, making their scenes interesting). Naseeruddin Shah gives a pitch-perfect performance as matinee idol Suryakant, each body movement laudable; every expression priceless. Shah makes the role his own, making it impossible to envision any other actor in his place. Tusshar does not have much scope. Hats off to Milan Luthria for handling such a controversial theme with such sensitivity and boldness. Also it is the naughty dialogues of the films which add a spicy flavor in the movie.

The music is good, composed by duo Vishal-Shekhar. Ooh la la is already rocking the charts by beating Chammak Challo and Sadda Haq. This Bappi Da’s track is a very strong contender to become the ‘Song of the year’.

The only reason why you need to watch this movie is Vidya Balan. This the most BOMBAAT (fantastic in Kannada) movie of this year. Go & watch this delicious dirty movie!

Silk concludes – There are three things you need for a successful film: entertainment, entertainment, entertainment. Over here, “I am the entertainment.” She is absolutely right!

Desi Boys- A no-brain entertainer!

3 out of 5 stars for our Desi Boyz

After entertaining motion-picture fan with Garam Masala six years ago, Akshay Kumar and John Abraham unite again in Desi Boyz. Directed by first-timer Rohit Dhawan, son of the King of entertainers David Dhawan, this one goes a step further. Serious issues such as recession, unemployment and economic crisis have been mixed into the story, which compels the boyz, Akshay Kumar and John Abraham, to rename themselves as Rocco and Hunter and join the morally-low but highly-paying profession of male escorts’ agency run by Sanjay Dutt.
The two leading men are forced into the gigolo business by extreme circumstances- one wants to earn enough money to maintain custody of his nephew; the other dreams of the great suburban life, with a beautiful wife (Deepika), two kids, a dog and a satisfying bank balance. Here comes a twist, Deepika see the video of John’s pole dancing with few women. As a result the two friends part ways- one goes off to study at Trinity College, while the parks himself at his girl’s doorstep to please her furious girlfriend by dancing & singing song.
It’s the chemistry between the duo Akshay-John that makes this movie a worth watch. Chitrangda might not have as much extensive role but brings a refreshing appeal and immense screen presence to her character as a sexy & strip-tease college professor who sheds one piece of cloth everytime for every correct answer. (This strip-tease act is a straight copy from one of the sequence of the movie Good Boy Bad Boy). Deepika is charming and makes her presence felt in the male-dominated flick. Sanjay Dutt's cameo becomes the undisputed winner here, for his comic timing and overall act. Omi Vaidya is hilarious in his short role. Director Rohit Dhawan tells his story in most simple manner without compromising on the fun quotient.
Desi Boyz’s music is one of the major drawbacks of the movie. Subha hone na de is the only foot-tapping number, but the rest of the album is boring and doesn’t compliments the mood of the film. The English rap portion of the title song is peppy but the rest Punjabi lyrics spoils it.
On the whole Desi Boyz is entertaining if you leave your brain at home.
My ratings for the movie is 3 out of 5 stars.
So make some way for the Desi Boyz. And I am sure they won't disappoint you!