CHAMKU – Review by bollywoodhungama.com

Kahani kabhi khatam nahin hoti… That’s the catchline of CHAMKU. True, certain stories are timeless and ageless, they keep getting repeated year after year, with new faces obviously.

Vendetta — one theme that’s beaten to death in Bollywood. CHAMKU tackles the age-old theme of revenge, although director Kabeer Kaushik throws a twist at the outset, when a Naxalite is picked up by RAW and IB to work for them. Otherwise, CHAMKU is old wine presented in a new bottle. The only saving grace is Bobby Deol, who delivers his career-best performance in CHAMKU. But the sad part is that the script succumbs to predictability all through.
Besides, what’s with a title like CHAMKU? Sure, the story is about a guy called Chandrama Singh aka Chamku, but in these fast changing times, when the multiplex audience holds the key, a title like CHAMKU will only dissuade them from buying the ticket. Also, a title like CHAMKU sends out signals that it’s a comedy. It’s not!
Another factor that goes against it is the violence/brutality depicted in this 2-hour film. Blood, gore, crudity and brutality is out, but Kabeer Kaushik still believes in the cinema of 1970s and seems to have given action director Tinu Verma a free hand to recreate the violence-laden atmosphere of 1970s. Pistols, guns, knives, swords, blood-soaked bodies, spare us the gore please.

To cut a long story short, there’s hardly any chamak in CHAMKU.

CHAMKU depicts the journey of a male Naxalite from the interiors of Bihar, tutored under a covert government program to eliminate the anti-social elements. Chandrama Singh aka Chamku has no alternative. Kill them or we’ll kill you, he’s told by Kapoor [Irrfan Khan].

His life undergoes a dramatic change when he falls in love with Priyanka Chopra. He wants to lead a normal life, but is it so easy? Also, he comes face to face with his nightmarish past [Akhilendra Mishra].

A pertinent question that crosses your mind is, what did the Deols see in a script like this? The execution is fluid at places, but the written material is so predictable after a point that you lose interest as incident after incident unravels.

The first half does boast of a few interesting sequences. The transformation from a ruthless killer to a romantic is depicted beautifully. Also, a number of sequences are filmed with flourish. But the film goes downhill in the second hour, courtesy a screenplay of convenience.

Monty Sharma’s music is below par. ‘Aaja Milke’ is the sole decent track. The item song [Rosa] looks like a hurried job. Gopal Shah’s cinematography captures the various moods of the film well. Tinu Verma’s action is too realistic. The blood and gore could’ve been tapered.

Bobby gets it right. He conveys a lot even when silent. This performance deserves all the praise. Priyanka is wasted. There’s no scope for her actually. Ditto for Riteish Deshmukh and Danny Denzongpa. In fact, the two actors are hardly there in the movie. Irrfan Khan, as always, is competent. Rajpal Yadav does well as the informer. Akhilendra Mishra is supposed to act loud, which he does well. Arya Babbar gets no scope, not even a line to deliver. Ditto for Deepal Shaw.

On the whole, CHAMKU rests on an outdated plot and given the blood-gore-brutality in the film, will face an uphill task. Businesswise, it has some chances in the U.P.-Bihar region.

C Kkompany – Review by bollywoodhungama.com

MUNNABHAI M.B.B.S. started a trend of sorts. Gangsters with a heart of gold acting as modern-day Robinhoods. Robbing the notorious rich and helping the oppressed poor.

Writer turned debutante director Sachin Yardi borrows a leaf from MUNNABHAI M.B.B.S. and presents a tale that not only talks of Robinhoods, but also makes a scathing attack at news reporting hitting an all-time low [anything for TRPs], makes digs at Ekta Kapoor and her serials, also looks at the underworld-builder-cops nexus.

The story of three losers attaining power overnight makes for interesting viewing. But the problem is, C KKOMPANY lacks consistency. The comedy is truly hilarious at places, but there’re times when you sit motionless, not reacting to the on-screen antics. If the first hour is a joyous ride, the second hour is akin to driving on a road full of potholes. The climax is also a letdown [in the mela], although the end sequence — C KKOMPANY is now a movement — was the right way to conclude the film.
All said, C KKOMPANY had the germs of being a cool entertainer, but it ends up being a one-time average watch.

C KKOMPANY is about three individuals, all living in the ‘C’ Wing of a middle class housing society: Akshay [Tusshar] is a crime reporter, Mr. Joshi [Anupam Kher] is a retired accountant trying to deal with his ungrateful son and Lambodar [Rajpal Yadav] is at loggerheads with his wife over his job. These three friends share their respective plight with one another and find solace in each other’s company.

On one occasion, they play a harmless prank to tackle their problems. One thing leads to another and before they realize, the incident becomes big news. But things don’t stop there. They put their new founded fame to good use and this in turn triggers off a series of incidents, which propel them to such heights that the three become the talk of the nation.

That Sachin Yardi has a flair for comedy was more than evident when he penned the thoroughly entertaining KYAA KOOL HAI HUM. C KKOMPANY also boasts of humour-laden sequences that keep you in splits at several points.

But keeping the humour alive from start to end is not everyone’s cup of tea. Yardi’s humour works till the beginning of the second hour, but things stagnate thereafter. Things get repetitive. There’s not much movement in the story and the comic scenes also range from enjoyable to avoidable.

Music is quite okay, but the songs — barring the Sanjay Dutt track at the outset — show up without valid situations. The Tusshar-Celina track, although well shot, comes up from nowhere. Cinematography is alright.

C KKOMPANY gets its glory because of its three protagonists. Tusshar is only climbing the ladder with every film. He’s excellent. Anupam Kher proves yet again that he’s amongst the best in the business. Rajpla Yadav is efficient too.

Mithun Chakraborty is in command after a long time. The veteran is superb. Vinay Apte and Dilip Prabhavalkar do complete justice to their respective roles. Raima Sen is pleasant. Karan Johar, Mahesh Bhatt and Ekta Kapoor’s appearances give the film that extra sheen.

On the whole, C KKOMPANY is funny in parts, not in totality. An ordinary fare!

That Thing You Do! – Rock On’s Inspiration?

Recounts a fable of a pop rock band formed a year after the Beatles took America by storm in early 1964. Jazz aficionado Guy Patterson, unhappily toiling in the family appliance store, is recruited into the band the Oneders (later renamed the Wonders) after regular drummer Chad breaks his arm.

After Guy injects a four/four rock beat into lead singer Jimmy’s ballad, the song’s undeniable pop power flings the Wonders into a brief whirlwind of success, telling the tale of many American bands who attempted to grab the brass ring of rock and roll in the wake of the British Invasion.

Is ROCK ON!! DIL CHAHTA HAI 2 – Review by bollywoodhungama.com

Is ROCK ON!! DIL CHAHTA HAI 2, one is tempted to ask. DIL CHAHTA HAI was a trendsetter when you look back, paving way for storytellers who wanted a new story to tell. Now, the DIL CHAHTA HAI team of Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar with director Abhishek Kapoor deliver ROCK ON!!, a film that makes you understand the true meaning of friendship.

Put your hands together for one of the finest films of our times. Put your hands together for a director who pulls off a challenging subject with élan. Put your hands together for the actors who pitch in superlative performances.

ROCK ON!! is not just about music. It’s about relationships. And relationships can get really complicated and messy as all of us would agree. ROCK ON!! captures it so beautifully, so sensitively, so effectively on celluloid.
Everything is in sync here, everything is just perfect. Flaws? Perhaps, the slow pacing. But come to think of it, you can’t play with the edit in a film like this. ROCK ON!! also works because you can relate to the characters, you can relate to the moods, the egos, the highs and the lows…

In a nutshell, here’s a film you just can’t afford to miss. We’ve had our share of masala films week after week. Now have a look at a film that India can proudly showcase to the West. ROCK ON!! simply rocks!

ROCK ON!! is the story of four friends [Farhan Akhtar, Arjun Rampal, Purab Kohli, Luke Kenny] who put together the greatest band this country has ever seen, Magic, but never make it. Years later, fate conspires to bring them together again and set them on a journey back to where they left off… a soul-searching pilgrimage into their past.

ROCK ON!! bears some resemblance to the Hollywood film THAT THING YOU DO [Tom Hanks], but it could be a mere coincidence. Director Abhishek Kapoor sets it in the Indian milieu efficiently. Watch the bonding shatter into pieces for no fault of anyone in particular actually. It’s the circumstances that play the villain here and Abhishek captures it on lens so beautifully. The fragile relationships, how piece after piece is put together and the journey to the climax… the narrative is so compelling, it makes you feel you’re witnessing all of it first-hand.

Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s music is perfect. It’s completely in sync with the mood of the film. Connoisseurs of music have already showered the music with rave reviews and rightly so! Jason West’s cinematography is fantastic. The screenplay and dialogues are commendable.

Every performance in the film deserves brownie points. Farhan Akhtar makes his debut as an actor and he displays rare maturity for a first-timer. Known as an accomplished director all along, Farhan will now be acknowledged as a mature actor as well. Arjun Rampal delivers his finest performance to date. Watch him emote those tough emotional moments and also as a failed person in the latter parts and you’d realize that he has only grown with the passage of time. Superb is the word!

Purab Kohli is tremendous and so is Luke Kenny. Purab has always delivered fine performances, but he’s touched a new high this time. Luke is equally charged.

Prachi Desai scores in her very first feature. She has a challenging role and footage-wise too, it’s substantial. Prachi brings in a lot of freshness and poise. Plus, she’s a competent actor. Shahana Goswami is a talent to watch out for. Her performance is one of the most difficult ones for a newcomer and the confidence with which she carries it deserves to be lauded. Koel Purie has a brief role and she enacts it quite well.

On the whole, ROCK ON!! is an amazing experience. The highpoint is the emotional quotient, the skilful performances and the superb execution of the subject. At the box-office, this urban film holds tremendous appeal for metros and mini-metros. Business at multiplexes of Mumbai, Pune, Delhi and NCR, Kolkata and South in particular should be excellent. Very strongly recommended!

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince – Synopsis

Voldemort is tightening his grip over both Muggles and Wizards and Hogwarts is no more the safe heaven it used to be. Harry suspects the dangers may lie even within the castle though Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing Harry for the final battle that he knows approaching faster than anticipated. Together they will have to work around a way to find out the key to unlock Voldemort’s defences and to this end, Dumbledore recruits his old friend and colleague, and well connected and unsuspecting bon vivant Professor Horace Slughorn, who he believes holds crucial information. Meanwhile, the students are under attack from a very different adversary as teenage hormones rage across the ramparts. Harry finds himself more and more attracted towards Ginny, but so is Dean Thomas and Lavender Brown is decided that Ron is the one for her, only she hadn’t counted on Romilda Vane’s chocolates! And then there is Hermione, simmering with jealousy but determined not to show her feelings to Ron. As Romance blossoms, one student decides to remain aloof; he has decided to make his mark, albeit a dark one. Love is in the air but tragedy lies ahead, and Hogwarts may not be the same again……