Bluffmaster!

Bluffmaster is one of the popcorn entertainers of the year with fun fast 2 hours, fine performances and of course its unique MUSIC. I did enjoy it than any other comedies last year except No entry which was also hilarious. What makes it different is it handled every aspect with equal importance. Whether it is Drama, Comedy, Music or of course Love. Surprisingly what I loved most after its Music is its Luv Estory Part. There is a scene when Roy (Abhishek) telling Sim (Priyanka- Hot in 'Come to me' number) about love affairs –"Biggest lie in this world is – I LOVE U- Jaise Time Bitata Hai LOVE Nikal Jaata Hai and only left behind is I n U". Then she argues over this as on same basis when Roy proposed her with same line if it was a lie. Watch Abhishek's response- 'Vo such tha Sim. 'Vahi To Ek Sach Tha'. This is my favorite scene in movie.

As title suggests Roy(Abhishek) is bluffmaster looting (fishing in his language) and after making good money retired from the line and planning to settle with his girl-friend Sim(Priyanka). Which didn't work out as on engagement one of his tricked one shows up and leading to heart-break of Sim and blah blah. Roy is now longing for Sim making every possible effort to make her believe that he is changed. There is a very nice scene when he is sitting in the restaurant, ordering coffee after coffee that eventually persuades Sim to talk to him but she refuse to forgive him at any cost.

We meet various characters- Dittu(Ritesh) who is now getting trained by Roy as a favor- Now kahani me so called twist is Dr. Bhalerao (Boman) diagnosed Roy is suffering from some last stage Brain Tumor. He has only three months. Boman gives theory of life where he explains how we live for 30 years but Only 30 were memorable? So make these 90 days memorable and live for another 90 years kinda. Valid indeed. End of first half we are introduced to Chandu (Nana Patekar). Dittu is seeking revenge from Chandu and it can be possible only if Roy help him out. Well, Climax turns everything upside down but I find it is well come surprise ending.

On Downside it fails to keep high on certain sequences but not too long.

Talk about its Music-It is awesome- One of the best varied collections of songs the year. Both Original and Remixes are like hitting bull's-eye. Fantastically choreographed Right Here Right Now I can watch hundreds of times for sure. Same is with 'Bure Bure'. Both have topped pub and disco DJ lists to get crowd wild.

Bluffmaster wouldn't be same if casting would have been different and who is irreplaceable in all is Nana Patekar. He portrayed such a flamboyant character stealing scene after scene with cheesy one-liners. Favorite is "IMAGE!!!" and "Kis Liye? Picture Bahot Acchi Chal Rahi Hai..Parade Pe Fekane Hai". Nana is utilized here 100 % as Nana and dialogs have developed a vada-paav kinda relation. He is offered very best lines here and his colorful character never misses a bit. Rithesh, Boman and Priyanka made a well supporting cast. And Abhishek Bacchan who is getting better and better with every outing. Check out how cool he is in 'Right Here Right Now' number. Same in rain drunk scene, in Sim's Coffee shop scene.

Honestly I went this movie with no expectation but left hall Ekdum Paisav Vasool.

Bluffmaster is a delightful movie. The dialogues are crisp and far above average from Hindi film sentimentality. Abhishek Bachhan is a natural and I do believe that he is a far better actor than his very popular father. His Hindustani diction is leaps and bounds better than all the Khans combined. Nana Patekar is at his comic best as his sinister character belies the poet at heart. I was able to tolerate Priyanka Chopra in this movie, far better than the Barbie character she plays in Krrish. Boman Irani is funny.

I do believe that much of the film is a mish-mash of lifts from western films of the genre and even some of the dialogues are plagiarized. But the Hindustani play on metaphors and aphorisms is what makes this movie so very fun to watch. The English subtitles do little justice to the rich dialogue in Hindustani.

The songs are a wonderful blend of Hinglish.

Roy Kapoor (Bachchan) is a career conman who excels in running the "perfect scam". He's in love with Simmi (Chopra) who he's been dating for 6 months and they're getting engaged. Unfortunately at their lavish engagement party, one of his most recent cons comes back to bite him on the proverbial when the victim turns out to be Simmi's uncle! Simmi had no idea her fiancé was a conman (she thought he was a stockbroker) and BOOM! The engagement is broken off and Simmi tells Roy that she wants nothing more to do with him.

Six months later, a forlorn Roy still wanders around like a lovesick puppy and comes across Dittu (Deshmukh) another conman but rather new to the game who's pulling off a con with a doctor (Irani). Dittu and colleague drop a banger and Dittu grabs the doctor and he falls to the floor thinking he's been shot, Dittu calls an "ambulance" but in reality they're out to steal whatever they can from the doctor. Roy "rescues" the doctor and in return the doctor gives him some well meaning advice, and in the process they discover that Roy has a brain tumour and only has 3 months to live. Simmi gets engaged to another man, Dittu keeps hounding Roy to mentor him as he wants to be as good at conning people as Roy for been for so many years and he wants to avenge his father's downfall at the hands of another conman Chandru (Patekar), who is somewhat of a gangster too.

The cons at the start and climax of the film were pretty brilliant and you really don't see the end one coming, so it is quite a surprise. I think it was very cleverly done but I'm guessing there's a Hollywood film out there with a similar storyline which has been copied because I'm pretty sure Bollywood didn't come up with this idea! If I'm doing Bollywood an injustice in that comment then I'd be the first to hold up my hand and admit I made a mistake.

The film itself is reminiscent of the Michael Douglas starrer The Game but don't be fooled into thinking it's a direct copy... It isn't!

All in all Bluffmaster gets a high 9 out of 10 from me. I'd recommend fans of comedy and/or con capers give this a watch. It's a slick fast-paced film with lots of eye candy for both the male and female audience with some good laughs thrown in along the way.

If you have liked Bluffmaster for its "different storyline" heme... this movie is based on a Hollywood film called 'The Game.' In fact I feel the reason why the movie is called Bluffmaster is not Abhisheks profession in the film, but bcos of the movie itself. You will know what I mean once you see it for yourself. overall the movie is good. It is entertaining, and the dialougues, script and screenplay is good. The characters too have been developed well. The one thing about the film which struck me is its international look. Not only does it have a different style of editing (like the cuts, the fade-outs or the character introductions) but also the songs are mostly Jay-Z-ish. Unnecessary songs, but good nonetheless. Watch it if you are looking for a movie to pass your time. It will leave you feeling good, mainly because everything turns out just fine...

From the moment I left the theater up to now, I still haven't been able to figure what feeling this movie left me with. It has several good things to speak about and some..well not so good. AB's baby has come a long way from the refuge of the Big B and has cemented his space as a star in Bolywood. Nana Patekar gives a splendid performance and nothing less could be expected from him either. There is little of Priyanka Chopra that people have not seen and in this movie they see even less of her which is actually a good thing. Boman Irani is a great actor in general but this is a performance which he would do good to forget. The surprise package of this movie, though, is Rietesh D. He carries his part to the T as the stumbling silly and lost protégé. He does seem to have a strange kind of charm about him which is easily noticeable in this movie. What leaves me dumb-found is the movie in itself. It is funny in parts and serious in all the wrong places. You keep getting this feeling being in a warp zone of some kind and you keep leaving your stomach behind. This is not for the excitement but just an uneasy feeling which makes you shift in your seat time and again. Sometimes the story tries too hard and at other times it just seems to not want to try at all. For instance the some of the gags are a bit much and the romance between Simi and Roy just falls flat. You begin to wonder somewhere along weather it would have been OK to just buy the soundtrack (which BTW is awesome) and pass up the movie but just then it pulls itself together and there you have it. Rohan Sippy seems to manage the last bit somehow again going a bit too far but just enough to make sure he rakes in the mullah. Not really a waste of money or time but I would much rather have watched this movie at home on a DVD.