Bombay to Bangkok

Well, Nagesh Kukunoor has once again delivered what he is famous for. A gripping story presented in light manner. Only, this time he has chosen to go for other things like love across countries, comedy and foreign actress. The movie is presented in a very narrative manner, and with excellent performance from the lead casts as well as the supporting casts. Shreyas Talpade has once again delivered excellent acting after his only disappointing role in Om Shanti Om. He is the main lead of the movie, he knows dancing well, acting well, and also delivers his dialogues well. Lina Christianson is very cute but strong in her role. she is certainly far better than any of young actresses of Bollywood, though it was her first lead performance film. Watching her remembered the korean movie "My Sassy Girl". Then, there is Dr Rati and her little romance with a Gangster delivered by Vijay Maurya. Both have acted very well to their roles. Watch the movie for a pleasant treat after so many disappointing movies from Bollywood. Go for it..

While 'Bombay To Bangkok' may not rank among Kukunoor's best films, it is a very entertaining, adventurous and sweet flick. Hearing all the negative comments, I was still hoping that the film wouldn't be as bad. It wasn't bad. Yes there are flaws. I found the pacing to be slow and I thought Kukunoor could have added some more spice by building more humour. Some have complained that there wasn't enough of the beauty of Thailand in the film. While that may have made the film more pleasant to look at, it's still a film not a travel documentary. So I don't hold this as a major flaw and we still get to see some sights and sound of the country.

In a few scenes, Kukunoor parodies his other film 'Iqbal'. He includes the cast: Shreyas Talpade, Yatin Karyekar and the great Naseeruddin Shah. There's part of the 'Aashayein' song which is hilariously used. There are plenty of such laughing moments. The love story between the doctor and the gangster rapper is hilariously endearing.

The songs are quite funny too. 'Sama Same but Different' is quite catchy while most of the other songs (there aren't as many) are included in the background.

Debutante Lina Christianson adds an exotic freshness to the cast. She has a lovely smile, good screen presence and shares a wonderful chemistry with Talpade. Shreyas Talpade totally owns up to the character. The actor is showing more of his versatility and becoming one of the finest actors of the current generation. Vijay Maurya is laugh out loud as the gangster rapper. One just has to watch it to see what I mean. Naseeruddin Shah is only there in one scene but he further adds to the comic relief.

I also liked how Kukunoor, in a subtle way brought forth taboo issues such as prostitution. There's a splendid scene where Shankar tries to convince Jasmine to leave her job and Jasmine cleverly answers to him that it's just a regular job for which she works hard. One has to listen to the dialogue to understand the full essence of the scene.

I would like to add that one shouldn't expect anything from 'Bombay to Bangkok' other than a fun comedy. It's certainly not as bad as critics have labelled it to be. It may not be as great as Kukunoor's 'Dor', 'Iqbal' and 'Teen Deewarein' but it is one that can be easily enjoyed with friends.

The usual stuff Kukunoor punch which keeps the viewers glued to the storyline is missing big time. "Dor" warranted a slow screenplay it but B2B seems painfully stretched to fill in the available time. Wonder if it was a result of Ghai's intervention.

Shreyas Talpade does his part fine. He is evolving into a fine and a mature performer.

Lina is strictly OK.

Yatin, Vijay Maurya & Jeneva Talwar are OK in their parts.

Manmeet Singh is a good discovery. Hope he gets a good footing into the Bollywood after this role as the lovable Sardarji.

Naseer is barely there for a few minutes.

Songs are definite force-fit. Sherlock Holmes famous phrase seemed to be a force-fit.

There is too much showcasing of Bangkok Tourism.

Definitely not belonging to Kukunoor's category by any standards.

Not a masterpiece, but definitely a friendly and entertaining movie. A tad slow perhaps, but not enough to make it boring. Someone described it as "cute", and that's an excellent description for this one.

Except for Shreyas Talpade and the great Naseeruddin Shah (the latter only in a very short guest appearance), all roles in this movie are played by less-known actors. Nevertheless, they perform their tasks very well. Shreyas is both convincing and entertaining as Shankar. Lena Christensen's role was perhaps not a hard one, but she does a decent job nonetheless. Most of all, however, I enjoyed Vijay Maurya in the role of a rapping gangster who deep inside isn't that bad at all, and Manmeet Singh, who for a change plays a bigger role than the occasional taxi driver. I surely hope to see more of both gentlemen in the future. All in all, a well-chosen ensemble cast.

The story itself holds the middle between a road movie, a love story and a comedy of errors. Nothing special really, but good enough for an enjoyable movie.

As for the music, usually I admire the work of the duo Salim-Suleiman, but Bombay to Bangkok is definitely not their best work. The background is okay, but the songs hardly worth remembering. Besides, they don't really seem to fit well within the movie. But criticism aside, Bombay to Bangkok is a nice and entertaining movie, and there is no harm in watching it one time.

I have not watched too many Bollywood films before, because to me, once you see one film, it is as if you watched it all. Really, the storyline is almost the same, the premise, the tearjerkers and whatnot. The differences that Bollywood films may have are its actors and actresses, the location, and the film title. That was how I perceived Bollywood films.

So, with much persuasion from my friends to give this film a try, I watched it with a heavy heart, thinking that I am definitely gonna waste my time watching it.

Boy, was I wrong. This film is not the typical Bollywood-style film. In fact, this film is so different that I believe maybe this is a new genre of India-made film, and I believe it will revive the rather slump in the movie-goers interest in Bollywood film.

Whilst this film maybe a bit slow in the beginning, it does pick up momentum in the later parts of the film. Which is quite good actually, as there is more time to understand as to why the lead actor were in Bangkok, far from his hometown in Bombay.

A special mention to the mafia's son character, which outperformed even the leading actor and actresses, being the tough guy outside but a soft soul at heart. He is very funny in a clumsy kind of way, without being spastic and an annoyance.

A score of 8 for this film, for its commendable effort in making a film that moves away from the typical and predictability Bollywood films is usually associated with.