birdoberoi

I saw this movie after many people recommended it, and because it had Rajat Kapoor in it. But, I was quite disappointed!

Actually, it was a desperate attempt to be different, which, according to me, fell rather flat. It was an old story, packaged into an allegedly 'real' corporate world. Simply put, two rival industrialists fight to gain the upper hand in the big (read HUGE), bad (read ROTTEN BEYOND PUTRID) world of business. Everyone has elastic morals, except the ones who lose out at the end. That's it!

In a nutshell: the nice guys stuck to their ideals, but ended up getting screwed. Correct me if I am wrong, but hasn't this been repeated umpteen times already? Was not 'Jaane bhi do Yaaron' a similar tale, but faaaaaaaaaaaar better directed, acted, edited, funnier and an absolute classic? The difference is that we are now in an age where a tragedy is considered good cinema, as long as it is 'realistic'. I won't ask why, but that is how things have come to pass...

The acting was decent - Rajat was great, Raj Babbar was very good, Kay Kay Menon was good, but could have been excellent if he had stayed away from stereotypical expressions, Lilette was, as always, immaculate. But the revelation to me was Harsh Chhaya - he was outstanding in underplaying his emotions! Great job!

Finally, Bipasha Basu... what can one say! I had not seen her in any other movie thus far (thank my lucky stars!). Many told me she was good in this movie. GOOD???? Good God is more like it!!! She had a single expression throughout - whether she was smiling, laughing, crying, scheming, copulating (figuratively and literally) and collapsing. Atrocious!

Also, there are certain actors who were given roles in the movie, and the director simply did not know what to do with them. For example, Lilette Dubey's character suddenly showed a new side, and that was the end of her role! Wtf!

All in all, watch this movie if you were in the same predicament as me - nothing interesting in Blockbuster, you have nothing else to accompany your Sunday evening beer and are in a slightly masochistic mood...

According to me, this is a perfect comedy. There is nothing which can be improved upon, whether it is the script, cast, props, editing, direction... anything at all! Everything works brilliantly! I caught ALL the episodes one Sunday on TV... Don't remember which channel, though! Suffice to say, I just sat in front of the TV, helpless with laughter! Now, I am desperately trying to find the complete set on DVD.

John Cleese could not have been better as Basil Fawlty... I mean, he was born to play that role! Basil Fawlty has to be the most irritatingly funny character ever created. All the other characters are also very well cast, whether it is Andrew Sachs (Manuel), Prunella Scales (Sybil Fawlty), Connie Booth (Polly) or any of the others...

If you haven't come across this, please rectify the situation and find it! Trust me, you will not regret it!

Well, there are a lot of movies that have been made about the Hindu-Muslim conflicts in India, and this is one of them. What is refreshing is the honesty some film-makers put into their stories - something John Matthan started with 'Sarfarosh'. 'Dev' is perhaps the most open about the issue.

The story is about an honest cop, Dev (sounds clichéd, but is actually much more than just that!), who just believes in doing his duty. Various factors hamper his 'mission' in life - factors which all of us can relate to, such as others' ambition, greed for power, skewed ideologies and plain sycophancy. I'm sure many have faced these at our places of work! It is this basic story, set into the current Hindu-Muslim situation in India - references to Gujarat are made, the police is hand-in-glove with politicians instigating violence etc etc. Various layers are added, in the form of personal loss to the good guy (and the bad guy!), misguided youth (a very well managed sub-plot, which is seamlessly integrated into the main story) and the inevitable romance (also well integrated into the story)!

The scripting is brilliant to say the least. With Dev (Bachchan) & Inder (Om Puri) on opposite sides of the fence on the issue of Muslims in India, their discussions are frank, open and thought provoking. (How well both of them acted is something I shall get into a little later!) This is an issue many of us would have debated with someone or the other at some point in time. All those arguments are brought out into the open - more frankly, candidly and clearly than ever before. All the exchanges are most thought provoking. Both sides feel fully justified in their stand on the issue, and for a long while, the viewer is left to choose the side he/she prefers. But then, Nihalani finally shows us where he stands, as the story unfolds further.

Nihalani really works his magic here. He goes back to his Tamas days, when Om Puri carried his mother on a push cart ('thela'). Here, he has Fardeen doing the same with Kareena, in an almost identical situation. He also re-visits the famous Banquo's ghost scene from Macbeth. Exceedingly well done!

Amitabh Bachchan stupefies me. He has totally re-invented himself as an actor. The angry young man is anything but that now! 'Young' went quite a few years ago (he's a grandfather now, for god's sake!), and the anger has given way to a smoldering frustration. He no longer raves and rants like he used to (it was the need of the hour when he did that). Here, he gives a truly natural performance - he comes across as just another guy, dwarfed by the system yet refusing to give in to it. He carries on from where he left off with 'Khakee'.

Om Puri is excellent as usual. It was 'paisa-wasool' all the way whenever Amitabh and Om Puri shared screen time together! Rati Agnihotri plays a small role, and fits the character well enough. Kareena is very attractive in a plain-jane look. Fardeen Khan seems to be in the industry only because of his lineage, and attractive looks. He is clearly mis-cast, as he seems to have been in every movie that I have seen him in so far. I wonder if there will be an Indian re-make of 'Mannequin' where he can play title role! And only the title role - the come-alive character would need expressions!

Kudos to Nihalani to bring out new and unknown faces - Kareena's friend is especially good. Unfortunately, I do not know the actress' name... Ehsaan Khan, though decent, resorted to over-acting in emotionally charged scene. I'm sure he can improve over time.

All in all, this is a very good movie and it is the script and the acting which really carry it through!