ALL THE BEST

n his first really decent and meaty role since “Munnabhai”, Dutt gets into the satirical groove effortlessly and fluently playing a visiting Bade Bhaiyya from abroad whom his kid brother Fardeen Khan (tolerably befuddled) must fool into believing he’s married and decent.

The guys in Rohit Shetty’s comedies are anything but decent. Rascals and rogues of the first order, Devgn and Khan are splendidly supported by a sparkling cast of comic actors ranging from Asrani to Johnny Lever to the wonderful Ashwini Kalsekar (remember how cheesy and charming she was in Rohit Shetty’s “Gol Maal Returns?”) to Sanjay Mishra (as a zonked out wannabe householder who says ‘Just chill’ as though his tongue had just been through a sugarcane-juice machine).

The screenplay (Robin Bhatt) juices the material for all it’s worth. The constant flow of cheesy-breezy dialogues is littered with high-school humour but blessedly no vulgarity. This is one comedy you could take your mom to see without once walloping a wince into the wanton soup.

The burlesque is fast-paced though surprisingly restrained and has room galore for PJs. The one-liners are so silly and graffiti-like in their basic humour, you can’t but titter at the trivia wrapped in gloss that makes welcome room for Pritam’s pacy music without getting in the way of the one-liners.

So ok. This one doesn’t leave you… er blue in the face. The comedy is purely situational and the style purely ‘Rohit Shetty’. That means a bit of slapstick, a bit of that rapidly-moving tongue in the cheek, and a lot of Ajay Devgn.

And if you add Sanjay Dutt to the bubby buncy comic brew… man, you’ve got a show that’s on the road from the word go. This time the setting, if you must know, is Goa.

Shetty doesn’t use the touristic spot as a character. You suspect he places his colony of characters in the Goan location so they could all be camera-framed into a streamlined stampede.

There are only three female characters in the show, the rest are all guys playing conmen, goons, gangsters, wheeler dealers, warriors and worriers all of whom display an exemplary comic strength.

Sanjay Dutt gets it right after a long time. He has a lot of fun doing his part and he lets us share his enjoyment. Ajay Devgn’s comic timing has gotten rapidly dead-on under Shetty’s tutelage. He gives Dutt tit for tat, and then some more.

Not all the material is uniformly amusing. Towards the finishing line you do begin to wonder how much longer it would take this wonky wacky world of wispy and reparable wickedness to set itself right.

BLUE

BLUE: A BIG dissappointment

Sagar (Dutt) and Aarav (Akshay) are good friends settled in the Bahamas. While Sam is a happy go lucky rich businessman, Sagar is down to earth and not as ambitious as him. Aarav on many occasions tries to instigate Sagar on coming out with the secret of ‘The Lady In Blue’ a ship carrying a huge gold treasure that was sunk in 1949 in the Bahamas seas. Aarav believes Sagar knows the route to the deep sunken ship and they both can benefit from the huge treasure that lies inside it. Sagar however doesn’t like to discuss about the ship nor has any interest for the treasure hunt. Just then Sagar’s younger brother Sam (Zayed) arrives from Bangkok after five years. Mafia boss Gulshan (Rahul) is hot on his trail for an assignment worth 50 million dollars gone wrong. With Gulshan too arriving in Bahamas and kidnapping his girlfriend Mona (Lara), Sagar has only 24 hours left for paying back the huge money which Sam has messed with. He is now left with no option but face his old demons and plunge into the deep sea with Aarav and Sam for the treasure hunt.

A really interesting premise shot beautifully but messed big time by unimaginative writing and lackluster direction is what Blue shall always be remembered as. The setting is different no doubt, but where are the requisite twists and turns and pace which are a must for this genre of films? The so called major twist that comes out in the end can be guessed quiet earlier in the first half itself. Also, almost the entire first half moves around with zero grip on the audience with more than enough time wasted on character establishment. The much hyped shark sequences are a big let down what with barring the opening sequence of few minutes (where believe it or not Akshay and Dutt literally ride a shark) there is not a single scene where the sharks are a threat and get you on the edge of your seat. The bike chase sequences have been shot very well though. The underwater sequences have been superbly lit up and one needs to salute the team of cameramen involved for it. The climax is extremely ‘thanda’ and derives unintentional laughter as well. Songs don’t really fit in well and the Kylie Minogue starring Chiggy Wiggy number doesn’t really work on screen. However, the background music and sound editing is excellent.

Akshay is in his element in here playing the flirty cool dude with a hidden agenda with amazing natural ease. Dutt approaches his part with zero enthusiasm and worse, his paunch is visible in many sequences. But Zayed is good and Rahul Dev impresses too. Lara Dutta is super hot and does ample skin show. Katrina Kaif in a special appearance doesn’t work at all.

Said to be over Rs. 100 crore in budget, Blue doesn’t justify the mega budget it has been allotted and first timer director Anthony D’Souza gets it all wrong mistaking style and extra coolness quotient for substance.

If you want to experience some good underwater photography on a big screen and a few well shot action sequences, then you can go for it but if you are expecting something more then let us warn you that you will be in for a BIG disappointment!

WANTED

Genre: Action

Director: Prabhu Deva

Producer: Sahara One Motion Pictures, S. K. Films Enterprises

Presenter: Surinder Kapoor, Boney Kapoor, Sahara One Motion Pictures

Music Director: Sajid-Wajid

Lyricist: Arun Bhairav

Star Cast: Salman Khan, Ayesha Takia, Om Puri, Mahesh Manjrekar, Sayaji Shinde, Prakash Raj, Aseem Merchant, Vinod Khanna

Release Date: September 18, 2009

Now, we had an idea that ‘Wanted’ was a ‘Salman Khan’ flick, but we didn’t expect it to have nothing else - no script, no editing, and even no logic. No second thoughts about the fact that the roguish charm of Salman is still there, which makes the movie a bit passable. However, beyond that, there is nothing in the film that would encourage you to spend your hard-earned money on a multiplex ticket. There is hardly any scene in the film that makes sense.

There is no logic in ‘Wanted’, be it the script or its execution. For instance, you have the heroine popping into every scene in which bullets are being fired. There is another thing in the film that is gross - the women only seem to be meant for being molested, giving the hero a chance to prove his goodness (by saving them, of course). The songs are plain pathetic, while the editing is shoddy. The one area where ‘Wanted’ scores is the action sequences, which are truly inventive and entertaining, without turning gory for even a second.

The first half of ‘Wanted’ stretches on for much more time than is necessary, with the romantic track overshadowing the narrative. As to the second half, the action sequences dominated everything else. Talking about the performances, Sallu Bhai is fresh, in form, dances like a dream and kills like a pro. Ayesha Takia has been given a raw deal and did not get any scope to show her prowess. The National Award winning actor Prakash Raj was at his very best, while Govind Namdeo was good as always. All in all, this one is a DVD watch!

Wanted’ is an action flick, which marks the directorial debut of Prabhu Deva, the dancing wizard from South, who has also dabbled in acting. The star ensemble of the movie includes Salman Khan, Ayesha Takia, Om Puri, Mahesh Manjrekar, Sayaji Shinde, Prakash Raj, Aseem Merchant, Vinod Khanna. Sajid-wajid duo has composed the musical score, while Arun Bhaivar has penned down its lyrics. The producers of the Hindi film ‘Wanted’ are Sahara One Motion Pictures and S. K. Films Enterprises.

Radhe (Salman Khan) is a sharpshooter, who works for Gani Bhai, the hardcore Mumbai Mafioso. A bit of a maverick, he likes to work on his own terms. The fearless Radhe eliminates all the enemies of Gani Bhai, quashing all the opposition single-handedly. In the process of this cleansing, Radhe makes more enemies than Gani Bhai himself. Meanwhile, the young and pretty Jhanvi (Ayesha Takia) falls for Radhe, much to his astonishment. Soon, bloody gang wars ensue inMumbai, with each gang bent on outrunning the other, be it the Golden Gang or Data Pawle's Gang, with the aim of wresting control of the city.

The Police Commissioner of the crime-torn city vows to undertake a crusade to clean it of this colossal network of criminals and arrests 200 criminals in a day, as a starter. A gory mayhem follows, as the criminal gangs are after each other and the police after the gangs. The twist in the tale arrives when Radhe is, as expected, dragged into this and becomes the 'most wanted' man in Mumbai. Everyone, right from the gangsters to the police, is vying for his life, as he is the man who knows too much.

Radhe is a source of valuable information for the police; criminals are alarmed that he may reveal their dark secrets. Who will find Radhe first? Slated for a September 18 release, 'Wanted' is riding solely on Salman's shoulders and an exploding plot. The man in question has charmed the audience to the theaters for years now, but as the plot is rightly said to be the soul of a film, the Salman Magic could be tested. With the release date not being far away now, we will soon see whether the magic works or not!

Agyaat

Agyaat is a thriller movie which revolves around a film unit that goes to a jungle for a shoot and gets misplaced. The shoot is put on hold when a camera malfunctions and they have to wait for a replacement.

To kill time they decide to go on a trek into the jungle with the caretaker of the jungle. When the caretaker is found mauled one night the panic and fear of the darkness of the unknown world sets in and the movie take a 360 degree turn as each one present there is fighting for their lives from something they have not seen. This unseen is faster, smarter and is out to kill them.

We see change in their attitude, their beliefs and the film is poised to judge whether mankind’s survival instinct can prevail over darkness of a world they cannot imagine.