Katrina Kaif is not doing 'Raees' with Shah Rukh Khan

3:58 PM | Labels: ,

After a less than successful pairing in YRF`s `Jab Tak Hai Jaan`, Katrina Kaif and Shah Rukh Khan were rumoured to have come together for Rahul Dholakia`s `Raees`.

But recently the actress has come out in the open to declare that she was not approached for the movie. 

"I don`t know where this news has come from. There is no such discussion like that till now. There are three films `Bang Bang`, `Phantom` and `Jagga Jassos` that I am doing right now. I am in talks for two more projects which I can`t reveal," Katrina told PTI.

With some pretty big films in her kitty, it seems it is going to be a while before we see the two superstars together again.

Even director Rahul Dholakia dismissed the report and said, "I don`t think so we have approached her. But we will surely finalise the leading lady in a couple of weeks."

There is more gossip about the actress that she has been offered Ashutosh Gowarikar`s upcoming period film. But the actress refused to reveal any details and left us guessing whether it was true or not.

"I feel for whatever films I am in discussion with a filmmaker it is not correct to talk about it unless one is doing it because if it doesn`t work out then it makes things awkward for the people and the project," she said.

Presently, Katrina is busy with `Bang Bang` opposite Hrithik Roshan and `Jagga Jasoos` with rumored boyfriend Ranbir Kapoor.

The actress has delivered two hit films with Ranbir earlier in `Ajab Prem Ki Ghajab Kahani` and `Rajneeti`.

"Both the films that Ranbir and I did were really liked by people and were successful. It is exciting for me to work with Ranbir again, he is a great actor. Director Anurag Basu is one of the finest directors that we have today and I am privileged to work with him," she said.

Besides, she has Kabir Khan`s `Phantom` with Saif Ali Khan, with whom she is pairing up for the first time.

As of now SRK and Farhan Khan are coming together for `Raees`, and it is also rumoured that Sonam Kapoor may star in it. Tentatively the movie will release on Eid, 2015.

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‘O Teri’: An average take on current political scenario

3:56 PM | Labels: , , , ,

The 2014 general elections are just round the corner and the makers of ‘O Teri’ couldn’t have found a better time to release their venture. Starring ‘Fukrey’ boy Pulkit Samrat and debutant Bilal Amrohi in the lead roles, ‘O Teri’ comes across as an average spoof on the present political system drenched in various colours of corruption.

 The idea behind the film is brilliant but the execution leaves you dissatisfied. Director Umesh Bist tries to establish two political parties with corrupt ministers - Anupam Kher and Vijay Raaz - as their representatives.

The film opens with the murder of an honest officer investigating the proceedings of the ‘Asian Games’, a project handled by Kher. Raaz, who belongs to the opposition party, kills the officer with an intention of holding Kher responsible for his death. But his plan takes a wretched U-turn which leads to a sequence of bizarre events.

Prantabh Pratap aka PP (Pulkit Samrat) and Anand Ishwaram Devdutt Subramanium aka AIDS (Bilal Amrohi) are two washed out journalists, who are in search of scam stricken story to impress their boss Monsoon (Sarah Jane Dias), who heads the news channel.

Just when the two give up hope of finding an interesting story of their boss’s “choice”, they bump into the officer’s dead body in their car. The two wannabe “celeb journalists” inform her about the dead body that could help them file a breaking story which could in turn boost their channel’s TRP. The lady in question however, turns out to be Kher’s partner-in-crime.

The filmmaker has tried to showcase corruption at all levels. Though the producers have refuted reports of the film being based on the Delhi Commonwealth Games, ‘O Teri’, does fall within the bracket of a film inspired by real life events, at least in some way or the other. Nonetheless, the film also covers a variety of other issues in the periphery - presence of manipulative individuals at various spheres in the system ever ready to sling mud at the other, superstition etc.

Pulkit as PP and Bilal as AIDS have done a decent job. Their chemistry may remind you of Amar- Prem (Aamir Khan and Salman Khan) from the cult film ‘Andaz Apna Apna’. However, the two young boys have miles to cover in order to establish themselves as power-packed performers.

As an actor, Sarah will have to work harder but the one who steals the show is Anupam Kher. The veteran will leave you absolutely speechless. Powerhouse of talent- Vijay Raaz does his job well. His dialogue delivery is worth an applause. The support cast - Manoj Pahwa, Razzaq Khan and others have done their parts well.

The dialogues are in sync with the characters and justify the story.

The songs in the film are a total waste. They dilute the whole purpose of the film. Bist could have considered omitting the songs in order to treat the film in a much better way.

‘O Teri’ could have been much better had the makers stuck to realism to an extent. For instance, the scenes with the dead body are funny but do make you wonder if a lifeless body could remain without decomposing. Moreover there is an instance when Monsoon calls up PP to tell him that his life is in danger. That sequence shows a giant loophole in the script.

The film isn’t a complete dud. It has a few good moments scattered sporadically. But had they been in order, ‘O Teri’ with a great concept, could have been a much better product.

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'Dishkiyaoon': Complicated gangster flick with too many characters

3:54 PM | Labels: , , , ,

Debutant director Sanamjit Talwar unnecessarily complicates the gangster flick with layer after layer of characterisation. Sinister characters, desperately in need to bathe, keep popping up and popping off for no other reason except to remind us that the world of Mumbai`s gangsterism has not changed much from the time when Ram Gopal Varma made "Satya".

But while in "Satya" we genuinely cared for the sanguinary characters, here in "Dishkiyaoon", we are too tired of the trigger-happy marauders to give a flying f**k about whether they live or die.

The dark menacing characters all look like carryovers from Varma`s "Satya" and "Company" trying hard to shield their jadedness in a revved up revivified swagger which only helps to accentuate their frozen renewability.

The characters` hands remain soaked in the same blood as "Satya", no matter how hard the script tries to cover their bloodied track with streaks of cosmetic conceit. Try as it might the narration`s worn-out edges stick out of the sleekly-designed format.

The film is very stylishly packaged with some ear-catching background music (Amar Mohile) and cinematography (Axel Fischer) that fuses colour and black-and-white in a hide `n` seek with time.

Sad to say the impressive colour scheme lacks clarity consistence and logic. Much like the film which rambles on about the relationship between crime and comeuppance but doesn`t offer us one reason to believe that these characters deserve our attention.

What redeems the film`s inherently fagged-out storytelling are the actors.

Prashant Narayanan as Harman`s mentor, Sumeet Nijhawan as a crime lord who doesn`t use a gun and specially Anand Tiwari as a hot-headed goon, turn in implosive performances that ignite the frames when the director is taken up with intensifying the layering process.

Sunny Deol`s Haryanvi accent is as distracting as Harman`s moustache.

But the young actor has returned to the screen with the language of languidity lending an aura of urgent doom to the goings-on. Newcomer Ayesha Khanna has a brief but effective part as the guitar-playing musician who wonders if she and the world around her would ever be compatible.

Watching 'Dishkiyaaoon' we are faced by the same dilemma. While we warm up to the film`s performances and its intelligent take on gangsterism, the constant barrage of slaying and screaming leave us cold.

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'Youngistaan': Topical tale of politics, youth

3:52 PM | Labels: , , ,

You have to hand it to this film for making an effort to be `headline-ish` without toppling over with the temperament of topicality. This is a genre never really cracked in Hindi cinema. A political drama about a young foreign-educated NRI who is forced to take over his country`s reigns after his father`s sudden death.

 You have to hand it to this film for making an effort to be `headline-ish` without toppling over with the temperament of topicality. This is a genre never really cracked in Hindi cinema. A political drama about a young foreign-educated NRI who is forced to take over his country`s reigns after his father`s sudden death.

Unlike Prakash Jha`s "Raajneeti", "Youngistaan" doesn`t take itself too seriously. There is no attempt here to mythicize or demonize the politicians.

Think Rajiv Gandhi. Think Rahul...Jackky Bhagnani plays an amalgamation of many political dreams. Never mind if some of them turn into nightmares in real life (think Arvind Kejriwal). Cinema is about hope and redemption. In a nation hurling towards damnation, the thought of some political wisdom, clarity and far-sightedness in this season of the election, is eminently welcomed. Young Bhagnani brings a temperance and sensitivity to his character. This is a guy who can think straight, even when he isn`t thinking straight.

"Youngistaan" is a smartly-written political parable about a young smart foreign-bred Indian who has the audacity to sing "Japan Love In Tokyo" on a drunken night in Tokyo, and who is thrust the thankless job of India`s prime ministership. Wisely, the narrative never takes itself so seriously as to careen over under the weight of its conscientiousness.

There is a sense of mischief underlining the very powerful message about the young shouldering the governance of the country without resorting to the stereotypical morality and dress code of neta-giri in Hindustan.

Jackky`s Abhimanyu Kaul is the need of the hour. He is young, enterprising and modern in thought and ready to take on the political humbug headlong. He is also a considerate, generous boyfriend trying to make his somewhat-overbearing sometime-annoying life-mate understand the complexities of the responsibility suddenly thrust upon him.

"Youngistaan" is as much a political drama as a romantic comedy about a young prime minister and his fun-loving outgoing girlfriend who suddenly finds herself under house curfew just because her lover has a rather important job to perform.

Writer-director Syed Ahmad Afzal has told a story that seems destined to be put on screen. The politics of our disembodied democracy is sexily sketched. In this season of the Lok Sabha election, "Youngistaan" raises pertinent questions on the quality of leadership in our country. While it gets its political fundas right, the plot also accommodates the central romantic conflict into its structure.

Every character, big or small, is effectively cast. Jackky as the prime ministerial candidate, conveys a whole lot of sincerity in his performance. His scenes with his dead father (Boman Irani) are emotionally resplendent. They play off well against the stark, sometime funny and outrageous reality of Indian politics.

Neha Sharma as his untameable girlfriend plays her character with intelligence and grace. This girl deserves more than what Hindi cinema has so far offered her. But it is the Farooque Sheikh as Bhagnani`s quietly efficient personal assistant who brings a twinkle-eyed wisdom to the table.

The film tells us - it`s okay to have dynastic rule as long as the job gets done. It also tells us that there`s no need to get hysterical if our prime minister is in a live-in relationship. It may not be cool for a prime minister to get his girlfriend pregnant at a time when he has a responsibility towards the nation, but if it happens, there`s no need to get righteous and holier-than-thou.

On the minus side, the film tends lose steam whenever Jackky`s character is not in the company of his girlfriend or personal assistant. This is a measure of how well the characters are written and played. The material is judiciously edited. The camerawork is delightfully plush. As though to remind us that politics need not be a drab colourless vocation. It can be a bastion for the young. And it can be a great deal of fun!

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