The director duo of Abbas Mustan have been in the industry for more than 2 decades now and have been making films in only one genre..Entertaining thrillers. Of course not all of their films have been good but Race, which was released way back in 2008, had seen tremendous success and appreciation because of its racy pace, nice plot with ample of twists and turns to keep audience thrilled to the fullest. The makers now come up with next installment of Race trying and expecting to outdo the first one. While the first half meets the expectations, the second half brings it down badly.
The film is about Ranveer Singh (Saif Ali Khan) who wants to take revenge of the murder of his love Sonia and comes to Turkey for that. There he meets Armaan Malik (John Abraham) who is mafia king, his half sister Elina (Deepika Padukone) and his girlfriend (Jacqueline Fernandez). And of course, there is RD (Anil Kapoor) with his fruits and a new secretary (Ameesha Patel). And then starts the tale of friendship, love, deceit, big money and revenge with twists waiting at every corner.
The films starts off very well with an engaging and entertaining first half….brisk and smart introduction of all the characters, beautifully shot exotic locations, exciting casino games, a fine sword sequence, a brilliant chase sequence and a thrilling build up of twists towards the interval. While there are obvious flaws in the narrative, the pace of first hour overshadows it.
But the second half brings the tempo down and narrative strays from a revenge tale to robbery, club fights and few irrelevant scenes. The ease with which robbery of a shroud worth billions takes place is so amateurish that it’s funny. A long fight sequence involving John Abraham, a romantic track of Anil Kapoor, all this seems forced only to increase their footage. The twists also die down here and the ones that come are too predictable. The lack of pace, disjointed story and plenty of flaws in the story in this second hour spoil the fun with a not so thrilling climax.
In terms of performances, Saif Ali Khan and John Abraham are good and they look stylish. Deepika Padukone is at her glamorous best with lot of skin show. Anil Kapoor is ok offering nothing new from last edition and Jacqueline and Ameesha try to do their best which of course remains barely average. Music and choreography of songs is in line with the mood of the film…racy and peppy.
With running time of two and a half hours, the film is little long. And if only the overall story between both halves had remained consistent with edge of the seat thrills, it could have been equally good as the first Race which unfortunately is not the case.
Cinema Analyst's Take – Average. It doesn't bore for most parts but it doesn't have enough to force people to Race towards the multiplexes.
Saturday 26 January 2013
Sunday 20 January 2013
Inkaar
Sexual harassment at workplace is a very critical and relevant subject particularly in today’s times when the entire country is outraged and raising voices against sexism. At the same time, it’s a very sensitive issue and probably that’s the reason why this hasn’t really been touched upon in Indian cinema in the past except for a half baked attempt on it in Aitraaz. But when a filmmaker like Sudhir Mishra who is known for his serious and realist films on socially relevant issues takes it up and makes a film around it, the expectations are bound to go up. Unfortunately, he fails miserably to highlight and make any meaningful sense out of this issue.
The film is about two career oriented professionals in an ad company; Rahul who is CEO of the company and Maya who joins him as an intern but jumps up the corporate ladder fast to reach next only to him. She files a sexual harassment case against Rahul and a penal is formed to find out the truth and the guilty. What follows thereafter is tale of accusations, ambitions, office enmity and dirty politics of corporate culture to outdo each other.
The film starts off well with the director coming to the point almost immediately but then it fast starts losing focus and plot. The harassment incidents stated by Maya are hardly convincing and don’t evoke any empathy towards her. And neither do the explanations and reasoning of Rahul. Narrated by way of multiple flashbacks, the story keeps wandering from love story to sexual harassment to vengeance drama to corporate politics to back to love story but doesn’t really establish anything material in the process. And the culmination to the story is absolutely abrupt, absurd and weird to say the least. What were the writers thinking really?
The only positive of the film is Chitrangada Singh who looks extremely stunning and sensuous. Arjun Rampal is strictly ok.
With running time of more than two hours, the film fails to keep you interested and engaged for most parts and its incomprehensible climax is its biggest downer. A subject that had the potential to be converted into a sensible and meaningful film is treated very amateurishly and foolishly which is a pity. Cinema Analyst's Take – below average. The title of the film is what you need to do to watching this one.
The film is about two career oriented professionals in an ad company; Rahul who is CEO of the company and Maya who joins him as an intern but jumps up the corporate ladder fast to reach next only to him. She files a sexual harassment case against Rahul and a penal is formed to find out the truth and the guilty. What follows thereafter is tale of accusations, ambitions, office enmity and dirty politics of corporate culture to outdo each other.
The film starts off well with the director coming to the point almost immediately but then it fast starts losing focus and plot. The harassment incidents stated by Maya are hardly convincing and don’t evoke any empathy towards her. And neither do the explanations and reasoning of Rahul. Narrated by way of multiple flashbacks, the story keeps wandering from love story to sexual harassment to vengeance drama to corporate politics to back to love story but doesn’t really establish anything material in the process. And the culmination to the story is absolutely abrupt, absurd and weird to say the least. What were the writers thinking really?
The only positive of the film is Chitrangada Singh who looks extremely stunning and sensuous. Arjun Rampal is strictly ok.
With running time of more than two hours, the film fails to keep you interested and engaged for most parts and its incomprehensible climax is its biggest downer. A subject that had the potential to be converted into a sensible and meaningful film is treated very amateurishly and foolishly which is a pity. Cinema Analyst's Take – below average. The title of the film is what you need to do to watching this one.
Saturday 5 January 2013
Table No 21
Bollywood opens this New Year’s account with a thriller. While the film lacks big star power and hype, its promos last month caught one’s attention suggesting a new and different story and creating some interest and excitement around it.
The film is about a married couple who wins a free trip to Fiji in a contest. They meet a resort owner there who invites them to play a game which involves answering eight questions truthfully followed by a daring act. The prize money is 21 crores with only one rule… if you lie, you die. The game soon becomes a trap for the couple and what follows then is a thrilling and suspenseful drama.
It’s a novel story and the narrative keeps you engaged for most parts. Once the initial acts are over, you know that it’s not only a game and that builds a good suspense of why is all this happening, how are the couple and their past linked with the game-master and where will this lead to. The climax is also somewhat shocking with a tragic yet extremely meaningful message. However, the film has too many weak points to be a good thriller. While some questions and acts are interesting, some are plain silly and amateurish and none of the acts is thrilling enough to take you to the edge of your seat. Also, once the suspense unfolds, you wonder what was the need for some of the acts because not all come across as relevant to main story. And you don’t connect with the couple’s pain and helplessness during those acts and that too weakens the overall impact.
In terms of performances, Rajeev Khandelwal is good…he comes to the other side of the table this time in playing “Sach ka Samna”. Tena Desae is strictly ok while Paresh Rawal is competent as always.
With running time of less than two hours, the film is definitely not unwatchable because of its unique story, engaging few sequences and a thoughtful message but it remains far from being a brilliant thriller. Cinema Analyst's Take – Average.
The film is about a married couple who wins a free trip to Fiji in a contest. They meet a resort owner there who invites them to play a game which involves answering eight questions truthfully followed by a daring act. The prize money is 21 crores with only one rule… if you lie, you die. The game soon becomes a trap for the couple and what follows then is a thrilling and suspenseful drama.
It’s a novel story and the narrative keeps you engaged for most parts. Once the initial acts are over, you know that it’s not only a game and that builds a good suspense of why is all this happening, how are the couple and their past linked with the game-master and where will this lead to. The climax is also somewhat shocking with a tragic yet extremely meaningful message. However, the film has too many weak points to be a good thriller. While some questions and acts are interesting, some are plain silly and amateurish and none of the acts is thrilling enough to take you to the edge of your seat. Also, once the suspense unfolds, you wonder what was the need for some of the acts because not all come across as relevant to main story. And you don’t connect with the couple’s pain and helplessness during those acts and that too weakens the overall impact.
In terms of performances, Rajeev Khandelwal is good…he comes to the other side of the table this time in playing “Sach ka Samna”. Tena Desae is strictly ok while Paresh Rawal is competent as always.
With running time of less than two hours, the film is definitely not unwatchable because of its unique story, engaging few sequences and a thoughtful message but it remains far from being a brilliant thriller. Cinema Analyst's Take – Average.
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