Naseeruddin Shah is India's finest actor.

One man makes all the difference - Naseeruddin Shah. To breathe life into such a simplistically written character is indeed a challenge, and Shah does exceedingly well and actually with his brilliance takes it to another level. So strong is his portrayal that you almost empathize with his angst. You forget that he is just an actor mouthing lines given to him by the dialogue writer. Shah becomes the character. That intensity in voice, that anger in eyes, those frail expressions of a middle-class existence in Mumbai are so apparent in Shah’s interpretation that you want to see more and more of him. And if the claps of audience in the theaters are anything to go by, the country’s finest actor’s performance in ‘A Wednesday’ has really hit you hard!

It's obvious why one might be inclined to see this film in favourable light. A person-on-the-street's grouse against the escalating threat to their lives; be it through recurring terror attacks or even monsoon floods. Post-such episodes, most of us whip ourselves back into normalcy, only for the freshest incident to dip us back into gloom. Yet, we do nothing about it.

‘A Wednesday’ is a film centered on burgeoning terrorism globally. This time it is the common man who wields the mike and makes himself heard. It is he who asks questions of his survival, his well-being, his life. Questions that are being asked all over the world but find it increasingly more difficult to be answered in India torn as it is with communal strife, poverty, external aggression and an outdated system. The film takes the system head-on and forcing itself to take a look at some uncomfortable truths. But this film takes a route few have trodden by showing drastic repercussions of its continual inability to tackle life-threatening issues. The film builds this catharsis, and the choices the characters make are brilliant in a tightly wrapped screenplay. The film doesn't fall prey of the usual setback of thrillers starting off impressively but losing momentum midways. It's consistent all through and the imaginative culmination imparts the film that extra sheen.

Debutante director Neeraj Pandey brings to us, idealistic and incorrupt officials ready to lay down their lives at a moment's notice but he does that with a touch of realism that makes them believable. He invests a human side to every character and juxtaposes the human dilemmas and pressures of the profession ably in each. ‘A Wednesday’ is a very brave film and Pandey should be applauded for the effort. It’s not an offbeat film but a completely commercial film with a message and by no means is the film a patriotic or jingoistic film.

The confrontation scenes between Anupam Kher and Shah are a treat to say the least. Anupam Kher comes up with a fine performance. Jimmy Sheirgill and Aamir Bashir are equally adept and gracefully natural. Deepal Shaw as a news TV reporter is quite capable and her voice is dubbed with a typical accent characteristic of the profession.

Besides a tight script, the film has very focussed direction by Neeraj Pandey. A lot of the film has been shot by Fuwad Khan in stylish top-shots where the characters - terrorists and counter-terrorist maneuverings appear larger than life and yet miraculously shrunken in the cosmic scheme of things. Editing and music keeps the energy and pace of the film going and increases the upbeat tempo.

And finally, it could have been any day of the week, but it is about a Wednesday, and a significant Wednesday at that. Watch it for its riveting plot and brilliant performances.

ROCK ON is SPOT ON!!

I saw ‘Rock On’ a couple of days back. After I came out of the theater, I went back to all the things portrayed in the movie, and thought it was a very influential movie signifying some of the very bitter truths of life. Each one of us has some dream. Someone wants to be a pilot, someone wants to play cricket for India, someone wants to make an Oscar winning film…. ‘Rock On’ is a fairy tale that pushes you to live that dream. If you have a dream left behind at the back of your mind, watch ‘Rock On’ it will give you a perspective, of where you are and where you could have been and whether you would want to be there. Follow your dreams and life will literally be on a song else five years down the line, a disgruntled you would shout at your wife ‘Dus saal pehle mainey yehi zindagi chuni thi… Yes it was a compromise but compromise kaun nahin karta?’.

‘Rock On’ is not just about dreams and music. It's about relationships also. As all of us would agree relationships can get really complicated and messy at times. ‘Rock On’ captures it beautifully, effectively and sensitively. ‘Rock On’ is an extremely well shot film with each shot actually communicating with the audience rather than just moving the film ahead and every scene enacted has an ease that almost seems like candid camera. The experience is quiet exhilarating also because it is the first Bollywood film that actually depicts a rock concert.

The onscreen performances of the actors mirror the status of their characters in the band throughout the movie. Almost as if the rock band’s chemistry is shared by the four actors. Also, despite parallel narration of two time-spans, very rarely does any scene seem out of place. ‘Rock On’ seems to be clearly designed by Farhan Akhar as his own acting debut and he doesn’t let himself down. Lending voice to all his songs helps him to get into his character with effortless ease. Arjun Rampal looks mature in his character and comes up with a career best performance. Purab Kohli has a natural flair for comedy and Luke Kenny is impressive in his role. From the female leads Shahana Goswami comes up with the most compelling act and is a natural scene stealer. In a small yet significant role Prachi Desai justifies her poised presence.

Being the first of its kind in Bollywood the rocking music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy is the talk of the town and for once you don’t feel that songs are forced into a film. Jason West’s camerawork is just fabulous; Baylon Fonseca’s sound design is excellent. Although Abhishek Kapoor has been credited with story and direction but you can easily witness the ‘creative’ imprints of Farhan Akhtar.

‘ROCK ON is SPOT ON’ and is going to become a cult hit, one that achieves cult status and mainstream success as well.

Science or Superstition?

The great debate between science and superstition continues, but RGV’s ‘Phoonk’ tilts in favour of superstition, civilised society may frown at superstition and blind belief but as a subject, it works big time because somewhere deep within all of us, we’ve heard of the power of the unknown. Whether you’re superstitious or not, you may have heard tales / experiences concerning black magic / voodoo. And you’re all eyes and ears the moment someone comes up with an alibi. For ‘Phoonk’ — the subject of black magic — is its biggest star and that alone is ensuring houseful boards outside cinemas.

Crocin ki goli pe bharosa karna aur kaale jaadu mein vishwaas karne mein kya antar hai ???....!!! This line is actually a dialogue from the movie and let me tell you it is one of the high points in the movie as it pops up the big question of whether things like black magic actually exist or are they just whims and fancies of a creative / destructive mind. In retrospect this movie has made a strong attempt that it’s not just a belief and something like this actually exists. You can believe in these or not, it doesnt matter. But you have to consider this when you or your loved ones are seemingly being threatened by demonic force. RGV has always rejected any responsibility for influencing audiences through his cinema, so I guess; RGV has already absolved himself in print several times!

Children can be superbly scary because that's precisely what we least expect them to be. In films like ‘The Exorcist’, ‘The Omen’ and more recently, ‘The Orphanage’, little kids have successfully made us scream. Ahsaas Channa, as a child possessed by an evil spirit is really moving. She has very clearly exhausted herself in exhibiting what her character went through, and has performed really well. My heart went out as much to her character as to the child artiste herself.

As always, RGV has managed to extract the best out of Sudeep, Amruta Khanvilkar, Ahsaas Channa, Kenny Desai, Ashwini Kalsekar, Zakir Hussain and Ganesh Yadav. On the technical end an interesting camera technique is employed to reveal different aspects of the same tableau. The film is excellent for the first time DOP Savita Singh, who has played with the camera angles throughout the film making it a fascinating cinematic experience on a subject that’s rarely tackled. Every sequence RGV manages to very effectively toy with the audience's expectations of when a scare will appear. That’s the stamp of a genius that RGV is, hits and flops notwithstanding.

For me personally, RGV’s ‘Raat’ is still the best in this genre.

Tribute to the spirit and resilience of Mumbai

Post 2006 train bomb blasts in Mumbai, there was a newspaper headline – ‘Mumbai Ripped Apart’. The same day, another national daily carried the same news, but with a different approach towards it. It read – ‘Mumbai Survives’. It was just the difference in various point of views from which people looked at the entire incident.

‘Mumbai Meri Jaan’ tries to deal with the same. At one level, it shows how there are people who overcame the fear of bomb blasts and moved on in life as if nothing has changed. While there is another sect of people whose lives have forever been unsettled because of this incident.

In terms of theme and format, the film is reminiscent of Naseeruddin Shah’s ‘Yun Hota To Kya Hota’ where multiple stories ran in parallel episodes and converged at the 9/11 terrorist attack on the Twin Towers. This one, too, has different tracks but the individual stories ‘emerge’ from the 7/11 train bombings in Mumbai. From a brilliant broadcast journalist to a patriotic corporate man; from a retiring policeman at the twilight of his life to a rookie cop at the dawn of his career; from an angry and xenophobic unemployed young man to a coffee-vendor struggling to survive and belong: ‘Mumbai Meri Jaan’ follows the lives of people from all strata of Mumbai's bustling society as they tackle the aftermath of a fatal incident that brings out the best and sometimes the worst in them.

The modern city of Mumbai is a collage of seven islands. In the film Paresh Rawal, wonders if the seven train bomb blasts, which killed over two hundred people, will divide the dynamic city again. It's perfectly observed moments like this that make the film so special. A movie like this helps society to introspect, to find its strength and drawbacks.

Amidst formula-driven films, only once in a while do you come across a movie which strikes chord with a social theme and is enormously entertaining at the same time. Only once in a while do you come across a movie that has an outstandingly original screenplay and more importantly it connects with the viewer convincingly. While the film embraces an underlying social theme, it at no point tends to get preachy and also steers away from taking sides or getting judgmental. It’s the director’s slice-of-life approach that makes you receive the film with an unconditional open mind.

‘Mumbai Meri Jaan’ is embellished with superlative performances. Paresh Rawal comes up with one of his most poignant performances in recent times, a pleasant change from his customary comic act. His climax speech that covers the plot-points of all the protagonists brings a lump in throat. Despite playing a character with similar motivations like in ‘Shaurya’, Kay Kay brings variety to his act. Soha Ali Khan is outstanding in the scene where she breaks down in the hospital. Irrfan Khan doesn’t speak a single Hindi word in the film but yet conveys immensely through his expressions. His character oozes innocence in the climax sequence where he seeks pardon in his own charming way. Vijay Maurya is exceptionally good as the idealistic junior constable. Madhavan is at his best.

This film is a brilliant piece of cinema; mainly because, it is not rushed into production like some of the other films in mainstream Indian cinema. It has spent its deserved time on the scriptwriter’s table. What we have, as a result, is a film that looks complete. For people complaining of incompetent scripts, here is a screenplay that is immaculate, intelligent and emotionally binding. 'Mumbai Meri Jaan' is a director's tribute to the spirit and resilience of Mumbai and its people. The climax is one of the most subtle and heart-rending, yet strongest ones I’ve seen in Hindi cinema in the recent times.

In a scene from the film, Paresh Rawal tells his junior Vijay Maurya, ‘Mumbai mein sirf picture dekhne ka, acting nahi karne ka’. It’s this evasive sense of responsibility that the film highlights our attention to. At least as an audience, be responsible enough to respect such cinematic attempts.

Love in Transition

The promise that Ranbir Kapoor displayed in Saawariya, his debut venture, has been duly fulfilled in this breezy, urbane tale of love and longing, set against a come-of-age backdrop of 21st century twenty-something Indians. Here is a crackling bunch of gals and guys who mirror the mores and manners of modern India. And leading the bratpack, or should we say, carrying the film through, is the smart and superbly relaxed Ranbir Kapoor who proves he's a complete natural before the camera.

It's a three-track love story, relayed in a delectable style which unabashedly pays homage to Yash Raj productions signature film ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge’. Ranbir Kapoor plays a newage Raj and takes off where Shah Rukh Khan left in DDLJ. This is not the greatest YRF movie, but it may be sufficient to get them their first hit of this year and break the jinx of a series of flops. The gist of the story is truly captivating; the guy is a complete flirt, he wears his heart on his sleeve. Enter three women in different stages of his life. Love is in the air. Two dream of marrying him, but he ditches them and the third, whom he intends marrying, says a blunt 'No' to the offer. Heart-broken, the guy realizes his folly. He goes back to the first two women and apologises. It’s a reasonably mature look at relationships and gives women believable roles to play. ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’ bears an uncanny resemblance to the yesteryear film ‘Teen Devian’ starring Dev Anand, Nanda, Simi Grewal and also a recent hit Telugu film ‘Autograph’ starring Raviteja and Bhoomika. On the whole, ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’ has an interesting first half, but a weak second half spoils the film which had lot of potential.

Ranbir Kapoor has grown from ‘Saawariya’ to ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’. He handles emotional scenes now with more flair and comfortability. His comic timing is great and he comes across as a dashing young man with a heart of a romantic and he plays the role with aplomb. In just his second film Ranbir Kapoor shows why he is touted as one of the best newcomers. Finally, Bollywood gets its new chocolate boy. Bipasha Basu as usual sizzled on the screen throughout, maybe because she has a better written role. Minisha Lamba was inconsistent but good in parts. Deepika Padukone gives a super confident performance and that too just in her second film! Kunal Kapoor has delivered a knock out (pun intended) performance as a surprise element in the film. Hiten Paintal is a revelation, a talent to watch out for.

Siddharth Raj Anand offers stunning visuals and extracts some really fine performances, but is highly letdown by the script in the second half. Three songs stand out, the classic ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’ ‘Lucky Boy’ and ‘Khuda Jaane’. The cinematography is fantastic; the locales have been beautifully captured.

If you have followed the news, you would be aware that Katrina Kaif was also a part of ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’. Her role was eventually chopped off as the running time of the film was going well over 3 hours. I am very curious to know what her role in the movie actually was?!