Sunday 22 December 2013

DHOOM 3 : Movie Review



When the writer of the first two films of a successful franchise takes the director's chair for a third shot at more of the same that is exactly what one gets : more of the same. This time around, the bikes, babes and brawls formula is dished out even more liberally than before. So, for the most part, Dhoom:3  is a high voltage action flick that relies squarely on known methods of genre. Actually, familiarity of this kind isn't such a bad thing since the audience knows what is coming and does not have too many unsettling surprises sprung at them. Writer-Director Vijay Krishna Acharya who scripted earlier Dhoom 1,2 and directed Tashan, has mounted this one a scale that is no less unapologetically lavish. There are beautifully layered frames, shots where lighting creates the afterglow that follows moments of spiritual revelation. Though, that sort of depth is just an illusion and a mirage in this film, like the magician's trick which defines the film's plot. But, there is a secret that this intriguing film springs at us mid-point. Alas, the secret, if one may call it that, only contours the film's most well known fact : this is an Aamir Khan show all the way. And he gets to give his most over-the-top performance - some of which looks like a dig at Shah Rukh Khan's My Name is Khan.


SCRIPT & SCREENPLAY                                              :          Aditya Chopra along with Vijay Krishna Acharya share the credit for being the story & screen-play writers of Dhoom 3. Had they invested as much energy on developing the characters beyond superficial levels and investing  the dramatic situations with more depth than what one encounters in standard revenge dramas and cops-and-robbers capers, the third instalment might have towered above the first two. A lot of time in the first 50 minutes or so is wasted on the protracted 'entry' scenes that are apportioned to the principal members of the cast. There is a tremendous sense of fun and games in the goings-on but there is also a deep sense of tragedy underlining the playfulness. Sombre ramifications accentuate the bevy of bacchanalia. The finely framed out film finally comes to a very sad conclusion where the theme of twin is seen as a mirror image that's wiped out under pressure. The story begins in 1990 in town of Chicago with Iqbal (Jackie Shroff), committing suicide as his Great Indian Circus is closed by bank after he becomes defaulter. His son, magician as well as a circus performer, Sahir (Aamir Khan) grows up with an aim to virtually destroy the bank to the verge of closure. He successfully robs the bank and to nab him our desi cops Jai Dixit (Abhishek Bachchan) & Ali (Uday Chopra) are called from India. The rest you can go and watch in theatres. 

STARCAST                                                                   :     Aamir Khan along with technical brilliance holds the key to the film's efficacy. And how much you like this segment of this Dhoom franchise depends entirely on how well you accept Aamir's over-emphasized performance, ceaseless smirk, constantly arched eyebrows and all. Aamir Khan, needless to say, takes predence over everyone (and everything) else in the film, including occasionally the script. From the word go, he gets to 'perform' an array of gravity-defying acts and motorcycle stunts that are difficult to describe. Abhishek Bachchan as Jai, Aamir's law-enforcing adversary tries to offset Aamir's double edged swat with some staright faced acting and has looked impressive too. But, Alias he doesn't have much scope to perform and the same stands true for Uday Chopra as Ali who had considerable better comic moments in  Dhoom predecessors. Although Katrina Kaif has a minuscule role but she has series of breathtaking dances to perform and looks ravishing while doing them and simply bowls us over. She jumps,glides somersaults and gambols until we flip for her graceful moves. Our, Jackie Dada also manages to impress in his special performance while chanting " Bande hain hum Uske, Humpe Kiska Zor".    

TECHNICAL FINESSE                             :             Undoubtedly, Dhoom 3 can be touted as one of the best ever flicks in terms of technical excellence right from the word go n the first frame of the movie. The music for the flick has been given by Preetam who i feel has done an average job if compared to the other earlier Dhoom offerings. The cinematographer of the the movie is Sudeep Chatterjee who has done an astounding job and definitely deserves all the praise for the same. He definitely knows, recognizes, acknowledges and records beauty in every form, right from the architecture to Katrina Kaif. Two other technical crew who deserve applause is Production Designer Sumit Basu and Art director Adri Siriwatt. Gimmicky props are constantly brought for consideration. Sleek motorcycles that turn into motorboats in green-blue canals, magician's tricks which show up at any given moment, twins who swap roles without warning. The movie has been edited by Ritesh Soni who has really done a great job as despite being overlong (172 minutes) and a tad laden footed at times, Dhoom 3 stays true enough to its avowed intent of being passably engaging.  Director, Vijay Acharya who helms this avatar of Dhoom, furnishes a fabulous style to the proceedings with beautifully lit  frames. The director knows how to juice the characters' emotions without spilling the sentiments all across the frames. 

WOW MOMENTS                                     :        The scene in the beginning of the flick with Jackie playing a magician on the skids, is done up in shades of shimmering discontent suggesting a deep fracture in the plot separating the haves from the have-naughties. The tap dance performed by Aamir Khan with such an ease despite his short stout built is also a highlight of the movie. And, "Malang" song has also turned out to be a real visual treat. 
    
CONCLUSION                                                   :    DHOOM : 3 is an intriguing piece of work....slender  supple     smart    extravagant .....and yet helmed by a central performance that screams for attention. 
ROHIT SHARMA.
Follow me on twitter at  https://twitter.com/smgr105
rohitreview@gmail.com
           

Monday 16 December 2013

Sunday 8 December 2013

R....Rajkumar : Movie review



When Prabhu Dheva ventured into directing exaggerated action sagas, one wondered on the dancing demigod's diverse choice of genre. But in his last three bollywood directorial offerings, Prabhu Dheva followed a set trend which was quite similar to evergreen mindless masala genre that is synonymous with names like Manmohan Desai, Subhash Ghai. In fact, Prabhu Dheva tends to direct a film pretty much like he choreographs a song i.e. in a perky way. He packs both i.e. direction as well as choreography, from end to end, with a frenzied hurry of brisk hand and feet movements and a surfeit of high - decibel musical clatter. The astoundingly lithe dance steps that he conjures up tend to flummox the eyes ; the attendant sounds unleash a non-stop assault on the eardrums. The two together ( and singly as well ), have clearly outlived their utility to a certain extent for a certain section of movie watchers. A violent action film that has been designed to bring Shahid Kapoor into the tough guy league, R....Rajkumar is weighed down by just the kind of music and machismo formula that worked for Wanted and Rowdy RathoreR....Rajkumar pushes every Prabhu Dheva trademark element to the maximum of its hilt but alias, the screenplay falters somewhere down the line and its only some performances especially of  Sonu Sood & Mukul Dev which save the movie.

SCRIPT & SCREENPLAY                                    :                     The weakest point due to which this movie falters the most is its storyline as well as screenplay (( As if the earlier flicks of Prabhu had the best of storyline )). The amazing part is that not one or two..but four people have been credited for their writing efforts for this movie which ( storyline ) you find non-existent while watching the movie. Prabhu Dheva has written the story where as he along with Sunil Aggarwal, Shiraz Ahmed, Ravi.S.Sundaram have been credited for screenplay writing. And, the screenplay, whatever little there is of it, is mangled heap of nonsense with logic and good taste given a wide berth all the through. The film also takes limp shots at raising some laughs by way of the rustic villain's attempts to learn Queen's English and pick up modern ways. Romeo Rajkumar ( Yes, the big secret to "R" was that our hero is a big Romeo who believes either in pyaar pyaar pyaar or maar maar maar.) Now, our male protagonist lands himself in a lawless village governed by two warring parties Parmar ( Ashish Vidyarathi ) and Shivraj ( Sonu Sood ) who are at loggerheads with each other over monoplizing the business of drugs and Rajkumar starts working with Shivraj. While Rajkumar is rugged, passionate and rebellious, he is blessed with a well chiseled body and devilish charm. Rajkumar's life and ambition go haywire when he comes across beautiful Chanda ( Sonakshi Sinha ) and falls heads over heels over her. He leaves no stone unturned to woo Chanda, an educated smart girl who lives her life on her own terms and is quite bindaas. While Rajkumar is raw yet hot, Chanda is gorgeous, strong headed. But in order to make his love flourish, he needs to fight his own employer,Shivraj along with other drug dealers and mafias and gives an open challenge to Shivraj. So, you think its time for claps....hold on guys....this is a Prabhu Dheva movie, hence you will get ample opportunities to clap scene after scene.

STARCAST                                                     :                 Coming to the performances, the whole movie revolves around the male protagonist i.e. Shahid Kapoor who could have really benefited from this role. But,  It's quite a pity to see Shahid Kapoor putting all his efforts into a banal character which doesn't work out as per his persona.. His hardwork can be seen with the tremendous dancing that he does in all the numbers and also manages to put up a commendable performance. Blame is on the script for not doing justice to the actor. Shahid looks like a complete misfit, what with his body type, bashing up countless people to pulp. This genre is just not meant for him. Sonakshi Sinha yet again takes her prop position in the film and fails to please as her character in this flick has not been sketched to perfection. The rest of the ensemble cast including the likes of  Aashish Vidyarthi, Asrani and Srihari, ham to the fullest, guess on the filmmaker's direction. Two actors who stand out and impress with their performances are namely Mukul Dev & Sonu Sood. Sonu Sood gets ample scope to showcase his diverse acting range as his character encompasses both comic as well as villainous traits. Mukul Dev on the other hand makes the most of his character-sketch and actually is credited not only with some of the laugable gags but also with an emotional outburst towards the penultimate part of the movie.

TECHNICAL FINESSE                                    :                  Another highlight of Prabhu Dheva movies has been their peppy music which Prabhu uses brilliantly to choreograph in his immaculate style. And music of R....Rajkumar also falls in the same league and the man who has composed it is Pritam Chakraborty. The background music has been given by Sandeep Chowta which is in tandem with the screenplay and works well. The cinematography has been handled by Mohan Krishna who has captured some brilliant visuals. The movie has been edited by Ballu Saluja who has done a good job and kept the length of the movie to 134 minutes. As a director, Prabhu Dheva has tried his level best to provide some impetus to a banal script and screenplay but this time he has been been able to achieve success to a certain extent only. The movie works in the first half but fizzles out in the later half. R....Rajkumar is incontrovertible proof that Prabhu Dheva has been hit by the law of dimnishing returns and has to think out of the box lest he falls prey to the repetitive genre and looses his credibility.

WOW MOMENTS                                                :     The verbal duel that ensues between Shahid & Mukul Dev in the beginning as to who is the chief confidant or the best man of drug lord (Sonu Sood) is quite witty. The way Shahid looses himself whenever Sonakshi crosses his way looks very very cute and has been shot well.

CONCLUSION                                                      :     R....Rajkumar is a typical Prabhu Dheva Ishtyle movie, fully loaded with over the top action sequences accompanied by loud dialogues and punches. To make R...Rajkumar a typical potboiler, Prabhu has put in mesmerizing dances, power packed stunts but forgot to concentrate on the screenplay. Hence, it might appeal only to a certain section of cine watchers.
ROHIT SHARMA.
Follow me on twitter at  https://twitter.com/smgr105
rohitreview@gmail.com