What follows is not much of a review than a disparagement of this movie.

This is probably by far the worst movie that I have seen in recent history. Yasraj films have lost it. They have lost the ability to differentiate between good directors and absolutely horrendous directors. As my friend puts it rightly in her blog the director Vijay Krishna Acharya should stick to his vocation of dialogue writing. The film has got nothing going for it. The script is useless, the story line is nonsensical, the costumes are shocking, the dance sequences are atrocious and the cinematography was ghastly. No kidding! Some of the camera angles actually gave me a headache.

Anil Kapoor and Akshay Kumar were good in the execution of their roles. Although their killing of the English language is entertaining initially, it starts to get to you later on. Saif Ali Khan doesn’t have much to do. And Kareena Kapoor is average. But the most scandalous part of the movie was left for the last twenty minutes action sequence. The director’s brain must have gone for a walk when these stunts were being played out.

The director surely thinks we Indians are dimwits. Why do I say that? Well, there are so many scenes in the movie where the change of sets and locations is totally preposterous. In one scene Kareena, Akshay and Saif are in Haridwar and in the next scene they are driving down a narrow road in Greece! (with Kareena in the boot!) Let’s face it, who is the director kidding? There are no rivers near Haridwar that have crystal clear blue water!

The only saving grace for the movie is Vishal-Shekar’s music. They have done a tremendous job.

If Yashraj keeps throwing such garbage at us, very soon they might loose their stature as the production powerhouse. They might do well by being selective about the script and the director.

I would give this movie a 0.5 on 5. Just a note: That’s the lowest rating a movie has ever got on my blog.

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Can’t believe what you just read? I asked one of my friends who was online what he thought of this movie review. And this was his response (He has seen the movie too):

Me: do i need to berate it more?

M.J: yes i think lil more

Me: or shud i tone it down a bit?

M.J: .5 on 5 is generous

Me: lols…no dude…in future i mite see a worse movie…then i need to have some room for that

M.J: no remote possibility

Me: lols

M.J: nothing can be worse than this…are these stars carzy…how do they sign films like this?

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The BBC reported today that the ECB might be coming up with a response to the IPL. First off, a response to the IPL? That doesn’t even make any sense. IPL is a local league in India that draws the attention of a lot of international players because of the big bucks. Since, it is a local league, where does competing with the IPL come into the picture? Do soccer leagues compete with each other to gain popularity or to make quick bucks? I have never heard of the English Premiere League and the Spanish League battling it out with each other. So I am guessing what the ECB means is that they want a share of the profit from the format of the game that was invented by them.

Part of the reason behind organizing their own T20 league could be the fact that English players have been barred from playing in the IPL till 2010. Well if you want your players to be monetarily satisfied why not change the contract and allow them to play in the IPL from the next season? If you read the BBC article, you will notice that the impetus to this league has been given in part by a Texan billionaire Sir Allen Stanford. Sir Stanford has already organized two editions of a T20 tournament in the West Indies and they have been pretty successful. But at the end of the day, he is a businessman who would like to cash in on the popularity of T20. Hence, his aggressive pitch for a T20 league in England. There are three particular flaws in this proposal. Firstly, ECB might not be able to splash around as much cash as the IPL does. Secondly, I don’t see how they can create a window for this new league in the busy international schedule. Thirdly - and this could be the most important factor- almost all of the international stars are contracted with their IPL teams for three years. That means their current contract ends in 2011. So these players might not be available for the English league for the next three years.

I am not opposing the establishment of a league in England. Just don’t project it as a “response” to the IPL. In fact the ECB and the BCCI might benefit from collaborating with the each other. How? Well, the ECB could have an arrangement with the IPL teams where in players could be transferred from the IPL teams to the English league teams. Yeah, like soccer! Or work with the ICC and the BCCI to create dedicated windows for both the leagues in the international cricket calender.

Lastly, the BBC article quotes Sir Stanford as saying: “With the IPL, when the sizzle and sparkle has gone away, what’s left?” I don’t think he has judged the magnitude of the IPL correctly. With industry heavyweights investing heavily in their teams, Sir Stanford should realize that these team owners will leave no stone unturned to make huge profits. And how do they make profits? By keeping the enthusiasm alive and kicking. And in a cricket crazy nation like India, it should not be too difficult to do that.

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To read the BBC News article cited in this blog post click here.

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If there is any actor who can probably match Aamir Khan with his directorial skills, it has got to be Ajay Devgan. He has done a fantastic job with U Me Aur Hum.

The way he has gone about directing and acting is amazing.

That’s what Kajol said in an interview few months back. And every word of that is true. When I read that interview, I felt that she is just promoting her film. How wrong I was!

This movie describes a journey of life between two individuals deeply in love with each other. Piya (Kajol) is a waitress in a cruise liner when she is wooed by Ajay (Ajay Devgan) who is holidaying in the cruise along with his group of friends. Eventually they get married. Piya is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease at the same time when the doctors realize that she is pregnant. What follows is a really moving and open portrayal of Piya and Ajay’s sufferings and how they make it through.

Kajol has probably given her best performance till date. When she gets the memory loss attacks, a chill runs down your spine. You hope that no one ever suffers from this. That’s how well she’s essayed the role. Ajay Devgan is in his usual best. But where he scores is his direction. Although the plot might be similar to the 2004 movie ‘The Notebook’ (directed by Nick Cassavetes), Devgan has made it more realistic by adding his flavor of sensibility (Yes, for a change a Hollywood movie was more filmy!). No unnecessary twists and no unnecessary dance and song sequences. A welcome relief from the string of average films that the Mumbai film industry has been throwing at as for the past few months.

The rest of the cast which includes prominent actors like Sachin Khedekar, Sumeet Raghvan, Divya Dutta, Karan Khanna and Isha Shervani have done exceptionally well. The music by Vishal Bharadwaj blends beautifully into the movie.

On a scale of 1 to 5 I would give it 4.5. In short, do go and watch the movie.

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I always loved spending time at the coffee house. There’s no better pleasure than exchanging intellectual (and sometimes nonsensical) talks over a cup of coffee. Imagine a five hour talkathon that covers topics as wide as honeymooning in the British Virgin Islands to the American Civil War. Mix this up with a debate over why the U.S economy will recover from its current downturn. Follow this up with a discussion on Texas’ judicial system where death penalty cases are expedited. Chat up about a similar case fought by Alan Shore in the popular T.V show, Boston Legal. And yes, appreciate James Spader’s and William Shatner’s portrayal of Alan Shore and Denny Crane. Then proceed with an explanation of how the suburban train systems in Mumbai were your lifeline during junior college years. Next, proceed to berate the “classes” in Mumbai that act as pseudo schools. And then talk about palm reading and horoscopes - why I don’t believe in them, and yet I feel good after finding out that my future is going to be great! No coffee conversation can be complete without exchange of “family and friend gossip”. Who is doing what (or who!). Finally discuss your weekend plans over a blueberry muffin and a plain croissant.

The oversized cushiony chairs next to an electric fireplace provided the perfect setting for the afternoon. Add “iced mocha” and “cookies and cream smoothie” to this eclectic mix of subjects. And what you get is a very satisfying end to lazy yet unforgettable afternoon.

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Yeah, I know it has been over three months since this movie released. But I just saw it three days ago. It is probably one of the more saner movies I have seen in the past few months.

Coming from a society where teen pregnancy is not that predominant but is probably on the rising side of the curve, this movie offers a fantastic parenting approach to this issue. That’s what I appreciated most in the movie. Parents didn’t freak out and force the kid to undergo an abortion. On the contrary, they supported her choice to have the baby adopted by a wealthy family. When I came out of the movie hall, one question kept coming back to me: “Will parents from India handle the situation in a similar way?” Probably not.

Ellen Page has played her character fantastically. Her portrayal of an “independent tomboy who is funny and intelligent but not cool to date with” was worth an Oscar. Too bad she didn’t get it though. It is very rare that I come out of a movie hall with emotions filling up my head. This movie did just that. If you still haven’t seen the movie then please do go and watch it. And if you have a teenage daughter or son, please drag them along with you.

If I had to rate this movie, I would give it 5 on 5. Will I watch it again? Yes! A big YES!

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