DABANGG 2 Review: Chulbul Pandey Came and Went

Bombay moviegoer's expectations were ablaze viewing the giant posters of Bollywood’s most masalaic hero pointing a gun at cars passing by on high avenues. The sequel to one of the cinema industry’s most recent box office monuments, Dabangg, was about to conquer the Indian psyche, or so it seemed...

While I am aware of the huge following Salman Khan has among Indians and while I do believe the icon he has become can become an acquired taste for those of us who did not grow up with masala as a run-of-the-mill method of storytelling, this blogger remains nonetheless underwhelmed with the result of the sequel to a very innovative and entertaining original Dabangg.

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EK THA TIGER Review: Romancing Masala

Once upon a time there was Tiger... A Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif starrer... a full-blown masala entertainer... what could rake in more box office success?

Ek Tha Tiger has been the press' favorite phenomenon this week due to its record breaking success figures and most media is likely to praise and recommend it.The film is a Yash Chopra production with Salman Khan as its main man and therefore makes the movie an entire Salman Khan centered affair, with a fresh-as-a-flower looking Katrina Kaif as his befitting love interest.

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MERA BROTHER KI DULHAN or BODYGUARD?

Both films pulled audiences to the ticketsale counters. Both offer solid and modern entertainment this autumn season.

Mere Brother ki Dulhan is a youthful and pacey tale of the search for the perfect modern day liberated bride, incarnated by Laila (Katrina Kaif) who lives to drink and have fun. It is utterly refreshing to see Katrina Kaif as a full-out rebel, even though her acting still requires developing her individual style more as she somehow often seems to emulate other successful actresses of yesterday and today... She is however very commendable in her role and, as a woman, I have to salute her for not being stick thin but still looking fresh and beautiful. Who wants to be size zero, I say indeed? 

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DABANGG! Vintage Masala's Resurrection!

Bollywood-born Robinhood, Chulbul Pandey (Salman Khan) is capable of crying but still masculine to the core, in true Hindi cinema style. And did anyone say 'fear'? That is certainly a concept unknown to this 'Dabangg' hero (I can still hear a trail of ladies sighing as they come out of the cinema hall).

Cop... lover... rebel Chulbul happens to lose his attachment to family in his childhood when his widowed mother, Naini (Dimple Kapadia), marries Prajapati Pandey (Vinod Khanna), with whom she has son Makhanchan (Arbaaz Khan). Chulbul will only find the worth of family ties later down the line, once he meets and decides to marry exquisite Rajo (Sonakshi Sinha). READ MORE >>

WANTED film review

Today we are glad to feature one of the fantastic reviews being written by the Italian Cine Hindi blog. We are thus very proud to have Diana's insightful review of "Wanted", Salman Khan's latest mega-hit film. A big hello to the knowledgeable team in Italy, with whom we are happy to be establishing a more regular collaboration. Ciao a tutte!

(The original review , written in Italian may be found here).

‘Wanted’ is the Hindi remake of the highly successful Tamil film, ‘Pokkiri’ which was directed by Prabhu Dheva, in charge of directing also the current Hindi version.

‘Wanted’ was released in September last year and may be considered as the most exciting film to be released in 2009. The audience’s acclaim immediately catapulted it to super-hit status within the first week of its release. Critical acclaim additionally ensued, resulting in ‘Wanted’ sweeping away competition from 'Dil Bole Hadippa!' which had released the same weekend. This is undoubtedly due to the film’s perfectly scrumptious mix of action, humour, music, romance and drama in true Indian style: Voilà! Bollywood in all its glorious splendour!

THE PLOT

Radhe (Salman Khan) is a professional killer working for the mafia bosses that share the control of organised crime in Mumbai. He is involved in their gangland wars but works only for money.

Amongst corrupt politicians, crooked cops and criminals, he meets Jhanvi (Ayesha Takia), young, beautiful and naïve, with the vital statistics of a pin-up girl. The two fall in love but the odds are stacked against Radhe, a killer, and the gentle Jhanvi.

‘Wanted’ is an action film with a fluid and enthralling plot. The story’s characters are well-conceived, particularly the despiteful Inspector Talpade (one would have a difficult time imagining a more smarmy policeman). The soundtrack and choreography are also very pleasant and enjoyable. The same amount of attention and care has been put into treating both the romance in the film and the inventive and enthusiastic shoot-outs and brawls. The entire cast has delivered fine performances. Humour and entertainment in spades, ‘Wanted’ is definitely a film not to be missed.

WHAT WORKS:

* Salman Khan, Salman Khan, Salman Khan: a vibrant dancer, an invincible fighting machine, a lovable but caustic boyfriend.

* Salman Khan again, who in the 33rd and 57th minute takes the flowers from a small vase and drinks the water.

* All the action scenes

* All the scenes between Radhe and Jhanvi

* The soundtrack, in particular the ‘Dil Leke’ track, which has been picturized in breathtaking Santorini, creating the perfect atmosphere for a passionate love story or a romantic honeymoon. (Note from HCB: Check out the video of the song and the lyrics, translated to English, by clicking here)

WHAT DOESN’T:

* Nothing!

Perhaps, purely for the sake of argument, the ending between the two lovers could have been more impassioned, but there is already talk of a sequel. To see more of Radhe and Jhanvi together, we will just have to be patient.

TRIVIA TIDBITS

* The picturization of ‘Jalwa’ features a nice cameo performance from Prabhu Deva, Govinda and Anil Kapoor.

* Both Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan are named in the film.

* Wanted by Prabhu Deva is the Hindi remake of ‘Pokkiri’, also directed by Prabhu Deva. ‘Pokkiri’ in turn, is a Tamil remake of ‘Pokkiri’ a film made in Telugu and directed by Mahesh Babu.

Cast
Radhe/Rajveer Shekhawat - Salman Khan
Jhanvi - Ayesha Takia (No Smoking, Dor)
Inspector Talpade - Mahesh Manjrekar (Slumdog Millionaire)
Gani Bhai - Prakash Rai
Golden - Aseem Merchant
Ashraf Khan - Govind Namdeo
Inder Kumar - Ajay
Vinod Khanna - Shrikant Shekhawat
Daniel Malik - Landlord
Mishal Mlaik - Jhanvi's Mother

Directed by Prabhu Deva


Produced by Boney Kapoor


Music by brothers Sajid (Main Aurr Mrs Khanna) and Wajid Ali (Welcome)
Buy the ‘Wanted’ soundtrack on Itunes.


Choreography:
Raju Sundaram (Kaminey)
Vaibhavi Merchant (Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi)
Rajiv Surti (Main Aurr Mrs Khanna)
Vishnudeva (Fast Forward)

Released: 2009

Distributed by Eros Enterainment
 

Written by: Diana

Edited by: Aline CineHindi

VEER - A Bolly-dream of another age

A much talked about and awaited film, 'Veer', despite Salman Khan's effort and involvement, tends to leave the audience exhausted after what seems like a wild and incongruous ride in a time machine.

Take films like 'Pirates of the Caribbean', 'He-Man' or even 'Braveheart'. Add a dose of splendourous images, epoch film moments featuring a beautiful girl and scenes with Indian festivals thrown in and...shazam! You have 'Veer'!

The plot concentrates on a Rajputana tribe who parties, drinks and kills, sometimes with a good helping of gore, while at the same time wearing impressive pirate-like or soldier outfits that are not historically identifiable. The tribe is betrayed by the king of Madhavgarh (Jackie Shroff), who acts in favor of the British. Veer and Punya (Salman and Sohail Khan), two of the tribe's young members, are sent to London in order to understand the British mindset and use this information to the advantage of their clan. Veer, however, falls in love with Madhavgarh's princess, making matters a little more complicated, as would usually have a typical Bolly-drama.

It is sad to see that a film in which so much splendour and energy has been placed has failed to put true soul into its story. In spite of an attractive soundtrack, lavish sets and some fun choreographies, 'Veer' fails to impress, mainly due to an underdeveloped plot and a thoroughly illogic script.

If you are a huge Salman Khan fan or if you care little about a logical plot and wish to watch a modern film that still features some of Bollywood's most ancient clichés: strong melodrama, good looking people in heavy clothing and colourful decors, by all means do watch 'Veer'. If not, you might want to wait for Salman's next releases or give another one of his past films a rewatch instead.

Directed by Anil Sharma

Screenplay: Salman Khan, Shaktimaan, Shailesh Verma

Cast:
Salman Khan
Zarine Khan
Bianca Van Varenberg
Mithun Chakraborty
Jackie Shroff
Lisa Lazarus
Sohail Khan 

Produced by  Vijay Galani


Original Music and lyrics by Sajid-Wajid and Gulzar