ONCE UPON A TIME IN MUMBAAI 2: Of Love and Other Passions

Milan Luthria pairs up with Ekta Kapoor once again and directs the sequel to his gangster hit Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai with generous and unapologetic Bollywood masala and action scene close-ups, enriching this new film with more romance than the first movie of the series.

 

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Bollywood Infomercial Sleek: RACE 2 Review

 

Let us quote and interview of Johann Verheem, founder of a weight loss company who became famous overnight due to one of his infomercials: “It's not just that sex sells, but one of the other things very important in direct selling, in infomercials, is that a product looks different enough for someone to stop and watch it.” (Inc. magazine)

Verheem's expert knowledge of "what sells" completely matches my impression of Abbas and Mustan Burmawalla's Race 2, where a score of gorgeous males and females show off their tanned and chiseled bodies and brand clothes in luxurious settings while trying to appear cool by emoting as minimum as possible and handling uncannily humongous sums of money (plus the shroud of Turin!) throughout a plot that unfortunately keeps craving for an ending well before the intermission.

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Masterful Kapoor in BARFI! - Film Review

Long before Ranbir Kapoor, Ileana D'Cruz and Priyanka Chopra faced a stampede in Bangalore a few days ago, Barfi! had entered my consciousness with its adorable trailer. Having watched it at its release, I have searched my words for several hours and would say that the film does not end when one comes out of the cinema hall. This one stays with you well beyond.

Barfi! is the story of Murphy/Barfi (Ranbir Kapoor) set in 1970's Darjeeling and Calcutta. Barfi is a mischievous and clever deaf-mute youth who falls in love with Shruti (Ileana D'Cruz). While Shruti feels affection for Barfi, she prefers to marry a man approved by her parents. When several years later, Shruti and Barfi meet again, he lives with Jhilmil (Priyanka Chopra), his autistic childhood friend who suddenly goes missing. As Shruti helps Barfi find the girl he now loves, she understands that she has never stopped loving him. Love and the pursuit of happiness are delicately portrayed by all three actors.

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MAUSAM Stolen Moments of Romance

"Mausam"... When I heard the title of Pankaj Kapoor's maiden film, it brought back memories of Mhd. Rafi's "Aaj mausam bada beimaan hai" and therefore images of traditional romantic movies...

Mausam is a love story spanning the four seasons of its hero and heroine's lives: Harry, a Hindu Punjabi boy, and Aayat, a Muslim Kashmiri girl. The first season is that of their encounter as teenagers in a small village of Punjab. As the two fall in love and the audience watches them grow their lives enter season two. The drama and pain of separation makes their love grow deeper as they mature in season three and finally season four sees both lovers come together.

At a time when most male star actors are working on appearing as young as possible and oozing their sex appeal, 6-pack abs, and stunts in action films, Mausam brings back the innocence of youthful romance with Shahid Kapoor who has stepped from being promising to stunningly talented, whether he is conveying naughtiness, reservation or the pain of a lost love.

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