Jhootha Hi Sahi

Every Bollywood movie before its release, assures us that it would be different. Almost every movie assures you this. Most of them disappoint. We all know this fact. It took me a while to muster courage for making up my mind to watch Jhoota Hi Sahi. Why this movie? Well, I generally do not follow Bollywood now, but the treatment looked fresh in the trailers. Tell you what? It turned out good but as usual left me with a few disappointments.

A geeky shy man, who stammers on seeing beautiful women, has his number misprinted on a helpline pamphlet which helps people not to give up with their life and start a fresh life. Hence, humor arises and you get a laugh. His neighbor, who also is his best friend with a pregnant sister, with another friend, is his life. The shy man also has a girlfriend whom he doesn’t love and she dominates him like anything. The twist comes when a caller, after breaking up with her boyfriend, calls him during midnight before attempting suicide, and he makes her feel better so she decides to talk to him daily and share everything. One event leads to another, and he starts lying to her about his personality.   

Special note for the writer of the film, who also happens to be the female lead in the same, her treatment of the story is completely fresh. A few of the dialogues and scenes are super hilarious. But, the story, from the first scene to the last, is a complete cliché.

The Star Cast:  John Abraham as the geeky shy man comes as a complete surprise. He acts well, manages to raise your eye brows many a times with his performance in the film. Pakhi, who also is successfully married to the director of the movie, as the caller acts like a pro. She expresses her emotions marvelously. Raghu Ram, as John’s neighbor is fantastic. He has mastered the art of making people laugh with his expressions and comic timing like anything. R. Madhvan as Pakhi’s ex is strictly OK!

The movie in parts is a complete bore but Abbas Tyrewala has handled the predictable yet fresh script superbly. His direction style is little unconventional. Mind the word little. But, he again couldn’t prevent himself from putting an ridiculous stunt scene in the end like he did in his directional debut Jaane Tu.. The cinematography is terrific. Music by A. R. Rahman is good. The supporting actors have done a brilliant job.

To conclude, I would just say, go for it for the performances and a few original and fresh scenes.

My Rating: 6/10

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Aakrosh

First of all, a warm welcome to Priyadarshan and Akshaye Khanna. Priyadarshan had stopped making good films years ago, he was busy making guaranteed super flops with Mr. Kumar. Akshaye Khanna had disappeared from films long time ago. Both have made a good comeback with Aakrosh. And, after a long, long time, bollywood has come up with a brilliant and meaningful movie. Aakrosh deals with the honor killing that has been prominent in a few villages for the past few years. The movie also discloses the actual truth behind these alleged honor killings and the real culprits behind them.   

Three students from New Delhi are found missing from the village called Jhaanjhar for the last two months. Two CBI officers ( Ajay Devgn and Akshaye Khanna ) team up to find out the truth behind their disappearance. The Jhaanjhar village, crowded with numerous corrupt politicians is terrified with the attacks going on and the police force under the Superintendent officer( Paresh Rawal) does nothing. The CBI officers have had time doing the investigation as no one in the whole village is gutsy enough to speak against the attacks and the one who tries to open his mouth is abducted by those groups. Ajay Devgn, the hot blooded, loses his cool and takes some strong actions and Akshaye Khanna, the man with the brain, takes his chances and gambles. Hard work pays off well in the end and the truth finally comes out and the village then rests in peace.

The movie has taken its inspirations from the recent cases of honor killing but on the whole it’s a work of fiction.

Acting Department is ruled by Ajay Devgn and Paresh Rawal. Both are in top form in this movie. Both are trying to outdo each other with their strong expressions and dialogue delivery. Akshaye Khanna, too has acted well but Ajay Devgn and Paresh Rawal are the show stealers.  Reema Sen does well. Bipasha Basu is wasted. Action Sequences are top notch. The chasing scene between Ajay Devgn and a group leader is outstanding. Dialogues are awesome. A few of them even manage to bring a smile on your face and compel you to clap and praise! Cinematography is average. Editing could be better. Priyadarshan has directed the movie splendidly this time. He is sure to win many accolades this time. The only absurd part of the movie is the romantic song between Ajay Devgn and Bipasah Basu.

To conclude, I would say go for it as finally a good hindi movie has arrived (which actually is rare ) and for super strong performances of Ajay Devgn and Paresh Rawal.

My Rating: 8/10

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Anjaana Anjaani

Some people never change. Indian Film makers' are a good example. In this industry most of the films are made only for commercial success. The makers give extra weightage to the star cast and publicity gimmicks.They copy rest from the films made in hollywood. From locations to songs to scenes. It's high time that they should stop testing the audience's patience. Anjaana Anjaani is not an exception. Even a part of the main story looks very similar to our own Jab We Met. 

Directed by Siddharth Anand( of Salaam Namaste and Bachna ae Haseeno fame) the film stars Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra. According to the story, Ranbir and Priyanka are fed up of their lives and they meet while trying to commit suicide. Things go wrong and they land up in the hospital. They try again but they fail. They, then postpone their suicide date and focus on completing one task which, according to them, was left unaccomplished and was preventing them from dying. At first, Priyanka's job is to lift up Ranbir's mood and later on it's Ranbir's job to lift up Priyanka's mood. A few insatiable events make the movie even more predictable, but a few scenes do surprise you and manage to bring a smile( or laugh for few ) on the audience's face. In the end, there seems to be no need of reminding you what happens in the end.

It would be good if Nadiadwala Grandsons stop producing films of this kind. They get highly predictable. It would be better if the makers put more focus on the script rather than on star cast and publicity gimmicks. Those movies bring more fame and money. 

Ranbir scores well in acting but everybody knows( including him ) he can do much much better than his performance in Anjaana Anjaani. His comic timing is good. His dance is good too. His physique does get a lot of wows from his female fans this time. Priyanka, look wise, is getting better minute by minute. She has a jaw-dropping looks in the movie. But again, we all know what Priyanka is capable of. She has given amazing performances in the recent past but she hasn't done justice to her role in the movie. Zayed Khan is unnoticeable as he has nothing to do in the movie. 

Direction, as mentioned above, could have been much much better. Cinematography is superb. Music by Vishal-Dadlani is good. Special mention for the song 'Hairat' sung by Lucky Ali which is exceptional. Supporting actors don't have anything to do in the movie but they carried off their part well. Editing was bad. The movie starts taking toll you in the second half. Dialogues at a few places are good and at a few places it is predictive and annoying.

To conclude, I would just say, go for it if you are a Ranbir or/and a Priyanka fan and ofcourse to see their chemistry in the movie( Only positive thing about the movie ).

My Rating: 5/10

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