Love Sex Aur Dhokha - Movie Review

BREAKING NEWS. Bollywood has been hit by a hurricane that might shake its foundations and mark the beginning of the end of the Hindi films as we know them. The unapologetic culprit and the man behind all the would-be demolition is director Dibakar Banerjee, the fearless iconoclast cocking a snook at Bollywood corn and in the same swipe laying down the blueprint of the brave new Hindi cinema of the future with his mind-blowing, voyeuristic, pulpy, three-part portmanteau flick Love Sex Aur Dhokha. Bollywood films have never been this trippy, this awesome, this brutally real, and yet - I dare say - this entertaining before. Hats, caps, wigs and everything off to you, Dibakar.

Beginning with no less than a tongue-in-cheek spoof of the longest running Hindi film, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Banerjee paints a moving love story between a filmmaking student (Anshuman Jha) and the rich heroine (Shruti) of his diploma film titled ‘Mehendi Laga Ke Rakhna’. Like ‘DDLJ’ there’s parental opposition here too. But in the real world not every Raj gets his Simran.

The second story, captured through CCTV cameras, is set in a departmental store where a male employee (Raj Kumar Yadav) wants to make a sex clip with a female colleague (Neha Chauhan) and sell it to repay his debts. But the trouble is that between sex and dhoka, love interferes.

The third story, shot on spycams, is about a journalist (Amit Sial) who wants to end his life but bumps into a suicidal (Arya Devdutta) a wannabe item girl who’s been betrayed by a rap singer (Herry Tangri) after warming his couch for a break in a music video.

All the three stories intersect at different points and every intersection is captured from a different perspective in each tale. It’s a screenplay (by Dibakar and Kanu Behl) of sheer brilliance. And mind you, every one of the three stories has an element each of love, sex and dhoka. But of all, love, it must be said, stands out most poignantly. There’s tragic love, jealous love and restrained love. There’s conjugal sex, scandalous sex and quid-pro-quo sex. Likewise there’s dhokha from the most murderous to the most deserving kind. ‘LSD’ packs it all with a smattering of some addictive tunes from composer Sneha Khanwalkar in 1-hour-38-minutes of its running time.

The ensemble cast in the movie is near perfect. There’s hardly any hint of acting in any performance, and a part of the credit should be given to the script that’s penned with lines straight out of life. But the actors that leave an impression are Anshuman Jha, Raj Kumar Yadav, Neha Chauhan and Arya Devdutta. Since camera is almost a ubiquitous character in LSD, kudos to cinematographer Nikos Andritsakis for his shaky, hand-held, jerky, raw, in-your-face, and at timed out-of-focus camerawork.

Director Dibakar Banerjee kicks opens a new door to the way stories are told on celluloid in India. And yet he never lets the content dilute in the tangle of the form. Subtle ironies run through the plot. Note how in the first story the buoyant proclamation of the girl’s authoritarian father “Go! Live your life” to his daughter and her lover stands in sharp contrast to the way the love story ends. LSD has many more such gems that call for reviewing for better appreciation.

Dil Bole Hadippa Movie review

Dil Bole Hadippa is exciting for several reasons. It marks the return of the “Queen of Bollywood” Rani Mukherji, who has put her heart and soul into the making of the movie and also Shahid “Kaminey” Kapoor is slowly making his way up into the Top 5. Directed by Anurag Singh, Dil Bole Hadippa serves a mixture of Bollywood style romance with cricket!

Veera [Rani Mukherji], an ambitious girl hailing from a small village, dreams of playing cricket for India, with the Dhoni’s and Tendulkar’s of the cricketing world. Since girls aren’t allowed to play cricket, Veera turns into Veer, a man with a beard and turban. Rohan a county cricketer in England, returns to India to coach his father’s cricket team, which has been on a loosing spree for the last 8 years.

Rohan notices Veer and her cricketing brilliance earns her a place in the team. With a female in disguise playing for the men’s team, the secret is soon to be revealed.. What then, forms the rest of the tale.

Dil Bole Hadippa Review

What works for Dil Bole Hadippa

* Its the spirited performances by the lead pair, especially Rani Mukherji, that makes Dil Bole Hadippa worth a watch this weekend. Rani proves her versatility yet again in a role that reminds you of her Bunty aur Babli act, as Veer she is flawless. Its refreshing to see her in a no rona-dhona role.
* Shahid Kapoor does well too, he shares a warm chemistry with Rani. The portions that involve Veer and Rohan are very entertaining.
* Anupam Kher in yet another DDLJ inspired role does well.
* The climax including the match, is well direction and manages to make an impact.
* Anurag Singh is a talented director and with the right script he is most definitely a director to watch out for.
* Dil Bole Hadippa is a family entertainer, unlike Wanted, which should help its collections improve over the weekend.
* The music by Pritam Chakraborty is good.

The negatives

* While pre-interval portions suffer from slow pace and a disjointed screenplay, the second half is confused with the many themes it deals with.
* The Shahid - Rani romance doesn’t work.
* References to previous Yashraj blockbusters (like a Dhoom 2 poster in the backdrop, DDLJ like entry) tends to get irritating.
* Sherlyn Chopra and Rakhi Sawant have nothing to do, except what they do best (read skin-show).

Overall, Dil Bole Hadippa is a feel-good entertainer that had the potential to be much better than what it turned out to be. While the first half is slow and tends to get boring 30 mintues into the movie, the second and more important half entertains. If you plan a family outing to theatres this weekend, this Rani Mukherji starrer is worth a watch.

Movie review of Wanted

y Taran Adarsh, September 17, 2009 - 19:15 IST


This is for fans and foes of Salman Khan...
Fans, rejoice, Salman is back with a vengeance with WANTED. This is his deadliest performance to date. Yes, you read it right!
Foes, sorry, you won't be able to lash out at him or pick on him or launch a vicious tirade this time. The spate of flops should come to a grinding halt with WANTED.

Let's get this straight. WANTED rides on Salman Khan's star power. He may not be the best actor in town, but in a film like WANTED, in a role that seems like an extension of his personality, you can't think of anyone else enacting this role with flourish.

Write your own movie review of Wanted

A remake of POKIRI [made in Telugu and Tamil versions], WANTED is a full on masala film. Recall the successful potboilers of yore. Recall how the good guy would reduce 10 hoodlums to pulp in a fraction of seconds. Recall how heroism prevailed in the end, no matter how adverse the circumstances were or how powerful the villains would be. Recall those movies in which logic took a backseat since the focus was on entertainment... You relive those moments as reel after reel of WANTED unfolds.

A departure from candyfloss movies and diabetic-sweet characters that most Hindi movies boast of, WANTED takes you back to those days when popular cinema reigned supreme, when the sole motive of the film-maker was to entertain.

The daring hero and his herogiri, the naïve girlfriend, the corrupt cop, the dreaded don, the don's moll, the fist-clinching henchmen... WANTED is for those who seek unabashed entertainment and relish masala films. Damn the indomitable critics, pseudo intellectuals and connoisseurs of parallel cinema, this one's not for them. WANTED is for the aam junta.

Radhe [Salman Khan] is a hardcore gangster. A sharpshooter with a sharp brain, he works for Gani Bhai [Prakash Raj], the dreaded Mafioso, but on his own terms. Totally fearless, Radhe single-handedly eliminates Gani Bhai's enemies one by one; making more enemies in the process.

He's astounded when the young and pretty Jahnvi [Ayesha Takia Azmi] professes her liking for him. Inspector Talpade's [Mahesh Manjrekar] lustful eyes fall on Jahnvi. He doesn't know that Jahnvi has developed a soft corner for Radhe.

Whether it's the Golden Gang or Data Pawle's Gang, everybody wants the biggest piece of the lucrative cake that is Mumbai and the only way to get it is to eliminate whoever gets in the way. As Mumbai reels under bloody gang wars, Commissioner Ashraf Khan [Govind Namdeo] vows to make the city crime free.

Director Prabhu Dheva serves a hardcore masala fare that's not inventive or path-breaking by any standard, but the execution of several scenes as also of stunts takes the graph of the film Northward. In fact, if at all there's any film that competes with GHAJINI as far as raw appeal goes, it's WANTED. Every action/stunt/chase here is choreographed with aplomb.

Watch out for the action sequence at the interval point or the penultimate half-an-hour. The climax is sure to send scores of action lovers in frenzy, as Salman bashes the evil forces black and blue. It wouldn't be erroneous to state that the climax is worth the price of the ticket, samosa, sandwich, popcorn, nachos and cola put together.

Not that this 18 reeler abounds in mindless action. As mentioned earlier, this one's a hardcore masala film and the narrative has its share of light moments and romantic sequences. Even the bad man here makes you laugh intermittently [when he's not spewing venom], especially in the sequence when the Commissioner of Police holds him captive in the middle of the sea. Even the romance between Salman and Ayesha charms its way into your heart. It's very likable.

But WANTED is not without its share of flaws. The film stands on a thin storyline and the viewer can guess what's in store next, which means that there's not much novelty in the plot. Besides, WANTED could've done without a song or two, thereby keeping its length in check.

Director Prabhu Dheva has presented Salman like never before. Most actors have drifted away from roles that hold tremendous mass appeal, that cater to the desi audience, like they did in the 1980s. SRK did it in OM SHANTI OM, Aamir Khan did it in GHAJINI and Salman does it so effortlessly in WANTED. The screenplay [Shiraz Ahmed] may not be foolproof, but it has its share of shining moments. Dialogues are clapworthy, especially those delivered by Salman.

Sajid-Wajid's music is of a mixed variety. 'Jalwa' is the best of the lot and the star presence of Anil Kapoor, Govinda and also Nirav vaghela in this track will send the viewers into raptures. The remaining tracks oscillate between good and strictly okay. This review would be incomplete without the invaluable contribution by the action director. It deserves brownie points. Cinematography too is top notch.

Salman is like a ferocious lion who roars with all his might. The show belongs to the actor, who scorches the screen every time he displays the manic anger. Without doubt, Salman gives the power to WANTED. It's his best work to date.

Ayesha Takia Azmi is very good and the pairing with Salman looks wonderful. Vinod Khanna is sidelined. He deserved more footage. Mahesh Manjrekar is excellent. He's only getting better with every film. Prakash Raj is first-rate. The accomplished actor adds yet another feather to his cap. Govind Namdeo is perfect.

Mahek Chahal radiates oomph. Aseem Merchant is alright. Raju Mavani is effective. Inder Kumar and Sajid are okay. Manoj Pahwa tries hard to make you laugh. Prateeksha Lonkar is as usual.

On the whole, WANTED rides on Salman, Salman and only Salman Khan's star power. A masala film that's aimed at the masses, WANTED is backed by tremendous hype and hoopla, which will result in the film taking an earth-shattering start at the ticket window. The Idd celebrations in the coming days will only enhance the business of the film, which means that the film will have a solid Week 1. The holidays in Week 2 should also be bountiful, thereby ensuring a strong place in the 'Hit' category.