Taare Zameen Par Movie Review

Reviewed by Aramita

*Mild Spoilers Ahead*

Taare Zameen Par cannot be classified as just another film, instead, it is more an entertaining, inspiring and heart-warming experience. A special experience, that will surely be cherished by everyone who loves good cinema.

It is not a children's film as perceived to be, but a film revolving around children.


Ishaan Awasthi is a eight-year-old boy with an active imagination. His world is filled with colours, animals and space-battles with math problems....A world that no one seems to understand or appreciate. His lack of interest in homework and knack for getting into trouble lands him in boarding school against his wishes. Away from home and his mother, his moodiness increases, and being reprimanded daily only adds to his grievances. Nothing changes, until one day, a new art teacher named Ram Shankar Nikumbh arrives. Ram decides to discover the reason behind Ishaan's unhappiness, and eventually help the boy regain confidence in himself.

Written by Amole Gupte, the film deals with an unorthodox subject portrayed in a beutifully sensitive manner. The narrative of the movie is simplicity exemplified, the film moves at a wonderfully breezy pace. Yawn-worthy situations are pretty non-existant, as nothing seems forced or out-of-place.

Performances are top notch:

Aamir Khan (Ram Shankar Nikumbh) comes in 90 minutes into the film. And delivers exactly what is expected from him, an excellent performance.

Vipin Sharma as Ishaan's father (Nandkishore Awasthi) is competant. Tisca Chopra as Ishaan's mother (Maya Awasthi) is excellent! Sachet Engineer as Ishaan's brother (Yohaan Awasthi) delivers a fine performance, so does Tanay Chheda as Ishaan's best friend (Rajan Damodaran).

The star of the show is undoubtedly Darsheel Safary (Ishaan Awasthi). The young actor puts up a brilliant act that needs to be seen to be believed.

Music (Shanker, Ehsaan, Loy) is another high point. The songs have been beutifully incorporated in the narrative. The best of the lot is the Title track, Jame Raho and Maa. The last of three mentioned songs comes at a crucial point in the film. The heart-wrenching situation, combined with the touching lyrics of the song (Prasoon Jhoshi) is bound to get you all choked up. If you don't, then your dead inside!

Taare Zameen Par marks Aamir Khan's foray into filmmaking. And with this film, Aamir shows exactly why he's called Mr. Perfectionist.

He is a fabulous storyteller with a great eye for detail. From handling the sensitive plot with extreme conviction to extracting an award worthy performance from child actor Darsheel, Aamir is brilliant all the way.

One of the best films to have come out this year. It is the ultimate treat this holiday season, go watch it, you won't regret it.

Rating: 4.5/5

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Saawariya Movie Review

Saawariya

Reviewed by Aramita

*Spoilers Ahead*

Ranbir Raj is an idealist by nature, a vagabond, who one day arrives in a surreal, almost ethereal town. He finds work in a swanky nightclub as a lead singer/musician. He meets and greets the residents while spreading his infectious charm everywhere he goes. He makes friends with a streetwalker and charms his way into an elderly lady’s home as a tenant. No bad for a days works! One night, as he notices a mysterious girl standing alone on a bridge, little did he know then, that one poignant moment would affect his life forever.

There is something special about a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film. whether it was Khamoshi, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Devdas or Black. His movies are mostly credited for being simple tales told in a beautiful manner....On the flip side, he is often criticized for his slow, sometimes boring narratives (Black) and obsessive importance to opulence and grandeur (Devdas).

Saawariya doesn’t rank as his best work to date, it’s also not his worst - that honor goes to Devdas.

In a nut shell - the Saawariya starts off promisingly, but derails halfway into the film (Sakina’s tale), it comes back on track soon, only to get derailed again (Climax).

There isn’t a set story. Saawariya is a situational movie, detailing the invents of four nights. Hence there is no past history of characters reveled, we don’t know why they are the way they are. Sometimes the character’s actions are mysterious and downright confusing. Why did Imaan leave? Why is he coming after a year? What couldn’t he write to Sakina? Why was Gulab so angry at Raj when he wanted to spend the night with her? Why does Sakina knowingly, lead Raj on?

Due to that, we can’t connect with them and our heart doesn’t go out to any of the characters, except Raj. He is the only character we feel for throughout the movie.

Performances: Ranbir steals the show. Great debut! He looks convincing as the young, drifting, dreamer who is hopelessly in love. But he’s not perfect, his expressions in many scenes are exaggerated and at times he goes over the top, specifically in his dancing scenes and dialogue delivery.

Sonam is strictly okay, no great shakes. And one can’t really blame Sonam for it. Her subdued character doesn’t give her the scope to perform, and at most places she has only one fixed expression. Sakina isn’t at all like (Bhansali’s) usual strong female characters. An okay debut.

Rani is perfect! Playing a brash yet likable prostitute. Gulab isn’t your cliche streetwalker, she can wak engleesh, she can tak engleesh, she wears designer saris and has perfect make up. Rani delivers a laudable performance. Best part - No rona dhona for once.

Salman is just an extended guest appearance, playing the, quite mysterious character Imaan. After hearing a rumor that he has a 45 minute role and he has worked 50 days for this movie, I was surprised to see so little of him. He should have had a bigger role, it would have made the proceedings more interesting. We just had to settle for the ten minutes of screen time he has. An okay performance.

Zohra Sehgal is good as Lilian. Funny at times, has good scenes with Ranbir.

Begum Para is not important.

Reasons to watch:

1.) Ranbir Kapoor. He’s a confidant, competent, chap, who has given the best performance in the film. He needs to work on his expressions, dance, and get a haircut! Other than that, no major complains.

2.) Beautiful music, with some equally striking visuals and wonderful background score. Saawariya title, Yoon Shabnami, Chabeela stand out in terms of picturisation.

3.) Beautiful sets and art direction, effectively sets the mood of the film.

4.) The fresh look and feel of the newcomers, plus the chemistry between the lead pair.

5.) Rani’s streetwalker act. It should shut her critics who feel she can only cry convincingly.

Reasons not to watch:

1.) Complete lack of storyline. Disappointment in the writing department.

2.) Disappointing ending. Unsatisfactory.

3.) Too many songs in the narrative. They pop up like every ten minutes. Pari and Jaan -e-jaan could have been snipped.

4.) Slow paced at times. Drags towards the end, despite being only 2 hours ten minutes long.

5.) Sonam and Salman’s poorly sketched characters.

Overall, Saawariya isn’t cinema that will be lapped up by "aam janta". It caters to a niche audience, much like Black.

Like any SLB movie, its unique, beautiful, but also tests the viewers patience. Its an innovative attempt at movie making. But not without flaws. Top marks to Bhansali and the entire technical team of Saawariya for the out of fantasy, surreal world they have masterfully created. If only SLB had paid more attention to his writing, then he did for the color of the walls, we might have a brilliant movie. Alas, we’ll settle for just a good one.

In madam Gulabji’s lingo - I likes.

Rating: 3.5/5

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Om Shanti Om - Movie Review

Om Shanti Om

Reviewed by Aramita

*Spoiler Warning*

"Jab bhi koi cheese dil se chaho, to puri kayanaath usse tumse milane ki koshish mein lag jati hain"

A junior artist, falls for a superstar back in the 70’s. He loves her more than anything, she loves someone else, that someone else pretends to care, only to betray her later. It all comes down to a thrilling climatic sequence involving love, loss, betrayal and sacrifice.

Cut to, 2007. Superstar Om Kapoor is affected by thoughts and memories of things that never happened and people he never met. Fate leads him to an abandoned film set, where in 30’s years ago, a terrible crime had occurred. What happened? Why it happened? Who was behind it? What is Om’s connection with it?

"Picture abhi baaki hain haan"

The film starts off at a song picturisation of Om Shanti Om from Karz. Where SRK and Farha (brief appearance) are extras who are fighting over Rishi Kapoor’s jacket. Its a mad yet fun kick start to the proceedings....Most part of the first half follows in the same fun fashion. The situations keep your interest alive and the best part is that this half moves at a very racy pace, leaving no time for boredom to settle in.

The dramatic conclusion to the first half is impressively shot and even gives you an impression that the proceeding are going to get much more serious from now.

But as soon as we get into the second half, the satirical situations are back.

Though largely engrossing, the latter half drags a bit. The cheesy ’plan’ cooked up to capture the one at fault, can indeed be executed only in a Bollwood film. Farha hasn’t been able to make up her mind on exactly what she was trying to achieve in the second half, as it suffers from being a weird mesh of serious and parody storytelling.

Thankfully, the ending wrapped it up quite nicely. A total Bollywood ’ishtyle’ climax... with a masked ball and all! And the little twist in the end. Gotta admit, didn’t see it coming.

Keeping in mind the theme of the film, which is a spoof on cinema from 70’s to 07, the humor aspect is very limited in the film. Much of the ’parody’ moments will bring a smile on to your face and even get a chuckle or two out of you. But overall, the humor is mostly underplayed, except for a few scenes where it goes over the top. Farha needed to strike a balance, as in comparison, Main Hoon Na was much more funny as a parody.

Big stars, small stars, average stars and even non stars. All graced the film with their special appearances. Kudos to SRK and Farha for getting together such an impressive array of personalities in one song, let alone one film.

The Filmfare Awards seemed gimmicky, yet it was fun seeing so many celebrities making fun of themselves. The SRK scene, where he’s being nominated for two movies is a hilarious tongue-in-cheek play on him repeating himself in all his films. Watch out for the Akshay’s scene, it was a complete copy of..... well, you will know when you see it. Did Farha think she will get away with that?

Performances: Shahrukh Khan is delightful. Yes, he does go over the top. But that is expected, since everything in the film is a spoof on our typical ’masala cinema’ old and new. He’s good in first half as Om Prakash Makhija, the struggling junior artist who is madly in love with a superstar. In the second half he plays a spoiled brat Om Kapoor, who just happens to be a superstar. SRK enacts both roles with ease, as the overacting junior artist in the first half and the untalented superstar in the second half..... come to think of it, he’s basically just playing himself!

Considering this is her first film, Deepika Padukone has performed well up the task. She looks great and dances wonderfully. Her expressions and dialogue delivery is good. She is perfect as Shantipriya, but has done a strictly okay job as Sandy in the second half.

There is chemistry between SRK and Deepika, that to my utter shock! I didn’t expect romantic chemistry considering the age difference. But as Kajol aptly stated - "SRK can romance a cow and make it look like chemistry".

Shreyas Talpade as Pappu Master delivers a competent performance. His camaraderie with SRK in first half is great. The two of them share some wonderfully funny and poignant moments together.

Kiron Kher is great as a comical, pseudo filmy mother.

Arjun Rampal also performed very well. He enacts the role of the evil producer Mukesh Mehra with conviction. Definitely one of his best.

Deepika, Arjun and Shreyas perform well, even though they were working alonside a seasoned actor like SRK . So full marks to director Farha Khan for getting the best out of the cast.

Songs were awesome and their picturisations, equally impressive! Dhoom Tana is brilliantly shot, Deepika dances very well in it. Main Agar Kahoon’s set was gorgeous and pictisation, top notch! Deewangi was like ten minutes long and I even didn’t want it to end. Daastan -e OSO, the climax number – brilliant again, the song and picturisation.

Cinemotography (V. Manikandan) is brilliant! Dialogues (Mayur Puri) are effective, sometimes even poignant. Sets and art direction (Sabu Cyril) is good, the main OSO set is pretty as a picture. Editing (Shirish Kunder) could have been better, 10-15 minutes could have been trimmed off the latter half. Background score (Sandeep Chowta) is par-excellence! Visual Effect (Redchillies.VFX) is done pretty well.

Choreographer turned Director Farha Khan, promised that her second cinematic venture - Om Shanti Om is going to be a complete "Paisa Vasool" entertainer. And it is. Not minus a few flaws though. But it still manages to do what it promised, provide 2 hours 40 minutes of pure masala entertainment.

Just don’t expect meaningful cinema, if you do, then the jokes on you mate.

Take it with a spoonful of salt.

Rating: 3.5/5

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Saawariya Music Review

My opinions are strictly from viewpoint of a person who loves various genres of Hindi film music. I don't claim to have great knowledge in music, but I do know how play the piano (off key) very well. ;)


Saawariya - Music Review

The soundtrack of Saawariya is easily one of the years most awaited. Whether its Khamoshi, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam or Devdas, Sanjay Leela Bhansali's movies have always boasted of melodious music. So expectations are bound to be sky high. This time around though, instead of Bhansai's favourite composer Ismail Darbar, we are treated to the tunes of debutant music director - Monty Sharma.

Usually I have to listen to a soundtrack two or three times before I can give my verdict on the music. But with Saawariya, I had to hear the soundtrack more then ten times before I could come to a conclusion.... whew!

The soundtrack begins with the title song Saawariya - An instant chartbuster! Besides being the best song of the album, its also one of the most catchy tunes of the year. Very well composed, from the brilliant guitar arrangements to the soft singing by chorus singers, with simple lyrics and of course, the breezy rendition by newcomer Shail Hada. My only complaint would be - why so short? 4.5/5

Jab Se Tere Naina - A solo by Shaan, which does match up to the high standards the title song has set....Shaan is simply brilliant in his rendition of this romantic song. Another classy composition, with heavy usage of tabla and dhol beats and meaningful lyrics. 4/5

Thode Badmash - A solo by Shreya this time. A nice tune, great singing, good lyrics. You can't help but compare it to Bairi Piya from Devdas, as the similarities are quite apparent. Shreya sweet vocals, and lyrics by Nusrat Badr impresses. Overall, its a pleasant song. 3/5

Masha-Allah - Haunting, melodious, poignant. Kunal's in full form, which is clearly evident right from the very onset. Shreya is awesome as she gives her vocals in the background. Find a dark, quite place in your home and hear this song.... and just get lost in the melody. 3/5

Yoon Shabnami - The third best track of the enterprise. Starts off beautifully as a romantic solo, which changes its pace later to qawalli style, only to end on a high note with a brilliant musical arrangement. All that in only 5 minutes! Parthiv Gohil, another debutant singer, does complete justice in his rendition of the song. Lyrics by Sandeep Nath are poetical and only enhance the song's mystical feel. A truly unique track! 4/5

Daras Bina Nahin Chain - Let me just say, I love the opening tune of the song! This one seems to be the theme of the movie, hence more emphasis has been given to music than singing. Richa Sharma, Shail hada and Parthiv Gohil team up for this background piece. Musically, it is grand, keeping in mind the theme of the film. Very fitting indeed. 3/5

Sawar Gayi - If Thode Badmash reminded me of Bairi Piya, then this song brings back memories of Silsia Yeh Chahat Ka from Devdas, specially the 'garajti hui badal' effects in the background. Shreya is great yet again. Lyrics are good. Music is ordinary, the constant usage of the classical tabla does get somewhat repetitive. 3/5

Jaan -e- Jaan - Surprisingly the only duet in the entire album. Sung by Kunal and Shreya. After some great melodies, this song ranks as the weakest in the album. Lyrics are somewhat corny, Kunal and Shreya don't exactly ooze romance into the song. By the eight song, one feels the composer is really stretching the whole 'classical feel' to breaking point. "Too much of a good thing....." 1.5/5

Pari - Starts off brilliantly! But as it progresses, the song descends to just an average fare. The melody seems bland, Kunal's singing is slightly below par this time. The lyrics are expressive and stand out in an otherwise average composition. Unfortunately, this one fails to create the same enchanting effect that the previous songs did. 2.5/5

Chhabeela - The start gave the impression of a long awaited change in rhythm. Alas, my excitement soon faded, as the song descended to the usual humdrum. Lyrics are weird - chail chabeela, rang rageela, badan kateela, hoth raseela, roop sajeela, ya hateela, tang paijama, kurta dheela...... what?! Alka gives her best to make this mediocre song work, and succeeds, only this much. 2.5/5

Saawariya Reprise - Just what the doctor ordered to recover from Chhabeela's mind numbing lyrics. Beautiful, ati sundaram! Thats all I gotta say about this unplugged version of the title track. 4/5

Comparisons are inevitable, and if I compare this product with SLB's earlier works, then its a disappointment. Apart from The title track, Jab Se Tere Naina, Yoon Shabnami, none of the other songs rate a 4 or above. Which is a notch down for SLB's standards, as the music of both HDDCS and Devdas were chartbusters from the word go.

The reason, in my opinion, is the repetitive songs. It does get very monotonous, as there are 4 to 5 songs sounding very alike in their musical arrangements, and that has hampered the album from being a 'very good' soundtrack to just a 'good' one. Which wouldn't be the case if there was some variety.

By variety I don't mean there should have been hip hop or rap, but maybe there wasn't a need for 9 tracks with similar classical flavor, barring of course, the title song.

Despite all the negatives, this is one product that has class written all over it. Its unlike any album released this year.

Monty couldn't have gotten a better launch pad for his career, and he has give a competent score for his first musical fare. Not to mention, this is definitely Sameer's best work to date as a lyricist.

Overall, I do not recommend this album to you if your favourite album of the year is Partner or Bhool Bhuaiya. But this is a treat to the lovers of slow, classical music! Saawariya OST should find more wide-spread audience acceptance after the much anticipated release of the film.

Bottom line, Saawriya is like fine wine, which will only get better with age.

Rating: 3.5/5

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