External Reviews

Movie Review: DETECTIVE NAANI by TARAN ADARSH

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By Taran Adarsh, May 22, 2009 – 12:00 IST

Note this: You need to turn into a kiddie while watching a kiddie film. So follow this mantra when you set out to watch a naani solve a mystery, a la Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie, in DETECTIVE NAANI, directed by first-timer Romilla Mukherjee.

DETECTIVE NAANI is tedious and interesting, both. Tedious, because what could’ve been narrated in 1.30 hours is narrated in 2.15 hours. More on that later!

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Interesting, because the mystery element and how it eventually gets solved keeps your eyes wide open. Sure, you might call the goings-on childish, but, hey, don’t forget the golden mantra.

Final words? Strictly for kids!

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It’s a regular day at Gulmohar Complex. Spunky, independent, 75-year-old Naani [Ava Mukherjee] is on her way back home from her daily morning walk. Suddenly, her eye catches the face of a little girl peeping nervously from a 3rd floor window. The flat belongs to a childless couple.

The girl hides away quickly. Naani’s intrigue about the little girl leads her to a possible murder. Naani finds herself in the middle of a mystery where some people will come to her aid, some will be indifferent and some will prove to be dangerous. When the CID officer [Ankur Nayyar] dismisses Naani’s story due to lack of hard evidence, she transforms into a More >

Movie Review: SUNO NA…EK NANHI AAWAZ by MEENA IYER

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By Meena Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 16, 2009)

Suno na.. ek nanhi aawaz Director: Amy Thanawala Actors: Tara Sharma, Dharmendra Gohil, Avinash Tiwary Rating : *

Suno na.. ek nanhi aawaz

The film revolves around an unwed mother, who wishes to end her life, till a little voice inside her (yes, the foetus’s) stops her from taking the drastic step.

Take a deep breath and hold it in for two hours. Suno na.. will knock you dead anyway. It’s one of the worst films you can be subjected to, and chances are if you inhale/exhale like the numerous pregnant women who keep popping up on the screen, you’ll only end up screaming for help. Hence that piece of advice – take a deep breath… and hold on. That way if you slip into coma, at least you’ll do it out of choice.

Director Amy Thanawala, assistant to Sanjay Leela Bhansali on Khamoshi and John Mathew Mathan on Sarfarosh, has her heart in the right place. She says she chose the subject of an unwed mother, who chooses to live life on her terms because it conveys progressive thinking. Fair enough.

But there it ends. The entire treatment of the film is regressive.

Anu (Tara Sharma – the most lifeless actress ever) is a small-town girl who gets pregnant before marriage. Her parents spurn her; ditto for the cad who gets her pregnant. Like in countless Hindi movies, just when Anu contemplates jumping off the cliff, her unborn child starts a dialogue with her and makes her see sense.

She packs her bags and moves to Mumbai More >

99: Movie Review by Taran Adarsh

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By Taran Adarsh, May 15, 2009 – 08:49 IST

The very thought of going to the cinemas gives you a high. The past five Fridays have been very unsettling, witnessing a few inconsequential releases, with the viewer looking everywhere but at the theatres. The practice of going back to a dark auditorium, the aroma of popcorn and samosas, comes to an end with 99, which opens at plexes and single screens, both.

99, helmed by Raj Nidimoru [Raj] and Krishna D.K. [D.K.], is a good looking film with some smart moments thrown in, towards the second hour mainly. In fact, it takes time to grasp things, the characters, the plotline. Besides, Raj and D.K. take their own sweet time to establish the characters, set things up and come to the point.

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99 actually takes off in the second hour. From the time the lights are dimmed [post interval] to the time the lights are lit again [conclusion of the film], 99 keeps you engrossed in most parts.

The only problem is, it’s too slow-paced at times and lengthy too, towards the penultimate moments. Just when you thought that the film has ended, another chase follows, which eventually leads to the finale.

<!– var zflag_nid=”585″; var zflag_cid=”829″; var zflag_sid=”36″; var zflag_width=”300″; var zflag_height=”250″; var zflag_sz=”9″; // –> Final word? 99 is smart, good looking and interesting, in parts. Quite a ride this, if you don’t go with much expectations!

99 is set in 1999. It’s about two crooks [Kunal Khemu, Cyrus More >

Movie Review: PAL PAL DIL KE SSAAT (*ing Mahie Gill, Ajay Jadeja!)

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Pal Pal Dil Ke Ssaat: Belongs to the 60s

Rating: 1 out of 5

Starring: Ajay Jadeja, Rimpy aka Mahie Gill, Vinod Kambli, Chabi, Satish Shah and Sushma Seth

Director: V Krishna Kumar

It is at times like these that I really hate my job. On a public holiday getting oneself to a cinema hall and watching two back to back movies, both extremely unbearable is definitely the worst torture that one can inflict upon oneself. It was even a big task convincing the multiplex staff to play the show of one of these films as they were canceling it for lack of audience So saw this film with just two more people. They were actually a couple seeking some solace in a crowd free environment enjoying the cool comforts of air-conditions. Wow how confident they were about the number of people that may come to see this trash

Okay coming back to the movie, the film tells the story of a doting grandmother (Sushma Seth) and her laadla pota played by Ajay Jadeja. His parents have died and it is his rich grand mom who has raised him with lot of care and love. But a tiff leads him to leave her house in a jiffy and go away. Taking advantage of this situation the villain company straight of the 60-70s South inspired paarivaarik films start polluting her mind against her misunderstood grandson and further even go to the extent of killing her and grab all her huge property. What happens when her dear grandson comes to know all about this forms the rest of the film

This film, was originally titled Pal Pal Dil More >

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