Saturday, December 6, 2008

Movie Review: Sorry Bhai

Source: BollywoodHungama
Director Onir has always defied stereotypes. Recall his first two films -- MY BROTHER NIKHIL and BAS EK PAL. With SORRY BHAI!, Onir takes the road less travelled.

'Come, fall in love... with you brother's bride', says the tagline of the film. Agreed, there must've been real-life instances of a guy falling in love with his bhabhi-to-be, but as a cinematic experience, a theme like this caters to a niche audience. The traditional ones, even with a modern outlook towards life, might not approve of this story in the first place.
As a movie, SORRY BHAI! has some interesting moments and the ensemble star cast pitches in real performances too. But the impression you get is that Onir didn't know how to tie it all up, to conclude the film convincingly.

SORRY BHAI! may be an interesting concept, but it doesn't turn out to be an interesting film in entirety. For it to be a complete film, it needed a tight screenplay, which is sorely missing here.
However, a few sequences have been handled deftly. Note the sequences between Sharman and Chitrangda and the gradual attraction. Even the love making sequence in the store catches you by surprise. Again, recall the sequences between Shabana and Chitrangda. You can feel the tension.

Siddharth [Sharman Joshi], a shy young scientist, travels to Mauritius for his elder brother Harsh's [Sanjay Suri] wedding. Accompanying him is his Ma [Shabana Azmi], a reluctant traveller since she is angry at Harsh for deciding to get married without consulting them. Also travelling is Siddharth's cheery father [Boman Irani].

Harsh, pre-occupied with work, can spend little time with his family and it is left to his fiancee Aaliyah [Chitrangda Singh] to show them around Mauritius before the wedding. However, Ma's anger at Harsh ensures that she takes an instant dislike for Aaliyah and it is Aaliyah and Siddharth who end up spending loads of time together.

This, added to the fact that Aaliyah feels neglected by the career-obsessed Harsh, leads to them being irresistibly drawn to each other. A horrified Siddharth battles this attraction desperately, but Aaliyah has fallen madly in love and pursues him with single-minded determination.

But Onir gets too unconventional this time. Sure, times are changing rapidly, but the fact remains that most of us are extremely orthodox when it comes to relationships. And that's precisely why a film like SORY BHAI! might not find many takers.

The conclusion to the tale is also least convincing. It may seem perfect since the mother [Shabana] makes her younger son [Sharman] swear on her life, but when it comes to matters of the heart, all rules [and relations] take a backseat, nothing else matters actually. The music, like Onir's previous BAS EK PAL, is soothing, but how one wishes it would've been promoted aggressively too. Cinematography is striking.

On the whole, SORRY BHAI! is too bold and startling for the Indian audiences. At the box-office, it caters to a tiny/miniscule audience -- a handful of plexes in a handful of cities. And those numbers would be disheartening as well!

Movie Review: Merabhai not out

Source: ApunKaChoice
The film’s central character Meerabai ( Mandira Bedi ) is a maths teacher whose life revolves around the game of cricket and its icon Anil Kumble. So much so that she prefers fantasies of Kumble to real men in flesh and blood. Obviously it’s a cause for concern for Meera’s close-knit family that has an elder brother ( Mahesh Manjrekar ), a disillusioned ex-cricketer who has come to hate the game.

Meerabai Not Out is a film that causes embarrassment to the people watching it. More than that, it tests your patience with the slow pace of its utterly predictable plot. You know beforehand how the story’s going to wind up. Yet, you sit yawning and watching the proceeding on the screen with the same boredom as you see a five-day match drag to a lackluster draw.

The trouble with ‘Meerabai Not Out’ is that in spite of its persistent attempts to be different, it remains an ordinary, run-of-the-mill film with marginal and underdeveloped characters. The humour ends up looking silly and many situations (like Meera coming late for her engagement because she had to catch a match) appear outright ridiculous to even laugh at, forget believing them.

Romance enters Meera’s life with the coming of a doctor (Eijaz Khan) but soon she finds herself on the crossroad where she has to choose between cricket and love. It eventually boils down to a match between Meera’s brooding brother and her fiancé.

Directed by Chandrakant Kulkarni, ‘Meerabai Not Out’ begins on a promising note but plods as it approaches the interval point. Things gain momentum before the climactic match in which Meera’s fate is to be decided. But by then you are so tired that you want to raise your (index) finger and declare Meerabai – OUT!!!

Mandira Bedi, sans her noodle-strap blouses, brings about the needed exuberance to her cricket-buff character without ever showing a truly histrionic moment in her performance. The supporting cast too offers nothing laudable, including the usually superb Anupam Kher as Meera’s prospective father-in-law. Anil Kumble’s cameo fails to enliven the dull script. He needs a ‘doosra’ attempt to make his mark.

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