Film Review - All Is Welll

No, It’s Not

Film: All Is Well

Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Asin, Rishi Kapoor

Directed by: Umesh Shukla

Duration: Too long to tolerate

Rating: *

In All Is Well, Asin plays a character called Nimmi who is a big fan of Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret, now that gives a fair idea of what is store in this film – not much. And then there ubiquitous item number by Sonakshi Sinha who sings Main nachan Farrate maarke and for a moment I thought I heard her say something about eating parathas which would explain many other things.  

Abhishek Bachchan plays a Thailand returned singer who is still looking for his big break, to say that he is a patient man is an understatement. His father, Mr.Bhalla (Rishi Kapoor) runs a bakery (though we don’t see much evidence of that) and yells at his wife (Supriya  Pathak) and just about everyone around. 

The singer’s college friend has an ultra soft corner for him and pursues him with extra ordinary zeal. The bad guy is played by Zeeshan Ayyub, another fine actor who is made to act like a buffoon. Among other problems Mr. Bhalla has Polyuria which means he has to pee every now and there is absolutely nothing funny about it.

The script assumes that the intelligence of the audience is as low and as silly as proceedings in the film. 

It is hard to believe that it is the same Umesh Shukla who made the likable Oh My God earlier. Wish we could file an RTI and find out how and why this film got made. 

Published in The Navhind Times on 23rd Aug 2015
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Film Review - Dhoom 3

                              

                                         The Dhoomsday Conspiracy

Film: Dhoom 3

Cast: Aamir Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Katrina Kaif, Uday Chopra

Directed by: Vijay Krishna Acharya

Duration: 2 hr 52 mins

Rating: * *

Going by the hype and frenzy of Dhoom 3, you would assume that the previous two films were cult classics but nothing could be farther from the truth. It is just that the franchise has got a name for itself and more over, this film stars Aamir Khan and in the last few years, everything that he has touched has turned to gold.

Dhoom 3 has already offered the film makers gold at the box office but beyond that there is not a great deal to gloat about. Clocking almost three hours, the plot is more labored than the labor room of the government medical hospital on a particularly busy day. Yes, it is a very slick film with lots of action but most of it is ineffective, pretty much like the Zimbabwean currency. Moreover, the screenplay doesn't make an effort to be convincing and there is a lot of ‘inspiration' that is drawn here. If imitation is the best form of flattery, Christopher Nolan will be mighty pleased to see Dhoom 3.    

Rewind to circa 1990 in Chicago where an Indian magician (Jackie Shroff) is having a tough time repaying the bank loan to keep his Great Indian Circus going. Looks like they don't want EMI's, they want the whole sum back which leads to him taking drastic measures.

His magician son Saahir (Aamir Khan) grows seeking vendetta against this particular bank. He vows not to rest in peace till he brings the bank and the owner whose name is Warren Anderson, to their knees.You may have heard of the rupee being floated by our V for vendetta guy believes in robbing the bank and lets those green backs fall from the sky. Now if you rob a bank will you try to make a quiet getaway or try your best to draw as much attention as you can so that you can race the cops on the bike? In this film, the answer is the latter. Especially considering that the bike he has a Transformer type BMW that can change its shape and also become a speed boat. I hope we get such bikes in India, might come in handy considering the traffic.

Speaking of India, we meet Inspector Jai (Abhishek Bachchan) who makes a grand entry in what is the most strongly built auto rickshaw ever, beating up baddies along with his side kick Ali (Uday Chopra). I can't remember the last time when we saw the same vehicle pass through so many walls.  

Considering the ineptitude of the Chicago police in tracking the culprit, the Indian police are summoned to crack the case. "Do we know who's responsible for the robbery?" asks the bank owner. "At this point, all we know is that he was a thief." says the policeman. Such an enlightening conversation.

Katrina Kaif is also seen a minuscule role, she auditions to be a part of the circus by showing her dancing skills and by impressing Saahir with the several layers of clothing she wears.  She becomes a part of the circus all right and they also get a standing ovation in America for singing Hindi songs in front of the audience.

The film makers have spent considerable amount of effort and money in making the film look good, except in the writing department. Aamir Khan's character drawing attention after a theft once can be pardoned once but to see the same thing every time, you would need a bottle of Hajmola to digest that.

A bit of tongue in cheek action is fine but mixing that up with a serious plot doesn't yield good results - for instance Samar's intention of shutting the bank are serious and so is the cops objective. As a result, most of the humor generated is unintentional except where Ali is involved to provide comic relief.

The cinematography by Sudeep Chatterjee is from the top draw, the editing though could have been sharper, minus all the flashbacks. This may not be Aamir Khans most memorable performance but still he manages to carry the film through by adding that zing to his character.

If it was shorter, Dhoom 3 would have made it to the so-bad-that-it-is-good category but at three hours no bad film can be deemed as good. 

Published in The Navhind Times

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