Rocky

Old wine in new bottle. That's the appropriate way to describe Rocky. Since time immemorial, we've watched heroes going on a killing spree to avenge the murder of their beloved. Fighting for the rights. Revolting against injustice. That's the essence of Rocky. Nothing has changed, only the faces have.

The problem with Rocky is that it doesn't even try to step out of the set rules of cinema. It's a typical masala film with loads of songs, generous doses of action scenes, a good dose of London... except an innovative plotline. In fact, the viewer can actually predict the story fifteen minutes into the film.

To sum up, watching Rocky is like revisiting the cinema of 1970s and 1980s, which, unfortunately, is a big yawn today.

Rocky [Zayed Khan], the rebel, hates anything and everything that is wrong... the system... the people, who take things lying down without raising a finger... Rocky cannot accept the indifference towards injustice and the rebel in him revolts. This attitude creates irreconcilable differences between him and his father and their relationship is fraught with friction.

Though his father loves his son, he emphatically disagrees with Rocky's philosophy of life and advises him not to invite trouble unnecessarily by interfering in matters that doesn't concern him, as this could put his life in grave danger. But the defiant Rocky feels, the irresponsible attitude of people is destroying the social fabric of the country.

The family manages to still laugh it off until one day Rocky gets into 'shark infested waters' Anthony [Rajat Bedi].

Rocky's world is shattered when his beloved [Isha Sharvani] is killed right in front of his eyes. He is blamed for everything. His parents take him to London. But the truth is, you cannot run from reality forever. And Rocky returns to avenge the death.

It's difficult to find anything novel in Rocky. You've seen it a zillion times before. In fact, amidst the modern packaging lies an outdated script and an equally outdated execution. This is all the more surprising since director Suresh Krissna has helmed several interesting projects in Hindi and regional films.

Barring a few well executed stunts, there's nothing you carry home. Also, the music comes up at unwanted points. There's a song, whether or not the situation warrants it.

Suresh Krissna's direction is mechanical. This film, in fact, just doesn't look like the work of the accomplished director. Ditto for the script. Himesh Reshammiya's music is sounding the same these days. Barring 'Junoon Junoon' and 'Laagi Ghhute Na', the remaining tracks are plain mediocre. Action scenes are well executed at places.

Zayed does well in stunts, although the role doesn't offer him scope to display histrionics. Isha Sharvani dances exceptionally well, but doesn't get the opportunity to go beyond the mandatory part. Minissha doesn't get scope either, but she does reasonably well. Rajat Bedi is as usual. Suresh Menon tries hard to evoke mirth. Smita Jaykar and Ashwin Kaushal are okay.

On the whole, Rocky is an outdated concept with nothing except action to fall back upon. At the box-office, an also-ran.

Tashan

Director: Vijay Krishna Acharya
Producer: Aditya Chopra
Starring: Anil Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor, Sanjay Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Yashpal Sharma
Lyrics: Piyush Mishra, Vishal Dadlani, Anvita Dutt Guptan

Writers often think that whatever they have written on paper would go well on the celluloid. Many of them in the past have tried their luck as director and while few of them like Anees Bazmee and Vinay Shukla have not only succeeded in matching their fame as a writer to that of a director, but have shot to more fame.

But writing and direction are altogether different as cheese and chalk. However, the writer of 'Dhoom' and 'Guru', Vijay Krishna Acharya alias Victor is just new to this. When Yash Raj Films couldn't succeed in their bid to release the film in multiplexes, many eyebrows were raised. Every one booked the ticket in single screen theatres, which they had forgotten because of better seats and ambience of multiplexes.

Yash Raj Films have been a torchbearer in Bollywood in terms of content, charisma and its czars, but it looks like the shine of the banner is fast fading away. The downfall of Yash Raj banner started with 'Jhoom Barabar Jhoom' followed by 'Laaga Chunari Mein Daag' and with 'Aaja Nach Le'.

'Tashan' looks like following the same fate at the box office. Like 'Jhoom Barabar Jhoom' it is all big gloss, like 'Laaga Chunari Mein Daag' its all-big talks and like 'Aaja Nach Le' its all-big stars. But, the story ends there because writer-director Vijay Krishna Acharya has nothing to say in his debut film as director of 'Tashan'.

'Tashan' has been promoted for last one month as THE ISHTYLE, THE GOODLUCK and THE PHARMOOLA, but sadly nothing works if you don't have a story to tell. 'Tashan' starts with a call centre executive Jimmy (Saif Ali Khan) being hired to teach some foreign style to a desi don Bhaiyya Ji (Anil Kapoor). Bhaiyya Ji like all other dons has one sexy Monica, called Pooja (Kareena Kapoor) in this case. Pooja is not as pious as her name is and it is quite visible in her toned and chisel shaped body. She has her eyes set on the treasure of his boss and seeks the help of Jimmy to rob her boss.

When beauty calls: Jimmy Jimmy Aa Ja, Jimmy falls prey to the sensuous beauty! The lad and the lasso elope with the don's money and like all other dons, Bhaiyya Ji too looks out for a goon who can bring the money back and kill the duo. As expected the search ends at Bachchan Pande (Akshay Kumar) and he is hired to kill the lover birds.

If you think that you have seen THE PHARMOOLA umpteen times already on the screen, then fix your eyes on THE ISHTYLE . This is like watching costumes of Jhoom Barabar Jhoom once again then please wish THE GOODLUCK to Yash Raj Films. THE DESI MASALA …IN THE INGLISH ISHTYLE fails to hold attention of its viewers.

Don't know who approved the idea of this film ; Aditya Chopra or Jaideep Sahni, but whoever is running the Yash Raj show seriously needs a break or some new head to do the job.

'Tashan' takes on the screen with a lot of marketing and like before it helps the film again to bring the huge footfall on the first day. But, all the style, all the gloss and all the stars fail to help the film to reach an entertaining end. The film starts very well. The viewer is glued to the screen.

The events change at a lightning speed and then enters Akshay Kumar on the screen. Crowd in the front bench is cheering and whistling and suddenly the fizz settles down. The pace is killed by the badly picturised songs. There is no logic in song sequences and tunes of songs are like Vishal Shekhar just emptying their old stock in the Yash Raj yard.

Except 'Jhoom Barabar Jhoom', even 'Aaja Nach Le' and 'Laaga Chunari Mein Daag' were better films than this. 'Tashan' makes you feel cheated. The makers rob your pockets literally! Except for some action sequences, thanks to Peter Hein, nothing remains with you after leaving the hall.

No Yashraj film has had such a dull music in its history. And, think of choreography of Vaibhavi Merchant, one can say for sure that her heart was somewhere else (Is Sanjay Leela Bhansali listening?), than concentrating on the songs of 'Tashan'. Not even one movement to copy for youngsters!

If Akshay Kumar has rejected an offer from Yash Raj to do one more film for them after 'Tashan', he is right. Probably he knew the fate of 'Tashan' in advance. He does give a solid performance in 'Tashan', but his persona could have been used for more on screen. He has done what he was told to do and he comes out with flying colors. But, his co- stars are no match to him. Saif Ali Khan is like seen here, and gone there kind of gestures.

This seems that he has done this role just because of Bebo. And, Kareena, Ah she is the new sex diva of Bollywood for sure. She looks hot, man. And in that two-piece sequence, she beats even Aishwarya in 'Dhoom 2'. If 'Tashan' fails it's because of its makers.

Had they given a thought to content as well, the result would have been altogether different. Aditya, please pull your socks fast lest it is too late. We respect Yash Raj banner a lot, but the time has come when the banner respects expectations of its fans , too.

Mr White Mr Black Review

It's tough to make a comedy. It's even tougher to make people laugh. With Mr. White Mr. Black you realize that director Deepak Shivdasani's intentions may be sincere, to make a full-on entertainer, but the film fails to transport you to ha-ha-land. It takes off with gusto, but the vehicle runs out of gas suddenly, leaving you stranded midway.

Mr. White Mr. Black borrows heavily from the tried and tested stuff. There's a bit of Gopi Kishan [Suniel Shetty's double role won praise then]. Plus, the usual masala that worked at a point of time. However, despite its uninspiring content, there's no denying that a few scenes do make you flex your facial muscles, even though the jokes are quite childish. Unfortunately, things take a complete U-turn in the second hour, with this comedy proving more of a tragedy for the hapless viewer.

In short, Mr. White Mr. Black is a half-baked fare that tries too hard to entertain, but fails.

Gopi [Suniel Shetty], a simpleton, arrives in Goa from Hoshiarpur. His mission - to hand over a piece of land to his childhood friend Kishen [Arshad Warsi]. Kishen swindles people with a little help from his accomplice [Atul Kale], to earn enough money to educate his sibling Divya [Mahima Mehta], who's studying in London. Kishen, however, has managed to hide his profession from Anuradha [Rashmi Nigam] by cooking up an alibi of a twin brother, Hari, who's the bad guy.

Kishen avoids Gopi like he's bad news. He's not going to give up his flourishing business and travel to Hoshiarpur just to take possession of a measly piece of land. Meanwhile, diamonds worth Rs. 25 crores have been stolen by three girls, who are now holed up in Goa. Kishen traces the three girls and succeeds in robbing the diamonds. But the diamonds actually belong to a don, Laadla [Ashish Vidyarti], who has also reached Goa.

That Deepak Shivdasani has an eye for style is visible at the very outset, when the three girls perform a heist in broad daylight. The film actually starts off with a bang! A few portions thereafter are equally interesting, but the writing suddenly deviates into unwanted territories in the second hour.

Take, for instance, Suniel's character. He wants Arshad to return to Hoshiarpur to fulfill a promise, but the reasons don't come across strongly. Note another point. When the three girls realize that the diamonds have been robbed from their locker and they begin a search for Arshad, the story suddenly shifts to various sub-plots: The love interest, followed by the mandatory songs, another 15-20 minutes are devoted to Arshad's sister's marriage and much later, the original owner of the resorts [Sadashiv Amrapurkar] re-appears on the scene. The three girls eventually show up in the climax. Truly, the second half is chaotic!

Deepak Shivdasani shows a flair for comic fares, but is letdown by a hotchpotch screenplay. Music is equally ineffective. 'Samundar' and Gopi Kishan are average compositions, but the remaining tracks are lackluster. Thomas Xavier's cinematography, surprisingly, lacks sheen.

Suniel Shetty repeats his act without any variation. Ditto for Arshad, who is livewire in some portions only. Amongst ladies, Anishka Khosla [resembles Preity Zinta from some angles] is an okay actress. But what is the talented Sandhya Mridul doing in a film like this? Rashmi Nigam looks pretty, that's it! Sharat Saxena is the only actor who stands out. Ashish Vidyarthi is loud. Shehzad Khan is funny. Vrajesh Hirjee and Upasana Singh's track is half-baked. Manoj Joshi deserved a better role. Sadashiv Amrapurkar and Atul Kale are passable.

On the whole, Mr. White Mr. Black promises only a few moments of laughter, which isn't enough. At the box-office, an also-ran!