TALAASH movie review: An intriguing story intelligently told!

 Talaash is where your search for a good film begins

Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Rani Mukerji hold your attention till the very end in this gripping murder mystery

Actor-filmmaker Aamir Khan is being seen on the big screen in a commercial movie after a long time. But his much awaited Talaash, releasing today, is too intelligent to be called ‘commercial’ or ‘massy’ in the conventional sense. Directed by Reema Kagti and written by Zoya Akhtar and Kagti, with additional dialogue by Anurag Kashyap, the film aims to intrigue and surprise you. Does it succeed? To a great extent, yes.
The story begins with the wonderful song Muskaane jhoothi hai, visually complemented by beautiful shots by KU Mohanan depicting the city and its underbelly in ways that you may notice but often choose to ignore. The movie dives straight into a fatal accident scene – filmstar Armaan Kapoor (Vivan Bhatena) is dead. Inspector Surjan Singh Shekhawat aka Suri (Aamir Khan) is assigned the case. As the investigation progresses, it soon becomes clear that there’s more to the accident than is obvious.


The first half is a bit slow. It simply establishes the mystery and the characters in a straightforward, realistic way. The lead stars Aamir, Kareena Kapoor and Rani Mukerji have no dramatic entries or even scenes that showcase their acting prowess. So at interval time you really don’t know what’s coming next. The mystery begins to unfold…
Post interval, Talaash grabs all attention and does not let go till the mystery is solved. Suri chances upon the seductive Rosy (Kareena Kapoor), who becomes his informer as well as his close confidante, helping him to solve the case. Truly gripping, although some portions might be unsatisfactory for some.
Aamir’s honest cop roles in Baazi and Sarfarosh were more action-oriented, even though they had a backstory. In Talaash, he is subtle. There are no standout mannerisms or dialogues that the character indulges in – like Chulbul Pandey or Bajirao Singham did. Suri is an honest, boring police officer, high on integrity, low on emotional intelligence. He can’t get over the death of his son Karan in an accident, and it makes him insomniac. But he thinks it’s his wife (Rani Mukerji) who needs psychiatric help and not himself. Both are trying to come to terms with the grim reality of loss in their own way, and this leads to a growing distance between them, as they are unable to express their deep feelings to each other.
Rani is sans makeup, but even with very little screen time she impresses with her acting. But it’s Kareena that the film belongs to, even though sometimes she looks and acts overly sophisticated for the kind of life her character is leading. At the same time, she is a high-society sex-worker, but speaks like her Chameli avatar. As far as acting goes though, rather than Heroine, it’s Talaash that will eventually earn Kareena greater respect – she delivers an ace. In Talaash, Aamir, Kareena and Rani act with their eyes.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui delivers an award-winning performance in this one. The actor has been appreciated in Kahaani and Gangs of Wasseypur and tops that with his act in Talaash. It’s amazing how he plays the vulnerable lame man near the bottom of the filth heap that is Mumbai. Remember, it’s the same actor whose characters oozed power in Sujoy Ghosh and Anurag Kashyap’s films. All the other character actors are decent in Talaash as well.
Kagti definitely has done it with Talaash. Every frame has a meaning and no screen time is wasted in mindless comedy or item songs. It’s the kind of flick to be enjoyed, just like slow-cooked food. Especially notable is the bedroom scene of Suri and Rosy – five stars to Reema and Zoya for that! And Aamir and Kareena, of course, who take us with them on a joyride into another world. After all, isn’t cinema anything but virtual reality? Ram Sampath’s score adds to this feeling in the film.
Talaash is less about the mystery and more about the not-so-obvious factors – like coming to terms with the loss of a loved one, overcoming greed and fantasy, and beating the mind at its games, for instance. The movie needs to be watched at least twice to understand the subtext. It will grow on you.
However, this one might not appeal to viewers addicted to reading crime and supernatural fiction, or international TV shows and films of the same genre. As a first for Indian cinema, Talaash must be watched. It might not be a mass entertainer, but it’s on the road to becoming a cult film in the genre.

Akshay Kumar along with star galaxy perfforming at 3rd Kabaddi World Cup 2012 Opening Ceremony At Bathinda on Dec.1

MISS POOJA PERFORMING LIVE IN 3rd KABADDI WORLD CUP 2012 IN BATHINDA ON DEC 1st 6PM ONWARDS ALONG WITH AKSHAY KUMAR,HIMESH RESHAMMYA ,ASIN AND MANY MORE

Son of Sardar: Ajay Devgn overwhelms at Patna response

Patna: Recent visit of Ajay Devgn's Diwali release Son of Sardar team at Patna brought them feel and warmth of Patnaites. Fans were uncontrollable and in their bid to get a glimpse of their hero, they barged into number of places visited by SOS team.

An overwhelmed Ajay along with SOS team paid obeisance at Harminder Sahib Gurudwara. The team received enormous response from people who flocked to lanes, Gurudwara and other places. Their presence forced the actors to enter its sanctum sanctorum. In their 15 minute visit the entire area witnessed a jam like situation at number of places.

He said, "I wanted to come to Bihar for quite some time now and it was Shotgun's idea that SOS's promotion will be incomplete without a visit to Patna Saheb gurdwara." The granthi presented them with saropa.

And an amused Ajay also responded in same manner belting out catchlines of movies, "Kabhi kabhi mere dil mein ye sawaal aata hai, ki agar duniya mein sardar na hote to kya hota? Sorry yaar, duniya bekar bina son of sardar," famous SOS lines set tone of his interaction with his fans.

Ajay while speaking about the ongoing controversy between Ajay Devgn Films and Yash Raj Films said, "My record, during the past 20 years, has been clean and without any controversy, and I'm raising my voice now only because I want to fight injustice.”

The actor was accompanied by co- stars Sonakshi Sinha, Shatrughan Sinha, Producer NR Pachisia and Director Ashwini Dhir.

His co-star Patna Girl Sonakshi Sinha while making first visit to her home state since Dabangg success said, "There couldn't have been a better opportunity to thank the people of Bihar who prayed for my father's well-being. Last time, I had come here for his election campaign and see what the results were!"

She also recited her famous lines from Dabangg, "Thappad se darr nahi lagta sahib, pyaar se darr lagta hai." Conveying her thanks to her Patna fans, Sonakshi said, "Patna has supported me since my Dabangg days and I hope they will continue with the same support."

Devgn, who has worked in number of films related to Bihar, added that next year he would be seen in Prakash Jha's Satyagrah.

Son of Sardar is going to be released on Diwali.

Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor to get married tomorrow

Mumbai,Oct 16, 2012 - Another pre-wedding related event ofBollywood star couple Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor was held at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Colaba, Mumbaion Wednesday.

There was a family dinner at Taj Mahal Hotel on Monday evening attended only by members of both the families.

A registered marriage will be held on Tuesday at Saif’s residence in suburban Bandra, which will be a quiet affair.

"The marriage registration will happen tomorrow between 11.30 am and 12pm at Fortune Heights in Bandra," marriage registrar Surekha Rameshsaid.

"The notice had been submitted on September 12 and that they had requested that the registry be held at their residence. For the formalities, we will charge Rs1,000," she said.

After the marriage registration is over, there is a buzz that a reception will be held tomorrow at the Taj Mahal hotel in the evening. This will be followed by another reception in Delhi on October 18. There will be yet another ceremony happening at the Pataudi Palace in Haryana.

Saif and Kareena have been going steady for five years.

The 42-year-old actor has two children — son Ibrahim and daughter Sara — from his previous marriage to actress Amrita Singh.

OMG Oh My God! Movie Review

OMG is a rare kind of Hindi comedy

OMG! official poster

Cast:Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, Mithun Chakraborty
Director: Ashvini Yardi
Producer: Akshay Kumar, Ashvini Yardi, Paresh Rawal 

Based on the successful Gujarati play Kanji Viruddh Kanji, also adapted in Hindi as Krishan vs Kanhaiya, which itself drew inspiration from The Man Who Sued God, Oh My God, co-written (with Bhavesh Mandalia) and directed by Umesh Shukla, is a brave and absorbing blend of satire, fable and fantasy that brings our attention to the misuse and commercialisation of religion.

OMG - OH MY GOD! carries a social message, a significant one, but the best part is, it does so without losing the wit and humor. Most importantly, it doesn't get preachy, nor does it deviate into the sermonizing mode. The film demonstrates Kanji as a nastik or a non-believer in God at the very outset, who, paradoxically, uses religion to run his business. The episodes in the first hour raise a chuckle, in fact you wear a smile ceaselessly. The turn of events in the latter part gives the film that extra sheen, thus raising the bar. The courtroom drama is transfixing and the underlying message that God dwells within us is profoundly heartwarming.

Director Umesh Shukla keeps you involved in the on-screen happenings, courtesy an absorbing screenplay. Also, Umesh's choice of actors for supporting roles adds a lot of sparkle to various sequences. On the flipside, the film is stretched in the second half [more towards the final stages]. Also, the execution of a few sequences is plain ordinary. To cite an instance, the introduction of Akshay could've been more dramatic and spectacular.

OMG - OH MY GOD! is the cinematic adaptation of a play, but in keeping with the splendor of Hindi movies and the requirement of the script, the sets/production values [right from Kanji's shop to his Bhuleshwar home to the courtroom] are most appropriate. There's not much scope for songs in the movie, but the 'Go Govinda' song is full-on energetic. 

OMG Oh My God! Review: Star Performances
Paresh Rawal gives a stellar performance as Kanji. He delivers his dialogues so effortlessly and casually that you really cheer for this twisted hero. Akshay Kumar does well as Bhagwan/Krishna but sometimes the writers seem to try too hard to rub it in that he’s the Dark Cowherd. Mithun Chakraborty is a gem as one of the God-men but his stereotypical “broken-wrist” act can make you wince. Govind Namdeo goes a bit over the top as the saffron clad Siddheshwar Maharaj but suits his role. Though Poonam Jhawer doesn’t get much to do as Gopi Maiyya, her very presence will make you grin. Mithun, Govind and Poonam’s characters have some very real life inspirations which makes them all the more fun on screen.
Mahesh Manjrekar is good as the lawyer. Sonakshi Sinha and Prabhu Deva are fun in their guest appearances.

OMG Oh My God! Review: Direction, Music & Technical Aspects

Umesh Shukla does justice to the script with his direction. Amar Mohile’s background music is good. Songs by Himesh Reshammiya, Anjjan – Meet Bros, Sachin and Jigar are alright with Go Go Govinda and Mere Nishaan the only ones that deserve mention. Sethu Sriram’s cinematography is nice. Editing is alright. The special effects are a bit clunky.

OMG Oh My God! Review: The Last Word

For once, there’s a movie that wants you to use your brains instead of just clapping and whistling away at the mindless action/sex scenes. Watch OMG Oh My God also because it has good performances and an interesting concept.

On the whole, OMG - OH MY GOD! is a thought-provoking adaptation of a massively successful play. A movie tackling a sensitive and an untouched subject matter, it will find its share of advocates and adversaries, but the social message the movie conveys comes across loud and clear and that's one of the prime reasons why OMG - OH MY GOD! becomes a deserving watch.

OMG Oh My God! Trailer

OMG Oh My God! releases on 28th September, 2012

Barfi! Movie Review : Barfi! is the most deserving film to go for Oscars,

Romance is never easy. Neither is bringing it to the big screen, though Anurag Basu -- a filmmaker inherently gifted when it comes to visual imagery and metaphor -- is a fine man for the job. 

He can roll up his sleeves and whip out one peachy moment after another, keeping things wonderfully endearing while poking the audience ever so forcefully in the gut with a monkey-wrench.

He is then to be commended for his latest, Barfi!, a film that admirably refuses to yank the sympathy cord. Instead, it creates genuine characters and a truly charming relationship before, alas, one of his lead characters chooses not to follow the director's example and instead mistakes sympathy for love, making for a lesser film than it deserved to be.
Barfi! might have started off a certain way, but pulls up well short and -- as we were told before the beginning of (500) Days Of Summer -- "this is not a love story."

A well-crafted script with an intriguing back-and-forth narrative -- set in the present day, 1978 and 1972 -- Barfi! intrigues, right to the point somewhere down the middle, when it becomes more than apparent exactly what the film's story is, after which all goes south. The film's naïveté starts to wear thin, previously cast spells now appearing repetitive as the movie tragically falls into the very traps of mawkishness and manipulation it avoids so, so adroitly through the start. 


Basu has always been a very solid storyteller, but here the germ of the story -- the very chunk of plot the film is woven around -- is what lets him down, proving to be predictable and ineffective, paling in comparison to the dreamy dalliance he forges so smoothly early on.

And yet so impressive and earnest are most parts of Barfi! that one is inclined even to forgive its flawed centre; we want badly to overlook the film's peach-seed heart, and concentrate on the rest of its juicy joys. And these it provides in abundance.

Named after the once-ubiquitous old-timey Murphy Radio sets, the deaf-mute Murphy is born in Darjeeling to a chauffeur and his wife who dies moments after childbirth. An exceedingly sprightly fellow -- the sort who would constantly whistle if only he could hear himself do so -- the film's leading man has much silent-movie charisma as he, goofily and gorgeously, wins over everyone from townspeople to audience members. He introduces himself with an eventually shrill but sweet "brrpheee" sound, and thus the world calls him Barfi. And one fine, bracing afternoon, this Barfi falls quite madly in love, hook, line and sinker.

The object of his affections is a young Bengali girl new to Darjeeling, and from what we see and the loving way Basu and his superbly fluid cinematographer Ravi Varman capture their actress, we can't blame the boy an ounce. Shruti Ghosh -- a striking girl with disarming, Bambi-sized eyes -- is soon grateful for Barfi's magic touch, and the chord the two strike, as they share bicycle seats and horse-saddles, is one of rare tenderness. Yet all is never as idyllic, and there is much concern, involving engagement rings to the kidnapping of an autistic young woman called Jhilmil (which is that central plot, fashioned purely out of hokum.) And things change gears faster than Barfi or those of us rooting for him would like.And Barfi's as irresistible as they come. Played by Ranbir Kapoor [ Images ] with that marvellous abandon which is increasingly marking him out to be a truly special leading man -- his shoulders well outgrowing those of (all) his A-list peers and rubbing now alongside actual acting heavyweights -- his Barfi is a treat, a bushy-tailed hero with a highly infectious spring in his step. There is a natural grace to his klutziness, and he does very strongly indeed with this Chaplin-tribute role, bestowing his character with heart every step of the way. To paraphrase the radio hoarding seen in nostalgia-tinted Darjeeling, Kapoor's Barfi "sets the standard."

It is a bravura performance, highlighted by a particularly vulnerable outburst where Barfi momentarily drops the smile and would really, really like to yell.

Ileana D'Cruz, as the pretty Ghoshling narrating the film, does brilliantly. Her character is a trickily nuanced one, simple yet committed, indecisive yet brave, and the most real of the bunch, and she makes it work, using the silences expressively, heartbreakingly well, and really making her romance with Kapoor magical. A scene where the two kiss, as wordless as the rest of the film, is a moment of absolute perfection.

Rupa Ganguly does well as Shruti's mother -- even though I personally suspect her one dramatic line is a convenient fib --and Saurabh Shukla [ Images ] is great as a heavy, harrowed cop.

As Jhilmil, Priyanka Chopra [ Images ], god bless her soul, does indeed try valiantly to play autistic, but -- trapped not just by the film's most flawed character and plotline -- makes that cardinal mistake expressed so unforgettably in Tropic Thunder: she goes full retard. She's not bad, even very effective in a couple of scenes, but her character belongs to a different film. (Ideally a shorter one, because it does drag this one down.)

Barfi, Shruti, Jhilmil… The warmth doesn't stop there. A police station is called Sleep, a shelter is called Smile. And as we see a fugitive hero hijack a crucial ride almost as an afterthought, it's hard not to get swayed.

Two of my favourite moments in Barfi! involve deft cinematic sleight of hand: we see a hand painting a canvas, and, as the camera pulls out, realise its not the one we assume; much later, another hand tugs on a shirt, and here too we are fooled by it belonging to another. The misdirection is skilful and pleasing, but I do wish the beautifully beguiling beginning hadn't turned out to be an example of the same.

Opened: Sept. 14, 2012
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Ileana D’Cruz, Priyanka Chopra, Saurabh Shukla
Director: Anuraj Basu
Screenwriters: Anurag Basu, Sanjeev Datta
Producers: Ronnie Screwvala, Siddharth Roy Kapur
Director of photography: Ravi Varman
Costume designers: Aki Narula and Shefalina
VFX: Pixion
Sound designer: Shajith Koyeri
Editor: Akiv Ali
Music: Pritam Chakraborty
Not rated, 120 minutes

Asha Bhosle’s daughter Varsha commits suicide

Mumbai: Legendary singer Asha Bhosle’s daughter Varsha who was suffering from depression, committed suicide on Monday. 

She shot herself in the head, police said. The incident occurred around 12.30 p.m.

A singer and columnist, Varsha, 56, shot herself in the temple with a pistol of Belgian make at her residence in 'Prabhu Kunj' apartments on posh Peddar Road in South Mumbai.

She has not left behind any suicide note, Additional Commissioner of Police (South) Krishna Prakash said, adding police are trying to find out in whose name the pistol was registered.

She was alone in the house at the time of the incident, police said.

Prakash said Varsha's maid servant Deepali Mane knocked on the door of Bhosle's house around 10 am but no one answered.

Worried, she contacted Asha Bhosle's driver who told her that Varsha might be sleeping. After some time the maid went to the flat again but nobody opened the door.

The driver then entered the flat through Asha's elder sister Lata Mangeshkar's adjacent flat and found Varsha lying in a pool of blood on a sofa. Police were called in and Varsha was taken to a nearby hospital where she was declared brought dead, the officer said.

Varsha had married a sports writer and public relations professional but the couple divorced in 1998, sources close to the family said.

Prakash said police had learnt that Varsha wanted to start an orphanage with famous fashion photographer Gautam Rajadakshya, who passed away last year.

Varsha, who was said to be very close to Rajadhyaksha, was distraught after his death and was under medication for depression.

Asha Bhosle, who is away in Singapore, has cut shot her stay and taken a flight back, sources close to the family said.

Meanwhile, the body has been taken to J J Hospital for post mortem, police said. 

Varsha had attempted suicide in September 2008 by consuming a dangerously high dose of sleeping pills.

The Bhosle family had kept mum on the reason behind the suicide attempt then. But it is being believed that a private problem had been troubling Varsha for long.

Anti-Islam film: Violent protests across Pakistan

  

KARACHI: At least 19 people were killed and over 100 injured as protests against the anti-Islam film turned violent in several cities across Pakistan on the day Youm-e-Ishq-e-Rasool was being observed.

Islamabad

In the federal capital, clashes between police and protesters were witnessed in several areas. Some protesters managed to enter red zone and but were met with resistance from the police who use tear gas shelling to deter them from proceeding towards the diplomatic enclave.

At least 69 people were injured during the clashes according to hospital sources.

Later in the evening, protesters the MNA hostel and also set fire to a telephone exchange.

Security had been heightened ahead of the protests and a large contingent of police and Rangers had been deployed across the city. The army was also on alert.

Earlier on Friday, demonstrators from the suburban areas surrounding the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi occupied the streets in Pir Wadhai area and blocked the road for traffic.

Karachi

In the metropolis, protests gained momentum following Friday prayers. Angry protesters set fire to five cinemas. Several shops, banks, vehicles and police vans were also set ablaze across the city.

12 deaths were reported and over 100 injured were rushed to hospitals across the city and unfortunately incidents of violence were also reported at the Civil and Jinnah hospitals.

Protests took a criminal turn in the city towards the evening as reports of looting were also reported in several areas.

Peshawar

The day began with violent protests in Peshawar. Angry demonstrators set fire to two cinemas and also ransacked the Chamber of Commerce. Seven deaths including that of an employee of a local TV channel were reported.

Protesters were also seen carrying weapons during numerous rallies in the city.

Lahore

Protesters also took to the streets in the provincial capital of the Punjab.

Police and protesters clashed in several areas and police used tear gas shelling and aerial firing to disperse participants of a protest near the US consulate.

Rawalpindi

Protesters pelted cars with stones and destroyed a CNG station in the city. Police vans and check posts were also set ablaze by protesters.

Heroine : Movie Review

An apt title to Madhur Bhandarkar’s magnum opus would be Bipolarrather than Heroine as the movie seems more like a peek into the head of someone with a serious psychiatric disorder than into the glamorous world of acting, movies and the like.

Mahi Arora (Kareena Kapoor) is the moody, spoilt actress on top of her game. Not only does she have the best movies in her kitty, she’s also in a relationship with the much married superstar Aryan Khanna (Arjun Rampal). While Aryan is trying to get his divorce finalized, Mahi goes from being the adoring lover one moment, to stark-raving-possessive girlfriend in the other. Going with the flow, our pouty actress also has a drinking problem and regularly visits her shrink for prescription drugs. The ominous narrator announces how Mahi was always about extremes: consumed in love or withered with fury.

After another of her screaming incidents, Mahi gets humiliatingly dumped by Aryan. Her career is down in the dumps and so is she. Enter fairy godmother/PR person (Divya Dutta) who waves her magic wand and gets our heroine out of the molasses. Mahi also finds love again, this time with the charming cricketer Angad Paul (Randeep Hooda). To sharpen her skills as an actor, Mahi also signs up for an art film directed by a national award winning director (Ranvir Shorey), which co-stars Shahana Goswami.

The movie does a rinse-and-repeat from here on with heartbreak, love and heartbreak again. Watch the rest of the movie for more close-ups of Kareena’s blood-shot eyes, her incessant break-downs and some really confusing blocks in the story.

Heroine releases on 21th September, 2012

Heroine Review: Script Analysis

Madhur Bhandarkar may try and claim his stories to be “real” every time, but this time the writer-director is downright lazy. He, along with writers Anuradha Tiwari, Manoj Tyagi and Niranjan Iyengar, has taken page-3 stories about stars and based them around a few characters. This wouldn’t have been a problem, except that the movie comes out as being too fake.

It’s annoying to see the stereotypes played out in almost every character: the designers are gay, reporters have a bitchy aura and always sport funky jewellery, the path to the dark side begins with cigarettes and alcohol, bad people sleep around etc. Except the few lead characters, everyone else is as good as cardboard cut-outs. The writers seem to be intent to stuff in as much tragedy as they can into Mahi’s woe-is-me life and towards the end you just can’t stop rolling your eyes. While they might want you to feel for Mahi, you find yourself laughing off her character than ever rooting for her. The 3 hour long movie gets repetitive with Mahi’s heartbreak, psycho rage and love doing cartwheels repeatedly. The bright side is that the writers have shown the number of problems heroines face in the industry with their short shelf life, lecherous actors, being written off after marriage etc. Niranjan Iyengar’s dialogues are alright though the ones like “Manipulate karo ya ho jao” doesn’t really certify his ingenuity.

Heroine Review: Star Performances

Kareena Kapoor owns the movie as the, er, bipolar actress Mahi. As much as you would like to appreciate her ability to showcase the mood swings behind the camera, her character badly suffers from hackneyed writing. Arjun Rampal is alright as Aryan with Randeep Hooda bettering him as the suave Angad. Divya Dutta does well in her uni-dimensional role as the PR agent. Shahana Goswami and Ranvir Shorey are very good in their small roles.

Heroine Review: Direction, Music & Technical Aspects

The captain brings the ship down, sail, deck and all. Director Madhur Bhandarkar made his movie from a magnum opus to a monstrous blob that has too many leaks to be fixed. And the leaden script is of no help. Madhur should have focused on a few aspects of Mahi’s life instead of thrusting everything into a 3 hour long haze with alcohol, psychological problems, mummy-issues, role mongering, lesbian relationship… Salim-Sulaiman’s music is nice with Halkat Jawani, Saiyaan and Heroine being the noteworthy songs. Editor Devendra Murdeshwar has done a passable job. Cinematography by Mahesh Limaye is good.

Heroine Trailer

Heroine Review: The Last Word

Kareena Kapoor does a good job and, heck, you even get to see her in a pseudo lesbian scene along with other steamy scenes. On the whole, HEROINE is yet another hard-hitting motion picture from Madhur Bhandarkar. For persistently choosing women-centric themes, for consistently winning national acclaim and most significantly, magnetizing moviegoers in large numbers to view his cinema, the efforts of the maverick film-maker deserve to be lauded. Watch HEROINE for Madhur's imposing direction, for Kareena's superlative performance, watch it also for its fearless, inspiring and enlightening storyline divulging the scandalous realities of the movie industry. Try not to miss it!

Pic of the Week

A rare pic from movie set of SHOLAY movie

Joker movie review

The Hindi movie "Joker" starring Akshay Kumar opposite Sonakshi Sinha in lead roles was released on August 31, 2012 in India and across the world.

Directed by Shirish Kunder, "Joker" is his second directorial venture after "Jaan-E-Mann". This is Akshay Kumar's 100th film.

Made on Rs 40 crore ($ 8 million) budget, themovie has lot of expectations. According to reports, the movie is just 1:45 hours (105 minutes) long. Watch trailer video.

This is also the second film in which Sonakshi Sinha is paired opposite Akshay Kumar after "Rowdy Rathore".

The trailer of the film was revealed on July 11, 2012. Jointly produced by UTV Motion Pictures and Akshay Kumar's Hari Om Productions and Farah Khan-Shirish Kunder's Three's Company Productions Pvt, the film also stars actors Shreyas Talpade and Minissha Lamba.

Video: Watch 'Joker' movie trailer video

Chitrangada Singh has also performed an item number in the movie on song titled "Kafirana".

Director Shirish Kunder says his '“Joker”' is not a comedy film unlike what the title suggests.

Shirish has edited films like "Main Hoon Na" and "Om Shanti Om". The music of “Joker” has been scored by GV Prakash Kumar, who is a young and well established composer in the South.

The film is set in a village called Paglapur, which doesn’t have any mention on India’s official map. Raj Khurana (Akshay), who is an NRI, returns to his village only to find truck loads of problems.

Raj decides to fetch the media attention to his village, which will eventually help the villagers in getting rid of their problems; however the only thing which can go against his plan is the presence of aliens in the village.

Akshay Kumar's And Sonakshi Sinha's New Movie - Joker

The Raowdy Rathode’s sparking jodi Akhay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha are appearing in Shirish Kunder’s much awaited film “Joker”. 

The movie’s official trailer was released via twitter and is being liked by many. The film is all set to be released on 31st August 2012

The movie is about a forgotten village Pagalpur, Akshay Kumar is starring as Agasthiya/Raj who is a scientist. On his return to his village he finds the village completely neglected and forgotten by the government in order to draw attention towards the village Akshay comes up with a PLAN!

He along with the other villager’s help builds a bird’s eye view of crop circles in the field which is considered as an attempt by aliens to interact with world. When a similar crop circle appears in Paglapur, the world media descends for their fix of exaggeration. Here Akshay plays as an innocent villager being a witness and tells a reporter of having sighted a UFO, that is Udta Firta Omlette. 

But for how long? Will the villagers get caught? Or will this hoax be able to get people of Pagalpur government’s attention? There is only one way to find that out. Wait till the movie finally comes to theater.

Salman’s Ek Tha Tiger crosses Rs 200 cr mark at Box Office

Hindi movie Ek Th Tiger starring Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif in the leads, has broken all old records and set its own several benchmarks at the Indian and overseas Box Office. The latest addition to the list of its records is that the romantic action thriller has crossed Rs 200 crore mark at the collection centres across the globe. With this, it has become the fastest Rs 200 crore grosser in the history of Hindi Cinema.

Ek Tha Tiger, which released on 3300 screens on August 15, had collected Rs 154.21 crore nett at the Indian Box Office in nine-day-extended opening week. The movie continued to do well in the second weekend thereby overtaking new release Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi. The film grossed Rs 4.53 crore on Friday and approximately Rs 5 crore on Saturday taking its 11 day total to Rs 163.74.

Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif starrer romantic action movie has also got very good response at the overseas Box Office. In 11 days, Ek Tha Tiger has raked in a total of Rs 39.03 crores nett at the collection centres in foreign countries like USA, UAE, UK, Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. It is a record breaking collection for a Hindi film in the international market.

However, Ek Tha Tiger has collected a total of Rs 202.77 crores at the worldwide Box Office in 11 days. The makers of this Kabir Khan movie are very happy with its performance at the ticket windows and they could not stop thanking Salmania, which has kept the bells ringing at the collection centres across the globe.