Cyber Way

Imageless: Canvas

Producers: Sameer Gaikwad, Ramakant GaikwadWriter, Director: Shivdarshan-AmitStars: Sameer Dharmadhikari, Madhura Welankar, Vijay Kenkre, Abhijit Satam, Sunil Deo
Three murders, one after the other, by a mysterious hammer man has ACP Aditya puzzled. Each time the murderer leaves behind a canvas that leaves a hint about the next murder.
TECHNICAL EXPERTISE

The screen goes blank very often trying to create a moment of intrigue in this supposed thriller. But it comes so often that the viewer is exasperated. The camera angles and close-ups that should ideally have the viewer sitting on the edge of his seat do nothing of that sort. The performances are also not worth mentioning except for Abhijit Satam’s. Generally it is the background score of a thriller that keeps the film’s momentum but here it leaves a lot to be desired. It is surprising that this is a film from the banner of Swadeshi Entertainment, whose Dombivli Fast won the National award in 2005. Unfortunately, this canvas is imageless.
Verdict

One star for Abhijit Satam’s subtle performance.

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Aladin

Most stories sound interesting on paper or when narrated in 10/15 minutes flat. But when you watch the full-blown cinematic version, you realize why most Hindi films fall flat on their face.
Sujoy Ghosh's ALADIN promises the moon, but what you get is a mere flicker. This fantasy had the trappings to transport you to fantasyland, but… Seriously, Sujoy could've run his imagination wild and come up with a film that would've made the child in you jump, scream and clap with glee. But 15/20 minutes into the film and you realize that ALADIN is merely a visual spectacle. A film that lacks soul!
After having watched ALADIN, I too desire three wishes...
• Wish 1: Henceforth, actors shouldn't ask for scripts before they sign on the dotted line;
• Wish 2: Producers should act more responsibly. They shouldn't be mere moneybags, but have creative control too;
• Wish 3: Directors and writers should stop taking the intelligent viewer for granted. Will a genie appear and fulfil my wishes? I doubt!
Aladin Chatterjee [Riteish Deshmukh] lives in the city of Khwaish, an orphan who has been bullied since childhood by Kasim [Sahil Khan] and his gang. But his life changes when Jasmine [Jacqueline Fernandez] gives him a magic lamp because it lets loose the genie Genius [Amitabh Bachchan].

Desperate to grant him three wishes and seek the end of his contract with the Magic Lamp, Genius makes Aladin's life difficult until the real threat looms on the horizon: the ex-genie Ringmaster [Sanjay Dutt]. Why does Ringmaster want to kill Aladin? What is the dark secret about Aladin's past that Genius is carrying?
Let's give the credit where it's due. ALADIN starts with a bang, with the initial portions holding a lot of promise. But no sooner does the genie appears, he breaks into a song and you realize that ALADIN is no different from those mundane films churned out week after week. Sadly, ALADIN only slides downwards after this point. Sure, there're some interesting moments, but you can actually count those sequences.
The problem is not with the story, but the screenplay [also penned by Sujoy Ghosh]. It rests on absurdities. Okay, one expects absurdities in a fantasy, you can be pardoned for it, but at least they should have the power to keep you hooked. In this case, they don't!
You can't overlook two major flaws in the writing...
• One, Amitabh refrains from revealing the past to Riteish, till Sanjay Dutt arrives on the scene and spills the beans.
• Two, the flashback portion - which resulted in Riteish's parents losing their lives - is haphazard. It's not easy to comprehend.
Also, the entire track, when Amitabh loses his powers and becomes an ordinary mortal, looks gimmicky. At the same time, it looks weird when Amitabh fights an entire army of Sanju's henchmen in the end. It gets very formulaic at this point. Not just that, even the climax is ridiculous.
Sujoy Ghosh's screenplay is bad, to put it bluntly. Given the kind of stars and budget at his disposal, the director should've come up with a slick entertainer, but ALADIN comes across as a feeble clone of a poor Hollywood film. Like his last outing HOME DELIVERY, this one too is high on gloss, but low on content.
The visual effects are excellent at places, but tacky at times. Vishal-Shekhar's music is strictly okay. However, too many songs in the initial reels act as roadblocks. The cinematography is top notch.

ALADIN belongs to Riteish, who's easy on the eyes. The best part is, he looks the character and enacts it without going overboard. He's at his natural best here. Surprisingly, Amitabh Bachchan is over the top this time, which puts you off after a point. Sanjay Dutt has two standard expressions from start to end. Jacqueline Fernandez gets no scope, but she looks gorgeous nonetheless.
Ratna Pathak Shah is wasted. Ditto for Victor Banerjee. And what is a wonderful actor like Mita Vashisht doing in this film? Saahil Khan and Arif Zakaria are okay.
On the whole, ALADIN is a terrible waste of a terrific opportunity. Hugely disappointing!

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In real life, if you feel your colleague is far more superior to you in intelligence, talent, charisma, efficiency, chances are you might feel the heat. Jealousy, generally, stems from there. In the process, the best of relations get strained. LONDON DREAMS, directed by Vipul Shah, talks of two musicians, thick pals actually, and how jealousy drives a wedge in their friendship.
Let's clear a few myths before discussing the positive and negative factors of this film. LONDON DREAMS is not BAIJU BAWRA. LONDON DREAMS is not ROCK ON!!, ABHIMAAN, YAARANA or SAAJAN either [a section of the industry wants us to believe that]. The truth is, LONDON DREAMS borrows from Milos Forman's brilliant film AMADEUS [1984], which was based on Salieri and Mozart's life. In fact, Suneel Darshan too had made a film based on AMADEUS called SHAKALAKA BOOM BOOM [2007; Bobby Deol, Upen Patel].
LONDON In terms of execution, it wouldn't be erroneous to state that LONDON DREAMS is amongst Vipul Shah's most accomplished works to date. Also, it boasts of incredible performances by Salman Khan and Ajay Devgn. But there are hiccups too and it's these deficiencies that bog the film down!
They were childhood friends. But they had little in common except their family's connection with music. While Arjun's [Ajay Devgn] life was consumed by a passionate drive to get on stage and realize his grandfather's unfulfilled dream, Mannu [Salman Khan] was content with remaining a child at heart with no higher ambition than enjoying the good things in life.
As Arjun forges a band with Zoheb [Rannvijay Singh], Wasim [Aditya Roy Kapur] and Priya [Asin], a music enthusiast from a conservative South Indian family, far away in Punjab, music becomes a survival tool for Mannu, who takes to playing in wedding bands in his village.
Arjun gets Mannu to London and makes him a part of the band, but soon realizes he's created the biggest threat and obstacle to his own ambitions.
Mannu, with his inherent musical gift, becomes an instant darling of the crowds. Arjun's unbearable pangs of jealously and insecurity only worsen when Mannu also unwittingly woos and wins his secret love, Priya. As he battles his inner demons, Arjun slowly devises a sinister plan to destroy his best friend.
It takes time to get into Ajay's world [its Ajay who's narrating the story here]. The film moves back and forth and it's only when the two buddies, now adults, meet that you realize where the story is headed. The first hour depicts the two extreme characters - Ajay, who's an introvert and who cannot think of anything but his goal and Salman, a happy-go-lucky guy, laidback and fun-loving, least focused.
The narrative has some interesting moments in the first hour, but the actual story unravels only towards the second half. The first half, frankly, only sets things up for the explosive drama that is to follow. The wheels start moving when Ajay plays a vicious game and hatches a conspiracy to ruin his buddy's career.
It's the second hour that does the trick. You can't help but carry several sequences in your heart, even after you've made an exit from the auditorium...
• Note the scene when Salman makes four different tunes from the original tune created by Ajay. DREAMS is a complete departure from Vipul Shah's earlier outings, AANKHEN, WAQT, NAMASTEY LONDON and SINGH IS KINNG [produced by Vipul, directed by Anees Bazmee]. This film is about relationships and tends to get very real and intense, in the post-interval portions specifically. The scale of LONDON DREAMS is gigantic and the execution of concerts [it's about a band] sweeps you off your feet.

• Note the scene when Ajay meets an inebriated Salman and professes revenge, while Salman is completely clueless about Ajay's sinister plans.
• Note the scene when the band arrives in London after a 3-city concert and they're received by aggressive mediapersons.
But there're roadblocks too. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's music is a downer. LONDON DREAMS is about a rock band, about music, about concerts and the music had to be the soul of the film. Unfortunately, it's not! The songs have been filmed in the most energetic fashion, but how one wishes its music was one of the strengths of the film.
Also, the film could've concluded when the two friends re-unite at the station. Adding one more song thereafter only dilutes the impact of the emotionally correct sequence that has just been witnessed. Besides, the song in question hasn't been promoted either, so it only comes across as an aberration.
Prior to that, Ajay's outburst at the end of the concert is far from convincing. The film has a real feel, real characters and real situations, but the outburst looks unreal and is one of the drawbacks, from the writing point of view. It's just not convincing!
Besides, Ajay's childhood character is shown fleeing from the airport and making it big in a foreign land [London], without any support whatsoever. It's unpalatable!
Vipul Shah has handled this intricate subject well, but the writing could've been tighter. Sejal Shah's cinematography is super. Brownie points for capturing the concerts brilliantly. Salim-Sulaiman's background score matches international standards.
Both Salman and Ajay vie for top honours. Salman has a role that the junta would take to instantly and the actor too endears himself to the viewers. He's stupendous. When it comes to displaying intensity on screen, very few can live up to the standards set by Ajay. To state that he packs in a power-packed performance would be an understatement. They, in fact, compliment each other wonderfully well.
Asin is admirable and pairs off very well with Salman. She is sure to have a new name after this film - Chennai Express [that's how Salman addresses her affectionately, all through the film]. Om Puri has a brief role. Aditya Roy Kapur is very good and registers an impact. Rannvijay Singh doesn't get much to do, except throw nasty looks at Salman. Manoj Pahwa provides some funny moments. Brinda Parekh is okay.

On the whole, LONDON DREAMS has superb performances from its principal cast and several emotionally-charged sequences as its two trump cards. But its biggest drawback is its climax and also the music, which is the weakest link of the movie. At the box-office, the film should appeal more to the multiplex audience than the masses. Business at big centres, especially at metros, should be better, but mini-metros and towns will be a contrast.

With a great many high-profile A-List Hollywood events and premieres on her upcoming schedule, Mallika Sherawat will be dressed for success… by Dolce & Gabbana, that is.The high-end clothing designer is now dressing the crossover star, in an arrangement recently made that first had Mallika in a sexy suit for her special recognition by the City of Los Angeles, the first of its kind ever received by an Indian actor.
Does this mean that gone are the days of Mallika’s eye-popping sensational creations that steal headlines and fill up news and website pages? Not necessarily, says the star. “D&G has some very saucy dresses. I have a few on hold that I think my fans will like.”
This is Mallika’s first collaboration with a top designer, which also happens to be a favorite of hers. “D&G is the epitome of class. I’m very happy to be associated with the D&G brand,” she goes on to say, “We make a great team.”
Making history in Hollywood with the first special recognition of a Bollywood star by the City of Los Angeles, the first star from Asia invited to the Twitter offices, the first Bollywood star to have a milkshake named after her in Hollywood, starring in the first Indo-American co-production in decades (”Hisss”), soon her first all-American film playing a lead role inspired in-part by Kamala “the female Barack Obama” Harris, and now a muse for world-class Dolce & Gabbana… one can only wonder what’s next for the B-town bombshell!Mallika has been residing in Los Angeles since the beginning of post-production on HISSS, co-starring Irrfan Khan, and is set to start shooting her new film there in November.