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Film
Reviews
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'36
China Town' - Lacks the punch
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Director: Abbas Mustan
Producer: Mukta Arts
Starring: Akshaye Khanna, Shahid Kapoor,
Kareena Kapoor, Upen Patel, Paresh Rawal, Johny Lever,
Payal Rohatgi, Isha Koppikar
Rating: **
 Abbas
Mustan have always been the kings of suspense thrillers,
and have given the audiences films like Soldier, Ajnabee,
Humraaz, Tarzaan and Aitraaz, all of which have been exciting
and have done well commercially. 36 China Town too is
no exception, as it falls into the genre of a murder mystery.
The film is set in Goa, where 36 China Town is the address
of one of the characters.
It is clear now why Subhash Ghai wanted to keep the climax
of ‘36 China Town’ a secret before the movie’s
release. The suspense is such a downer that it would have
earned bad publicity for the movie.
So, here comes yet another whodunit from Abbas-Mastan
duo, the men in white whose forte is to make suspense
thrillers.
However, despite all the hype and brouhaha, ‘36
China Town’ is like a damp squib, a movie that is
less of an edge-of-the-seat thriller and more of a medley
of celluloid masalas, intended to provide wholesome entertainment
– songs, comedy, romance, murder, suspense et al.
But the movie ends up neither here nor there. It neither
thrills, nor it entertains.
The movie’s story revolves around the murder of
a high-profile woman. There are a number of usual suspects
and there is a brainy cop who is hell bent to solve the
mystery.
Sonia (Isha Koppikar) runs a casino in Goa. When her
little son goes missing, she declares hefty reward money
for anyone who finds her son and brings him back to
her.
Raj (Shahid Kapur) and Priya (Kareena Kapoor), strangers
to each other, find the little toddler and decide to
split evenly the reward money between them.
But when they take the child to Sonia’s bungalow,
they find the lady murdered. In shock and panic, Raj
and Priya flee the scene of crime but they forget behind
a suitcase that straightaway links them to the murder.
The case is taken by inspector Akshay (Akshaye Khanna),
who knows there is more to this murder than meets the
eye at first.
 As
the inspector investigates, the list of usual suspects
goes on increasing. Among the suspects are a playboy (Upen
Patel) and two couples (Paresh Rawal-Payal Rohatgi and
Johnny Lever-Tanaaz).
As the cop stumbles upon some crucial clues, he slowly
zeroes down on the killer’s identity and motive
for murder.
The trouble with ‘36 China Town’ is that the
film’s story keeps on veering off the track and
into other sub-plots that seem to have been incorporated
in the story just for the heck of providing all-round
entertainment. The romantic track between Shahid and Kareena,
their dream sequences, lacks the spark of two people in
love (at least on the reel). The comedy track by Paresh
Rawal and Johnny Lever is fine at times but an overemphasis
on it (even in the second half) takes the story’s
grit away. The movie’s climax completes the list
of disappointments.
And then, there are songs too many to bear. In the
first 15-20 minutes only, two songs (one on newcomer
Upen Patel and another of Shahid Kapur, Tanushree Dutta)
are squeezed almost back to back.
Among the host of actors in the movie, it is only Akshaye
Khanna who makes a little impact. The actor keeps an inquisitive
look in his eyes, maintains a stern demeanor and does
his characteristic pursing of lips. His styling in some
scenes (with hat and suit) is appalling.
Shahid Kapur is cute and charming, but he merely ends
up making faces in the name of acting. Also, the physical
maturity is still not visible in him.
Kareena Kapoor enacts her part fine enough, but how one
wishes the writers had etched a meatier character for
her. In the name of meat, she is seen flaunting her cleavage
in a song.
Paresh Rawal acquits himself despite some inane humour
written for his character. Johnny Lever overacts. Upen
Patel’s dubbed performance is nothing to write
home about
Payal Rohatgi’s presence is merely that of a
beauty doll and Priyanka Chopra’s cameo is a thud.
To cut to the chase, ‘36 China Town’ is
a glossy flick with a little bit of romance, thrills,
comedy, sleaze, song ‘n’ dance, suspense
and a jaw-dropping climax. A wee bit of everything virtually
makes for nothing in the end.
Darna Zaroori Hai
 Ram
Gopal Varma is back with Darna Zaroori Hai. DZH is
suppose to be a sequel to Darna Mana Hai.
If Darna Mana Hai was big, the
supposed sequel Darna Zaroori Hai is colossal. Bigger
stars and multiple directors! Here again the movie
has six separate episodes that end up to a common
climax. Interestingly each of the six episodes is
directed by a different director. So each story should
expectedly be divergently different from the other
in terms of the theme and treatment of the individual
directors. Darna Zaroori Hai is the first Hindi film
to be directed by six directors. ..................more
Gangster
 The
question everyone's asking, first: Is Gangster based
on Abu Salem's life? Yes and no. Yes, because he is
a gangster and she is a one-time club dancer (a minor
variation there: Monica Bedi was a one-time starlet).
No, because fiction - in this case at least - is stranger
than the facts you've seen on the news channels.
Gangster, the latest from the Bhatt stable, is definitely
one of the better Bollywood flicks this year. Don't
go by the title, it's not a mafia movie. Although
there is a dose of blood in the script, director Anurag
Basu by and large takes the traditional love triangle
route. ..................more
'Pyare
Mohan' - Mundane
 Pyare
Mohan lacks heart, soul and everything besides having
such a talented director of MASTI and Fardeen Khan who
did a good job in NO ENTRY and ofcourse Boman irani
who is always dependable
Barring a few sequences, the humour in ‘Pyare
Mohan’ is pretty mundane.
Given the movie’s basic story idea, ‘Pyare
Mohan’ could have been an interesting flick. Two
friends – one blind and the other deaf –
go about their lives with fun and masti without letting
their handicap become a weakness. ...............more
'Humko
Deewana Kar Gaye' Mushy
 Akshay
Kumar's films are becoming classier by the month. There's
a certain restrain in his presence here. The way he
conveys the pain and hurt of an impossible love, is
quite surprising for an actor who until recently was
counted among the wooden.
Director Raj Kanwar's recent efforts to polish up his
act have yielded tepid results. Dhai Akshar Prem Ke
and the boxoffice hit Andaz were louder than the lyrical
aspirations of their creator.
Filmmaker Raj Kanwar’s previous movies have bore
an indubitable stamp of melodrama and romantic mush.
HDKG is no exception. ................more
Saawan
 "You'll
die this Friday." No, that isn't a trade pundit
predicting doomsday for this hopelessly loopy and washed-out
take on the vagaries of life. That's just the 'desi'
Nostradamus, played by Salman Khan, predicting sure-death
for the film's pert heroine (Saloni Aswani).
The film's feverish take on the matters of fate is so
hopelessly out of sync with the times, you feel sorry
for the perpetrators of this celluloid atrocity.
Poor Salman. He's given the thankless task of shouldering
this creative carcass. ............more
Shaadi
Se Pehle
 The
title SHAADI SE PEHLE gave an impression of it being
a sex comedy and Mallika's presence just strengthened
the belief. But the motion got wiped off immediately
after the movie starts rollin'. This ain't no sex comedy,
this is an ex-comedy!
Well, read the story first. Ashish Khanna (Akshaye Khanna)
and Rani (Ayesha Takia) are very much in love. Ashish
suffers from hypertension and one day he misunderstands
it for cancer after overhearing his doctor's (Boman
Irani) conversation on the phone. Ashish is devastated
and then embarks to turn nasty so that Rani starts hating
him and does not have to face the suffering of his death.
....................more
Banaras
Starring: Urmila,
Naseeruddin Shah, Dimple Kapadia, Raj Babbar, Ashmit
Patel.
Director: Pankuj Parashar
 Ashmit
Patel has a problem. It's not that he can't act. Director
Pankuj Parashar has taken care of that issue admirably,
skirting his skills and asking him to smile vacantly
at everyone. This is what Bollywood, bred on a diet
of melodramatic histrionics, calls 'subtle.'
No, his problem is peculiar. A shy, silent orphan named
Soham, he's a bit overwhelmed by the unashamedly frank
proposal come his way from the overenthused Shwetambari
(Urmila). The randy little rich girl is thrilled about
Soham's music classes, and singing is clearly not foremost
in her thoughts. But, Soham asks himself, is this right?...................more
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