Action Replayy (2010)

Is there more to Vipul Shah’s take on Back To The Futuresque film than just the item number ‘Zor Ka Jhatka’, or is Aishwarya looking attractive in a jumpsuit all that we can look forward to? All these questions and more can and will be answered by watching Action Replayy (AR), the latest work of the man who has brought us films like Aankhen, London Dreams, and Namastey London.

AR is a film about, it seems, marital disputes and the affect they can have on the offspring. In Bunty’s (Aditya Kapur) case, the effect is that of him never wanting to get married. His parents’ fights aren’t just arguments that end in one or the other making up with their partner, but rather with Akshay Kumar becoming more long-suffering and Aishwarya Rai shopping some more. Speaking of whom, it was a good call to style her as a tricked out older woman rather than a sad woman trapped in a bad marriage with her roots showing. Score a point for the stylist of the film. Speaking of which…

AR builds a lot of its foundation on the fact that it is set in the ‘70s. The sets, with Mumbai spots being refurbished to look new (or to look like they exist again), are groovy. It’s always fun to watch a period piece, simply because it is interesting to note how many details from those times can be recreated, and for someone who has never been to India except for the old family photos and old Hindi cinema, AR is a treat to watch as it creates some of that ambience you see in older Indian films. Old Indian movies always featured those old Ambassadors and the homes that just somehow look different from the houses we are used to seeing now, and the essence of another time is captured well in AR.

Then there are the costumes. They might not be exactly what the girls wore back in the day, but they are strongly based on the idea of what they did wear, only seemingly more stylish somehow, which means the clothes have somewhat been played with to appeal to the sensibilities of a new century.

Also, how can anyone resist a film with time travel (as in the Back To The Future trilogy?) Or a really not so serious take on sci-fi (as in Honey I Shrunk The Kids)? Both make for really good means to while away time, without having to invest too much of your brain into the plot, the character development or the subtle nuances of great cinema. Although BTTF was great cinema, no two ways about it. Anyway, AR does a lot of that pleasantly mindless entertainment thing, and though it sometimes seems like the film is being carried upon Aditya Kapur’s fairly new Bollywood existence, that’s not entirely a bad thing.

Aditya has previously starred in London Dreams, and has a pretty chunky role in AR. He is the son, the best friend and the cool guy who coaches his dad on how to be equally cool and win the heart of the object of his affection. Only in AR, Bunty, as the son has to first make his father think/ feel that the pretty girl next door, Mala, with the attributes of your local badmaash is in fact the object of his affection.

Mala, played by the stoniest woman known to mankind, Aishwarya Rai, actually manages to be…not so Aishwarya for once. Yes, the high pitched voice is in place, as is Aishwarya’s penchant to not look sad or affronted even when she is, but there are times she actually breaks out of all the usual trappings and really slides into her role of someone who enjoys picking on the effeminate Kishen (Akshay Kumar). This is Aishwarya’s other release this month, along with Guzaarish, and it seems that she is totally on an acting high with both, even though AR isn’t rated as high as Guzaarish.

Akshay Kumar is pretty funny as usual. His comic timing is excellent and he works well with Bunty’s character. The actors all play off each other and each one is endearing in their own way – even Neha Dhupia, who has perhaps the smallest part in the film.

That said, AR keeps up the humour factor pretty steadily except for the few times that it falters. The jokes are not Hera Pheri funny, but they still induce smiles and chuckles. AR builds itself a sweet momentum, but then doesn’t know where to go with it – Amina Baig

Rating – 3 out of 5

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 2010, Genre – Comedy/Drama, Country – India, Language – Hindi, Producer – Vipul Shah, Director – Vipul Shah, Music Director – Pritam Chakraborty, Cast - Akshay Kumar, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Randhir Kapoor, Neha Dhupia, Kiron Kher, Om Puri, Rannvijay Singh, Aditya Roy Kapoor, Sudeepa Singh, Rajpal Yadav

De Dana Dan (2009)

Infused with wickedly funny dialogues, naughty one liners and hilarious situations, director Priyadarshan’s De Dana Dan is a rip-roaring comedy which requires one to put aside his/her sense of logic to let the laughter sink in for the next three hours.

Shot entirely in Singapore, the film starts slow but soon the real fun begins as the characters unfold and situations gets wacky.

Buddies Kasha Kumar and Sunil Shetty are living off their girlfriends Katrina Kaif and Sameera Reddy, respectively. Akshay (Nitin Bankar) plays an arduous driver-cum-housekeeper who is treated like a dog by his strident lady boss Archana Puran Singh. Sunil (Ram Mishra) is a courier boy, and in order to repay the loan that Nitin’s late father once took, he accepted the odd job where even the pet pooch of the lady boss enjoys a better status and the indiscrimination ultimately leads to jealously against the poor canine.

Enters conman and money broker Paresh Rawal who is being chased by a cop close to retirement from service. Paresh is guilty of issuing fake cheques. Akshay and Sunil plan a shortcut to quick money and kidnap the dog for ransom. But the dog escapes and returns home safely. However upon discovering Akshay missing from home, the lady boss and police think it is Akshay who has been kidnapped.

The rest of the story is based on funny incidents, mistaken identities and finally discovering who is who. Handling so many situations with so many characters seemed like a tough job but the director didn’t lose his grip on the subject. The roles of Shakti Kapoor and Neha Dhupia along with those of Rajpal Yadav, Johnny Lever and Asrani flare up the comedy index and make the scenes more exhilarating.

Akshay’s comedic talents are quite subdued in the film yet quite effective at eliciting humour. Sunil Shetty also seems to be working hard on his comedic drive these days. Katrina couldn’t offer much as her role felt like it was chopped off during editing. Besides, her voice has been dubbed in the film.

The dialogue is the highlight of the movie. The music courtesy Pritam is average, however cinematography is competent. The film’s major pluses include slick characterization, intelligent execution and awesome performances. The care put into direction is equally praiseworthy. The only minus in the film were the post-hotel scenes where the director stretches the comedy scene too long and too thin.

De Dana Dan appears to have a massive budget, boasts of a stellar cast and contains good special effects – Asif Khan

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 2009, Genre – Comedy, Country – India, Language – Hindi, Producer – Ganesh Jain, Girish Jain, Ratan Jain, Director – Priyadarshan, Music Director – Pritam, Rdb, Ad Boyz, Cast – Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Suniel Shetty, Paresh Rawal, Neha Dhupia, Sameera Reddy, Johny Lever, Archana Puran Singh, Manoj Joshi, Tinu Anand, Chunkey Pandey, Asrani, Vikram Gokhale, Rajpal Yadav, Aditi Govitrikar, Supriya Karnik

Billu Barber (2009)

Billu Barber easily proves what you already know: Shah Rukh Khan has tremendous star appeal but when it comes to acting, he can easily be upstaged, in this case by the better Khan – Irrfan Khan.

Billu is a story set in the picturesque village of Budbuda, where Billu the hajam (Irrfan Khan) struggles to make ends meet and where Sahir Khan (Shah Rukh Khan), the Bollywood superstar ends up with his troupe to shoot for his next film. In no time at all, word spreads that Billu and Sahir were once friends and the entire population of villagers – until now who had absolutely no sympathy for Billu – attach themselves to him with undying support. Suddenly his childrens’ school fees are paid, the broken chair in his salon is replaced by a 25,000 rupee revolving chair and every night the electricity supply, which has been cut off due to non payment of bills, automatically comes back on.

There’s no such thing as a free lunch though and what they all expect in return is to meet the superstar who travels with a human shield of bodyguards and police cordons around him. The villagers feel Billu is their ticket to Sahir Khan. Billu, however, instead of enjoying the attention cringes away from it and even considers moving out of town until the entire brouhaha dies down. He is all too aware of the status incompatibility between him and Sahir Khan and wants to avoid putting either in an uncomfortable spot. Whether or not he actually knows Sahir Khan personally or not is not revealed until the end of the film.
Coming from Priyadarshan, the director who gave Bollywood comic hits like Hera Pheri, Hulchul, Bhagam Bhag, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Garam Masala, the film’s USP is essentially its comedy. But there is also an emotional sentimentality that connects and tugs at the heart. The film picks up in its second half after an unnecessarily long opening and ends with a predictable yet wholesome climax.

Billu is an adaptation of the Malayalam film Katha Parayumpol and reviews by critics who have seen the original suggest that it has been copied frame for frame. However, there are enough goof-ups in the film that have to be credited to Priyadarshan alone. For an immensely poor family with a scruffy father and children, Lara Dutta (who plays the role of Billu’s wife) is always immaculately made up: her saris, eyeliner and lip gloss always in place. That she has never looked better hardly makes up for the fact that she has been miscast as she is too English medium (which she cannot hide) to pass as a villager.

Secondly the film, which Sahir Khan is shooting for, is a futuristic Matrix type sci-fi flick. Why they chose to shoot in a village is incomprehensive, especially since they only shoot on sets that have nothing to do with the natural back drop. The three Bollywood bombshells Deepika, Priyanka and Kareena are added for their curve-appeal and they are limited to songs which are highly entertaining but again, irrelevant to the film.

Shah Rukh’s own role is glorified in an almost shameless way. From his ‘King Khan’ jackets to the body guards to the children wearing SRK masks to posters of all his films pasted to every wall in the village, it certifies that King Khan is the biggest superstar of India. It appears as a role close to reality, with the director portraying him as a star with a conscience.

It is interesting to see how Bollywood is being interpreted in films lately. From Om Shanti Om’s comic spoofing of the film industry to its flaws sketched out in Luck By Chance, ‘Bollywood’ itself appears to be Bollywood’s favourite theme these days. And Billu details it’s glamorous and yet biased towards good side only. In the end it is, like most Bollywood films, the star quotient and the soundtrack (which is quite catchy) that helps it work, not the story line – Aamna Haider Isani (Rating 2.5 OUT OF 5)

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 2009, Genre – Comedy, Country – India, Language – Urdu/Hindi, Producer – Gauri Khan, Director – Priyadarshan, Music Director – Pritam, Cast – Shah Rukh Khan, Irrfan Khan, Lara Dutta, Asrani, Rajpal Yadav, Om Puri, Special Appearances -  Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone