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DesiMovieGuy
Reviews
Samay: When Time Strikes (2003)
A Good Copy of Seven
Samay is an example of a Bollywood film, inspired by a Hollywood film: Seven. I say inspired instead of copied, because though there are enough similarities between the two, Samay has some of its own original elements. The most important of all is that the motive for the killer in Samay is different, he has an intense dislike for the protagonist, Sushmita Sen. He kills to set up a face-to-face showdown with Sushmita and to prove that he is better than her, whereas in Seven, Kevin Spacey kills because he loathed the sinners.
The direction is fast paced, also helped (thankfully) by the lack of songs that usually stall the movie. Even a blatant item number does not seem forced, as it introduces one of the victims. The plot is tight and gripping, even for those of us who have seen Seven and know what is going to happen. Kudos to the director for showing the final victim's death in a very tasteful (for a lack of a better word) manner.
My nitpicks with this movie are minor. Sushmita Sen does well when she's acting like a cop, but she's horrible in the emotional scenes. One thing that bothered me was the fact that Sushmita's character was so nice and polite with her Ps and Qs - and this seems very out of character. Now she may be polite like that in her real life, which is fine, but it seemed too forced/artificial in the movie. I've been to India many times, and every time I say 'Please' or 'Thank You' to a waiter or anybody, I get plenty of funny looks. The actor who played the killer (name withheld on purpose) just mailed the scenes in. At no point during his monologue does he stir anything within you, and he comes away just looking pathetic.
Overall the movie was enjoyable, and a good way to pass 2hrs 15 minutes (yes, it is LESS than 3 hrs). I give it a 7/10.
Ab Tak Chhappan (2004)
Great movie
An excellent movie and a definite must see. Great plot, screenplay, direction and cast - with just the right amount of Nana. Goes to show that Bollywood can produce movies of cinematic brilliance second to none. I saw shades of Training Day in the beginning of this movie (corrupt cop showing the ropes to a rookie cop), but the similarities ended there. IMHO, Nana did a way more credible job than Denzel's overhyped and overrated Oscar winning performance. A very serious and realistic movie, but not very dark and it did not treat the subject with a heavy-hand. I think this was why the movie moved along at a good pace, and always kept the viewer involved. Gets bonus points for having a white person on screen that can actually speak English [if you've heard white people speak English in Hindi movies, you know what I'm talking about]. A very solid 9/10.
Jism (2003)
Terrible
This so-called Sexy Thriller was neither Sexy nor Thrilling. Since so much hoopla was about the sexiness and eroticism of this movie, I am going to address those issues instead of lamenting the usual lack of good acting, script and direction in majority of commercial Hindi movies (and there was plenty of that in the offering as well). The suffering at DesiMovieMansion began early during the movie and lasted all the way to the end. The sex scenes were pathetic and the actors looked terribly self-conscious while doing intimate scenes. The kissing scenes were not much better than the usual hindi movie moments of discomfort. As for showing "jism" it was almost a no-show. Just some legs and midriff (and a somewhate bare back once). Although given Bipasha Basu's not-so-hot body, this was probably a blessing in disguise. The average hindi pop song video is HOTTER than than the love scenes in this movie, and the average hindi pop song video girl would have been a better choice over Ms. Basu. There was no sexual tension between John and Bipasha during the woo-ing phase. Considering that Gulshan Grover marries Bipasha because she's the trophy-wife, it was laughable (unintentionally) when he was completely exhausted after a romp with her. Bipasha on the other hand, had all her clothes on and even her make-up didn't get sumdged a bit. May be she got-on-top of poor Gulshan, who couldn't handle all that weight!
Save your time and money and don't even bother renting this overrated DesiMovieGarbage. I give it a 3/10.
Asoka (2001)
Good Stuff
Saw this on DVD.
Very good movie. Here's what I liked:
Direction: Excellent. The director does a great job in bringing out the different shades in Asoka's character and connecting it to the surroundings. eg. White horse when asoka was a good guy, black horse when he turns evil. He does struggle a bit in the pacing of the movie. Some places it was a bit prolonged and slow, but overall a good job in keeping us glued to our seats.
Shahrukh: Great acting. Plays a VERY good bad guy. BONUS: no shaking-shivering K..K..K...kiran bit.
Kareena: Not much for her to do, unfortunately. Pranced around half-nekked, but never did look like it was out of place or obscene. Some people had issues with that. Can't understand what's the big deal. Did well with what she had to work with.
I guess some people had trouble with the director's interpretation of Asoka's life (the affair bit), but I didn't think it was an issue. I think it was required to show his softer side. For a commercial Hindi movie the direction was pretty good. Could it be better? of course. He could have done without the three comedians, and maybe Danny's role. Conversely Danny's role could have been developed into something more substantial, as a proxy for the good in Asoka. The ending was a bit weak. He could have shown what happened to them after. I give it a 8/10.