8x10 Tasveer-Review

8x10 Tasveer - A Nagesh Kukkunoor movie with Akshay Kumar –thriller—put all the three together and you can swear by the fact the movie will keep you glued to the seats...But this was far from reality…arm yourself with a huge basket of pop corn and some good company to help you survive all the 'what was that?' moments…

Jai(Akshay Kumar) has some kind of super natural power that lets him have a 1 minute peek into the lives of the people if he can get hold of their snap…whats interesting is that only the last one minute after the snaps been taken are what akshay gets to see …and this insight hold true irrespective of it being a hard copy or an image in the mobile…this also has a side effect of him almost slipping into coma and having to rush for a blood transfusion post the vision…I doubt any doctor can explain this strange phenomena...never mind…He’s also a forest officer or something chasing bear hunters and diving off cliffs as if its the easiest thing to do ( the promos give us a peak into this psycho side of the character) …

His dad dies under not-so-mysterious circumstances and everyone assumes it was a normal heart attack...till this loony character who introduces himself as Happi with an ‘I’ (Javed Jaffrey in an adorable role) plants a seed in Jai’s head that his dad was murdered..

The rest of the movie was a mystery. The climax was the most bizarre one that one could ever think of …for a man of Nagesh’s sensibilities and his talent, I still don’t know what made him direct a movie so senseless… Like a PC Sarkar act, a twin brother of Jai’s appears in the ending. From the time he had accidently disappeared while he was just 10 or 11 to to his come back...you left wondering of his upbringing and where abouts for all these years...

Sharmila Tagore as his mum din’t really add anything great to the movie, while the rest of the caste was just ok…the only surviving grace was Javed Jaffrey. Whenever he comes on screen, he tickles you with his hyderabaadi accent and brilliant performance…Ayesha Takia as Jai’s girls done a completely different role…so different you really don’t know what shes doing in the movie…

For man whose delivered Dorr and Hyderabad Blues, this movie was a downer...Its good to explore new genres, but this time the result is disastrous.Unless you wanna beat the heat and find solace in the air conditioned theatres, give this a miss.

My ratings- *

Devarishi Patel-Mtv Roadies 6 Hell Down Under

Devarishi Patel -Annoying...thats the word that comes to my mind when I think of him on MTV Roadies…initially I found him cute ( I must have been out of my mind) and was a bit pissed with Pradeep for kicking him…I thought that the poor, innocent chap was being bullied…and then the Nauman vote out happened and I realized that he’s far from being innocent. He knows what’s happening and is smart enough to play the game of ‘trust’ very well. I just pity the people who trusted him…
As the episodes flew, my disdain for Devarsihi Patel just grew…I always thought that Raghu was an intelligent chap who knew what he was doing while selecting the contestants…This time I was not so sure…This young roady is really, really irritating. Half the time he has no idea about what he’s talking, he tries his best to dominate, and his optimistic talks really gets you in the wrong place. Now I must confess that may be what Pradeep did was wrong but the devil in me is now ready to defend him. MTV roadies 6 Hell Down Under, is a snake pit and the fittest wins…But please at least the contestants have a class…I am glad that this stupid chap was kicked out, that too with serious loathing…Devarishi, puhlease get a life dude… there’s more to this world than fools like you talking in a weird accent and being ‘lucky’ enough to land up on such a popular reality show… glad your ‘kicked’ out…Guess you weren’t fit to survive after all..

Delhi 6 Movie Review

As I Hail from the north, this Rakesh Om Prakash Mehra flick got me really nostalgic. I had already heard about Delhi6 being a bore, waste of time and all that but watching the film changed my perception.

For a change, this Delhi6 is different in the true sense; we don’t have a hero, a heroine and villain. The movie is made of real people, intricately woven in the background of Delhi, its love, belief and vulnerability. We as people are still naïve and ruled by our hearts and I can’t think of anyone but the Rang De Basanti director to catch it on screen with such élan.

Roshan (Abhishek Bachchan) is born of a Muslim mother and a Hindu father and brings back his grandmother to India from the US to fulfill her dying wish. From the day he lands, he strats getting a taste of the real Delhi. As a newcomer to this country, he can’t understand the selfless warmth of his neighbors, a cow delivering a calf in the middle of a street and people treating that as a lucky omen and the caste difference among people, where you are compelled to purify yourself if you touch the lower caste. There also a love angle where Roshan developes a soft corner for Bittu(Sonam Kapoor) who harbors an ambition of becoming the next Indian idol which she believes will bail her out of her boring life. Somewhere, Bittu represent the India that we all have today, where we all want to make it bigger and better at the quickest time possible.
The story also has the back drop of the monkey man and how people have used this horror to their advantage. From the pickle preparation on the terrace teamed with a folk song to Jagrans, the movie gives you a delicious taste of the raw, real Delhi.

The first half was much better than the second half, where it’s a little hard to understand the last few minutes, as there was too much happening at the same time. The soulful music by AR Rehman just adds to the experience called Delhi6 with some tastefully choreographed songs.
From the senior lot like Rishi Kapoor,Waheeda Reahman, Prem Chopra to the fresher ones like Sonam Kapoor and Abhishek Bachchan, Mehra has been able to get some brilliant performances. Even the characters played by Pavan Malhotra and Om Puri strike a chord.
Dlehi6 is definitely worth a visit.

My rating ***