Lafangey Parindey (2010)

Whenever they say everything’s possible you should know it’s Bollywood they are talking about because yes literally everything is possible in that land. Lafangey Parindey, directed by Pradeep Sarkar and produced by Aditya Chopra is another Bollywood movie which proves the stated fact. The plot of Lafangey Parindey takes us into the lives of Nandu [Neil Nitin Mukesh] and Pinky [Deepika Padukone] who live in a small colony or ‘vadi’ as they call it. Pinky is an extremely talented dancer who has very high aspirations and wants to get out of the locality she’s living in because people there can’t understand her dreams. Pinky aspires to win India’s Got Talent through dancing on skates. Winning this competition is her only ticket out of the small colony she is living in.

Nandu, who lives in the same colony as Pinky, is a one shot boxer working under Usman Bhai’s gang. One day while driving, Nandu accidently runs over Pinky and that’s when life takes a different route for both of them. While the world and Pinky herself think that it was Anna who ran over Pinky, Nandu is the only one who knows the real secret but remains silent about it. Pinky loses her vision and dreams both in that accident but not her desire to win the competition. That’s when Nandu finds her out and teaches her how to see using other senses that she has and Pinky chooses Nandu as her partner for the competition. While they are teaching each other and practicing together, the two fall in love as Pinky regains her confidence and starts watching the dream to win ‘India’s got talent’ again. The story, however, takes an expected turn when Pinky finds out who her real culprit was.

Clearly, the story is average and falls short on the expectations build by Yash Raj Films. There are absolutely no unexpected twists and turns that would stick your eyes to the screen, which is a major flaw of Lafangey Parindey. Like I said before, there are some things which are completely unbelievable like Pinky losing her sight in an accident in a scene and in the next scene you watch her standing up and making a decision to dance without learning the daily things at first. Then she starts dancing perfectly that too on skates. That’s a little too much for someone who is blind! Also, the dance that gets them through the first round of competitions isn’t good enough for selection. Moreover, Nandu falls in it too, which makes one only wonder who was judging it.

The dialogue is excellent and breathes life into the roles. The comical lines make you laugh while the emotional ones touch your heart. Keep in mind though that this isn’t a comedy so there are a very few dialogues that would make you laugh! The tapori language used also makes one smile once in a while.
Throughout the film, Deepika stands out. She has enacted every scene with such excellence that you can’t pick out any flaws. The part where she is trying to understand that she has lost her vision is beautifully done and touches your heart instantly. With every upcoming film, Deepika is proving that she is really competent and a mixture of beauty with brains. This is probably the best acting she has done so far. As far as her looks are concerned, she is beautiful in Lafangay Parindey and her outfits suit the role perfectly. Seems like the designers really understood what is demanded from the role.

Neil Nitin Mukesh could do a lot more. In some areas he is expression less especially when emotions are expected to be shown! Had he been more expressive, the audience could have related more to him. I personally think he isn’t well suited for the role of a gangster either. Deepika out shadows him completely.

The chemistry between Deepika and Neil is fresh partly because they have never been seen together before and partly because it’s different from most Bollywood films. There are no looking-into-each other’s-eyes scenes or singing and dancing at mehndis or near the Egyptian mountains. Indeed Lafangey Parindey is filmy but in its own special way, which in fact is the beauty of the film. The way Pinky  flirts with the shy Nandu is quite delightful.

The music fails to soar high or add to the charm of the film. However, there are scenes where the music is incorporated really well and hence blends. All in all, Lafangey Parindey is an average movie, which falls short from the expectations that Yash Raj Films have probably because it’s a bit too predictable. You can totally afford to miss this one and wait for something that lightens up the screen in the best way possible! Let’s just hope that happens soon because Bollywood has been very disappointing lately – Hafsah Sarfraz

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 2010, Genre – Drama, Country – India, Language – Hindi, Producer – Aditya Chopra, Director – Pradeep Sarkar, Music Director – R. Anandh, Cast - Neil Nitin Mukesh, Deepika Padukone, Piyush Mishra, Manish Chaudhary, Viraj Adhav, Namit Das, Vinay Sharma, Palomi, Amey Pandya

Jail (2009)

“As expected, Jail is a dark, brooding and morose film on the injustices of life and how human dignity can prevail despite bleak circumstances through resilience, perseverance and hope. Like all Bhandarkar films, Jail too is a social commentary akin to a documentary on the deplorable conditions within jails and most importantly the injustices endemic to the system. As a documentary, it does a great job of showing a slice of life that ordinary cinemagoers are (hopefully) not too aware of, but the masses just might be too well acquainted with. Precarious power play, exploitative class dynamics and general combat between justice and injustice are a major focus of Jail; achieving agonizing profundity by depicting the microcosm of society jail communal life is and can be: a mafia boss operating the underworld through the jail, for instance. Of course, like all Bhandharkar films, Jail is rich in desi street language, expletives and dialogues like “jail ki pehli raat aurat ki suhag raat jaisi hoti hai. Kitnee bhee koshish karo neend nahin aati.” (The first night in Jail is like a woman’s wedding night. However much she tries, she can’t go to sleep).

The heavy publicity that the stars of this film embarked on – including an appearance at Wills India Fashion Week – showed how much work they had put into the film. Particularly Neil Nitin Mukesh – who plays the lead role and manages to do relatively well if one over looks Neil’s character, Parag Dixit as an extension of John Abraham’s character in New York. But to give credit where its due, Neil matures tremendously in Jail with Parag. His dialogues are minimal and its all about his hard expression carefully crafted to deliver an abysmal despair that leads him to the brink of insanity. His anguished screams when he is put in solitary confinement, and when he attempts but fails to kill himself out of sheer despondency, are perfectly executed. If this performance doesn’t get Neil an award, we certainly don’t know what will.

However as much as the story is about Neil, it is equally about Nawab (Manoj Bajpai,) the silent butcher who has risen amongst the ranks with his superiors over the years on his sentence. With Nawab one sees the return of the hugely talented but terribly miscast Manoj Bajpai doing what he does best: flawless expressive acting. Manoj’s character is the voice of reason and goodness that guides Neil towards the right path and ultimate freedom. Credit is also due to Bhandarkar for getting melody queen Lata Mangeshkar back to render a soulful track for the film’s score.

Mughda Godse, though, as Neil’s supportive girlfriend, is a wasted character and a totally unnecessary appendage, whose character’s purpose could have easily been fulfilled by Neil’s mother. Nonetheless, Mughda’s bagged herself an award for Bhandarkar’s Fashion and probably chose to stay part of the production to continue the trend.

All in all, Jail is an intense and powerful film that is certainly a must watch, when and if one in the mood to be educated. However be warned that the entertainment quotient in this film is zero. The logical inconsistencies in Neil’s trial, such as the most obvious facts of his case, and subsequently his innocence are proved a bit too late. It was perhaps a necessary evil for Bhandarkar to propel the plot along, but it leaves the audience feeling that the film is being unnaturally stretched – Hani Taha Salim (Rating – 3 OUT OF 5)

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 2009, Genre – Drama, Country – India, Language – Hindi, Producer – Shailendra Singh, Director – Madhur Bhandarkar, Music Director – Shamir Tandon, Toshi, Sharib, Cast – Neil Nitin Mukesh, Mugdha Godse, Manoj Bajpai, Arya Babbar, Ashish Sharma, Rahul Singh, Sayali Bhagat

Aa Dekhen Zara (2009)

Money is power. Power is seduction. It can seduce anyone, even the simplest of men. Can one cheat death? Can fate be fought? These are the questions that Aa Dekhen Zara poses as a film.

But make no mistake. This isn’t a moralistic film. It is pure suspense with a dose of fantasy but the questions keep coming back as the film progresses and therein lies the beauty of this film.

The young hunk Neil Nitin Mukesh plays Ray Acharya, a freelance, broke and struggling photographer who is a straightforward enough guy. With the death of his grandfather, Ray inherits a camera that can take pictures of the future. But there is a catch. A black photo means death.

On the other hand is his neighbour, the beautiful Bipasha Basu (Simi Chatterjee) who is a DJ. As they fall in love and Ray figures out the real purpose of this futuristic camera, one is taken on an adrenaline ride that gains pace as the reel rolls on.

As Ray makes the moolah, he changes. A small time photographer is suddenly wearing Armani suits and driving around in a Mercedes. Personal gain and greed should not be toyed with. But human beings are flawed and greed finds its way into Ray’s life very quickly despite the fact that he plays a genuinely upright fellow, one whose motivation was never money in the first place. Lack of opportunities in the harsh city of Mumbai pushes him towards the shortcuts. But there are consequences. And those consequences are the real reason why Aa Dekhen Zara is worth a watch.

Relationships are put to some serious tests as the lovebirds struggle amidst lies, deception and run out of options quickly. As they move from Mumbai to Bangkok, the action sequences start and because they are few of them, they stand out. This is not an out and out dhishum dhamaka film and that is a relief. A jump from a high-rise building by Neil Nitin and Bipasha stands out.

The whole idea of a futuristic camera sounds unrealistic and ridiculous but this is fiction at work. Like Shekhar Kapoor’s Mr India or the Keanu Reeves-Sandra Bullock starrer The Lake House where the two live in two time frames – one is in the past and the other is in the future two years later – these are all fictional ideas and they have all worked because they have been executed sharply. Same goes for Aa Dekhen Zara.

Come to the acting and the combination of young Neil and slightly older but smouldering Bipasha Basu makes an interesting pairing.

For once, Bipasha has a film where she is the crowd pleaser, the bigger star. In the first half, she is wasted. Beyond looking good, she has nothing to offer. But it is in the second half where Bipasha Basu shows off her craft as an actress. Fear, love and bravery, she switches from one emotion to another with equal grace.

For Neil Nitin Mukesh, this is an important film. His debut Johnny Gaddar won critics over but it failed to make a mark at the box office. In Aa Dekhen Zara, Neil proves once again why he is one of the new age actors to watch out for. He plays the role naturally and that is his biggest feat in the film. This isn’t a hardcore drama but it is a film that requires a varied range of emotions to be played out. From struggling freelancer to super rich man drowning in the seduction of money to a man on the run, Neil pulls it off with a natural grace. The fact that he is a good-looking guy makes him even more appealing.

Another man who makes his mark in a supporting role is Rahul Dev who plays Captain. His role appears somewhere in the second half but his villainous ways are enticing. And the bad guy is always impeccably dressed and looks rather sexy. And he is a very good actor with films like Asoka, Insan and Kidnap to his credit. His roles may be supporting but he delivers every time. In this film, he shines out.

The main flaw, one that is common in most Hindi films, is the film’s length. It is over two hours long. The first half drags on and it could’ve been easily chopped. On the upside, there are few songs in the film and that comes as a relief especially since most songs are typical numbers. The title track, ‘Aa Dekhen Zara’, which one first heard on Sanjay Dutt’s Rocky has been remixed and sung by Neil Nitin. It is an average song. In fact, the slower lounge version is far more interesting. The other track worth a listen is ‘Gazab’ which has been running on airwaves consistently. It’s catchy and both Bips and Neil look good together in it. The rest of the numbers are dull so ignore them.

For director Jehangir Surthi, this film is a first and as a debutant director, he does deliver. He has ended the film on a note where a sequel might be possible. So watch out, there just might be a sequel with time travel in the makings.

Aa Dekhen Zara is not groundbreaking cinema but it is intriguing. The suspense quotient is sufficient to keep one glued to the film till the end.

So far, Indian audiences and critics have slammed the film. But then it is the same audience and critics who gave a film like Rock On!! two thumbs up even though it was a mockery of the rock music genre – Maheen Sabeeh (Rating – 3 out of 5)

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 2009, Genre – Thriller, Country – India, Language – Hindi, Producer – Viki Rajani, Director – Jehangir Surti, Music Director – Pritam, Gourov Dasgupta, Cast – Neil Nitin Mukesh, Bipasha Basu, Amrita Arora, Koena Mitra, Rahul Dev, Sophie Choudhary, Bobby Vats, Shrivas Nydu, Deepak Dhariwal, Biswajeet Chatterjee