Hindi Movie Reviews

Director: Vivek Sharma

Music : Vishal-Shekhar

Lyrics : Javed Akhtar

Starring : Amitabh Bachchan, Juhi Chawla, Shahrukh Khan, Aman Siddiqui.

In his directorial debut, Vivek Sharma has undeniably carved a niche for himself with the fun- filled film – Bhootnath. As he chose two veterans, Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh for his characters, he had no problems in bringing out the best of this unconventional story. Basically, Bhootnath revolves around the lives of a spirit, Bhootnath(played by Amitabh) and his relationships with a small kid, Banku. Banku is a well-crafted character played by Aman Siddiqui and one can only be surprised at the youngster’s energy and enthusiam. It is a delight, watching young Aman perform the role with his raw talent.

Juhi Chawla and Shah Rukh play Banku’s parents and when they decide to shift to Goa, it is then banku meets Bhootnath, the spirit of ‘Nath Villa’ who scares anyone trying to reside in the house. What follows is a series of hilarious episodes, resulting into a friendship between Bhootnath and Banku. So Bhootnath teaches him about life and hereon a moral angle is also introduced into the film, making the film relevant for today’s generation. As the plot reveals, comic incidents arise and make the movie an entertainer.

It is a must-see for kids and elders alike, never losing out on the fun quotient. Vivek has indeed been able to extract fine performances from his crew.

Movie: JANNAT

Director: Kunal Deshmukh

Music:   Pritam

Lyrics:   Sayeed Quadri

Starring:  Emraan Hashmi, Samir Kochhar, Sonal Chauhan

Genre:     drama

Yet another ambitious venture from the Bhatt Camp, this time it’s cricket. Jannat captures the much-hyped cricket scene of India through its explosive theme – Betting, Booking and Match-fixing in Indian cricket. The lead character is a hotshot bookie who has world famous cricketers dancing on his palm and is played refreshingly by Emraan Hashmi. Director Kunal Deshmukh however chose to highlight Imraan’s love-life which robs the film of its originality. Jannat could have been a fast action paced thriller show-casing the wicked side of cricket but with the same “laila-majnu” theme, it fails.

The story is clichéd – Emraan is a desperate character who wants to create his own Jannat by making quick money and so steps into the dangerous world of betting, making loads of cash and a reputation. The movie picks up action but suddenly the focus shifts on his girlfriend(Sonal) and one is left wondering- where’s cricket? Sonal is the conscience-stricken girl who hates Imraan’s gambling lifestyle and so sends him of to jail. She however falls flat as a debutante. Unfortunately, the second half of the film concentrates on the romance and betrayal, losing much of its sheen.

The music is the sole USP of the film which is superbly composed by Pritam. The catchy “Zara Sa…” and “Lambi Judai.” have become hot favorites. Otherwise, one can watch Jannat at least once for Imraan’s devilish act.