Bore is your Rashee!!

Some films are meant to go down the drain just the same way as they came. But when that film happens to be directed by someone you admire, and stars someone you admire EVEN more, you cant help but feel a tinge of sadness. What’s your Rashee is one of those films that you wont forget watching ever.. Simply because the overwhelming regret of committing the blunder wont let you.

The basic plot is that a calamity befalls upon the Patel family as their older son has borrowed crores of rupees from some Bhais and must pay it back or else the inevitable (Read: Casualties in the family) will happen. To save the family from doom, the younger son- Yogesh Patel (Hurman Patel), a suave MBA graduate n Part Time DJ residing in the US is summoned back to India. Yogesh only must redeem his folks as he is meant to inherit a handsome amount from his grandmother on getting hitched.

So a reluctant Yogesh goes out on a bride-hunt and decides to meet 12 Gujju girls, one of each Zodiac. Because there are only 12 types of girls, he says (Bizarre for an Ivy League graduate, don’t you think ??). And yes PC plays all 12 of them.

Criticising a film like What’s Your Rashee is easy and taxing at the same time. Easy because there is so much to criticise. And taxing because there is oh-SO-never-ending-much to criticise. The plot of the film is ridiculous to say the least. It is apt for a soap starting with any damn letter of the alphabet, not just K. But put it on the silver screen and from the start to the end, it spells Torture. Hurman sleep-walks through the film. Amrita Rao in Vivaah emotes more than Hurman. The Priyanka you came to see in this film is buried deep under the massive weight of the 12 annoying characters she is given to play. Not one of them is the kinds you would see, or even want to see in the real world. (The thought terrifies me. If I had to contend with even one of those characters in real life, I would strangulate them to death.) They sing, dance, make faces, do absurd things in the name of acting for no friggin reason. AVOID !!

I am devoting a whole paragraph to the length of the film because it adds to the misery so badly. 3 and a half hours long ! Did Ashutosh Gowarikar forget somewhere in the middle that its meant to be a Romantic Comedy and not Mahabharata ? This is what happens when you try to act too much genius.

All in all, the movie is a disaster from the word go. The number of times I glanced my watch during the film, waiting for the agony to end, is more than the number of reasons I can think of, for watching a film like this.

What’s your logic, Ashutosh ? Ye toh bata do na. :P

Rating- 1/5 (0.5 for Priyanka and Hurman each)

Dil Bole Hadippa!!

Dil Bole Hadippa, this week’s big release, is the story of a feisty Punjabi Kudi, Veera Kaur (Rani Mukherjee) who eats, breathes and lives cricket. But her village has no Girls’ cricket team so that gives her very little chance to play. Her ultimate dream is to bring glory to her Pind by playing against the Pakistanis in the Aman Cup, a friendly cricket tournament organized by two best friends- Liaqat Ali from Pakistan and Vikram Kapoor (Played by Anupam Kher) from India. After facing defeat for 7 years straight, Vikram summons his son-Rohan from England (Shahid Kapoor) to lead the team and infuse the much needed spirit. Rohan conducts selections for the team, which Veera takes to be her golden chance. So she dons the attire of a man, in order to be able to play. Veera, becomes Veer Pratap Singh. And hence, the confusion begins.

DBH is one of those Great Indian Potboilers. It stands for all things archetypically Indian. Like London returned guy falling in love with the Desi Kudi (Yawwwn...) , Village girl going on to prove her detractors wrong, the Father asking his Son to fulfil his sapna, a Rakhi Sawant Item number, a song after every few minutes, the whole 'Ik Onkar Satnam' playing everytime Rani comes to bat (!!) , even a “Rani -Jhansi-can-do-it-why-cant-I" speech at the end ( Lol).…..the list is endless. Infact the village where DBH is based, is the one that you have seen in (COUNTLESS ) squared number of films. DDLJ,Veer Zara, Namaste London, Singh is King…For god’s sake, why cant we have a different setting ? The film has nothing to offer in terms of originality, the plots and the concept is done to death. The matches are shoddy, they lack the finesse and thrill of Chak De or Lagaan. While cricket could have been the high point of the film, it slips into the background in the second half when the focus shifts on their love angle.

Well.. before you conclude.. there’s a bright side too. The film’s entertaining to the extent that it gives value for money. Its funny in parts. Particular scenes stand out.. like the one where Veera is taken to the Men’s room forcefully. Rani is endearing, to say the least. And Rakhi’s overshot expectations, whatever little is there of her, it makes for pleasant viewing. After the Dev Ds and Kamineys, its kind of refreshing to have a family entertainer which doesn’t require you to expend your intellect but just enjoy the ride.. however senseless it may be. Rani’s comic timing is perfect, though her dialogue delivery is a little irritating at times. Shahid is pushing the envelope with every film. He might not have given an Oscar Winning performance here but it is better than what the so called Rulers of Bollywood (SRK, Akshay Kumar etc) do.

If only the cliches did not so much outweigh the goodness of the film, we could have had a decent caper at hand. Dil Bole Hadippa is STANDARD Bollywood. And sorry to say but we have had decades of it.




Rating- 2/5

The Ugly Truth

Been long since you watched a good rom com ? Your wait ends right here. The Ugly Truth is a fine romantic comedy which is honestly likeable. The film addresses the decades old ‘Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus’ issue with a delightful sassiness that makes you chuckle on more than one occasion.

The film is essentially the story of Abby Richter (Katherine Heigl), a TV producer who is a disaster at relationships because she cant get out of her mind the image of a perfect-guy-in-white-tuxedo approaching her. While Mike Chadway (Gerard Butler- Mmm. Drool. Slurrp !) is the no-nonsense love guru who batoes his gyaan on this TV show called The Ugly Truth. Their lives cross when Abby’s channel ropes in Mike to appear on one of their shows much to the producer Abby Sexist-and-proud-of-it Richter’s chagrin.What happens next is predictable. A roller coaster ride for Richter as the irresistable Mike Chadway woos her.. making her come to terms with the fact, that perfect men remain a figment of imagination.





Admittedly, The Ugly Truth has very little to offer in terms originality. The plot is interesting, although the concept s beaten to death. Yet what strikes is the freshness of treatment. It may be old wine in new bottle but if the new bottle is the delicious Gerard Butler, you don’t care much for the wine ! Yes ladies, Gerard’s the show stealer all the way, giving the film its finest moments. When he says those corny-to-the-hilt lines to Abby, you begin to wish you were the butt of his jokes. Katherine is poor man’s Reese Witherspoon. Tryin hard, but not quite there. The film’s editing is a little flawed. 15 minutes shorter would have been just fine.

Wondering what remains worth watching ? It’s the chemistry. The battle of the sexes. Which is adorable to say the least. The film’s climax has an intense lovemaking scene. Just the right exit. The film may not be intellectually stimulating. But then it doesn’t claim to be one. Watch it for the simplicity and fresh off-the-mark humour.

PS- Ladies, if you have your basics right [Read: A healthy appetite for good looking, charming, great talking men.. and of course, a straight orientation :P], there is no way Gerard Butler won’t leave you wet… With Drool. ;) :D :D

Rating: 3/5


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