Phata Poster Nikhla Hero review

Rajkumar Santoshi (the director) has 2 distinct pieces of art that he is renowned for and to be honest, those 2 films are very similar in their outline. Btw, Andaaz Apna Apna and Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani are the 2 films I mentioned previously.

Phata Poster Nikhla Hero (PPNH) is another one of his Santoshiness films but this one actually has a moral behind it which actually makes it a much more interesting film. I'm not saying this film does not have the typical "stupid, masala film" parts to it...it does but I actually found the film fun and entertaining!!!! (SURPRISED MYSELF HOW MUCH I LIKED IT)! Santoshi's direction is something I will look forward to...as he prepares for his next adventure... "Andaaz Apna Apna 2"!

Ileana D'Cruz absolutely killed it! She is a fantastic actress and she completely restores my faith in female actors in India...they can be versatile and literally fit any role......from Barfi! to PPNH, opposite ends of the Bollywood film spectrum.

Shahid Kapoor, the main man... Who surprisingly did a much better job than Ranbir Kapoor in Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani! Shahid's acting reminded me of Salman Khan... The one from Andaaz Apna Apna and Dulhan Hum Lejayenge! Great comedic timing in this Santoshi exhibit! Obviously the two leads had to be given some lee-way for the over acting aspect as the film was very dramatically hilarious! 

The supporting cast including Darshan Jariwala performed with his usual laughable manner while Padmani Kolhapure did what she has always done.... Brilliantly execute the role she was offered! It's been a while since she was a part of a commercial film like PPNH.

The story... Though fairly obvious as a whole... It does have a few surprises... Which are brilliant and very admirably captured by Ravi Yadav and his camera team. 

It's pointless to compare Santoshi's previous projects again but this is a very close second after Andaaz Apna Apna in his filmography. Although PPNH has not done as well as expected at the box office but it definitely deserves a watch!

ONE MAJOR PROBLEM WITH THE FILM!!!!!!!!!! Continuity in Shahid Kapoor's look! He instantaneously has a different hair-length, when obviouslt, it's meant to stay the same. Regarding the same point...he miraculously grows a stubble then shaves it off and it grows back with in three scenes that were meant to be...at the same time! Sooo... One very disappointing part of Mr. Santoshi's direction.

Music.. It's addictive! No doubt about that! Songs like 'Main Rang Sharbatoon Ka' and 'Mere Bina Tu' are brilliant , lyrically speaking but they did not require music video for each...in total does add about 15 minutes to the running time of the film! The other hits like 'Agal Bagal Mein' was fabulously shot and the concept is quite funny in the context of the movie. 'Dhating Naach'.. By far the worst song in the film but it has a significance so arguing with it's existence is not a priority so I recommend you TRY and enjoy that song!  

STUPID! CRAZY! FUNNY! BANG! Four words that perfectly describe this film! The action is excellently choreographed! Well, the dance choreography isn't bad either... Though kinda repetitive at points, but entertaining, for which the credit goes equally to Shahid Kapoor as well as Bosco (choreographer).

'Fun-filled family hilarity'... If that's what you're looking for... This film has it all (even the cheesy dialogues to really cause nostalgia for the 90's comedy)! Though my opinion differs from a lot of the critics out there, I believe this by far is Shahid Kapoor's best work since Kaminey! 

RATING SYSTEM

Performance 7.5/10

Direction 6.5/10

Story/Script 8/10
Action 8/10

 Music/Soundtrack 6.5/10

Cinematography 7/10

Choreography 7/10

I give this film 7.21/10 "7.21 out of 10"
Rating: Hilarious references! One-time watch is a must!

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You're Next Review by Jaffrina Jahan

You’re Next centres around the Davison family reunion in a remote house to celebrate their wealthy parent’s wedding anniversary. The grown up children, Drake, Crispian, Amy and Felix are joined by their counterparts, Kelly, Erin, Tariq and Zee respectively. When they come under attack by mysterious killers in animal masks Erin takes control and fights back.

The trailer suggests a perfect family, however, that is far from the truth. Rivalries, feelings of inferiority and general dislike are evident in the family dynamics. These tensions make the film rather interesting but are quickly undercut as an attacker kills the first victim. The shaky camera work successfully demonstrates the fear and confusion that has captured the family. What separates this film from the common home invasion horrors is its use of black humour and inclusion of a motive. The dark humour is refreshing in this genre and ensures an entertaining watch to prevent the audience from numbing to the violence. Many home invasion films such as Straw Dogs do not provide a motive but director, Adam Wingard does, though this is revealed in the ending. However, I had guessed early on (spoiler) it was an inside job. The real shock comes from the final twist as an additional accomplice is revealed which was unexpected, amusing and more original. Although the motive is believable it is not something explored in depth which would have enabled the film to have more complexity.

The first half of the film is dull aside from the petty squabbles of the family. Despite the suspense being there from the start with the grisly murders and creaking floorboards it only picks up momentum once the killers attack. Then it drops again as the only thing Wingard offers is various ways to kill. The final minutes are where the true depth of the film is depicted.

Sharni Vinson provides an interesting character as Erin who grew up in a survivalist camp. As a strong female lead she is the only character to defend effectively against the attacks. It was refreshing to see a woman defend herself rather than being depicted as the sex object and victim who is dependent on others for survival. Erin is the only likeable character as well. The other characters are passive victims spending most of their screen time alternating between arguing, screaming, crying and looking bewildered until they die a savage death. The family are more interesting when they are being killed and give no reason to the audience for caring what happens to them.

Wingard delivers some scares which do make you jump and its excessive violence will appeal to avid horror fans. But it is the combination of dark humour and sadistic violence that makes it a fresh take in a genre that seemed to have nothing new to offer. However, it is not as impressive as recent horror films such as The Purge and The Conjuring.

Rating System:

Performance: 7/10

Direction: 7/10

Story/Script: 7/10

Music/Soundtrack: 6/10

Cinematography: 7/10

Action: 8/10

I give this film 7/10 

Rating: A refreshing take on home invasion films. 

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Madras Cafe review

Recently, John Abraham has chosen films that do appear quite strange choices...however it does show that he has quite wide range of acting ability. Films like Force, I.Me Aur Main and Shootout At Wadala....all films you would not associate with the "Chocolate-boy" reputation he has in the film industry. Madras Cafe is another one of these amazing roles that Abraham has been lucky to have.

John Abraham (Major Vikram Singh) nailed his role, though some people may argue he is quite emotionless...but I think he has exactly the right amount of feeling in the way he portrays this undercover R&AW agent. Nargis Fakhri acted well...not brilliant, even though her role was a small one. Nargis looks comfortable in this role and acts a million times better than she did in her previous Bollywood outing "Rockstar". She speaks English throughout the film, which is understandable but the fact that John Abraham replies in Hindi, just seems quite inconsistent and does slightly derail the conversation between the two. Rashi Khanna (Abraham's wife in the movie) played the character of Ruby Singh extremely well. The "spat" the couple has in the film is just priceless and brilliant. That scene literally moved me on an emotional level. Siddharth Basu was excellent...his voice just gave a calmness into every scene that he was in, however the rest of the supporting cast lacked a bit of style and reality in their speaking manner.

The film is based on true events that took place in the 80's/90's in Sri Lanka and an attempt at explaining how and why certain events transpired. Although, the film is full of propaganda....it is brilliantly shot and directed by Shoojit Sircar.
One slightly disappointing point would be that the film feels like it goes on for years...not saying it's boring...but it just drags on 20 minutes more than it should have. That feels like eternity!

SPOILER ALERT!

The film begins with a disclaimer that it is a work of fiction. Names have been changed but the events of Madras Café are clearly based in the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka, which ultimately led to the assassination of Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. "Here, the plot moves inexorably towards the assassination of a former prime minister. Major Vikram is an intelligence officer with the Indian army enlisted in a covert operation to broker peace in the war-torn country. The film cuts rapidly between New Delhi, London, Bangkok and Kerala." (Anupama Chopra's review)

Madras Café works as an effective portrait of the futility of war. Shoojit and his writers, Shubhendu Bhattacharya and Somnath Dey, ably illustrate why there are no winners here. "Ideologies are marred by corruption and brutality. Death is inevitable and victories, pyrrhic."
A special mention here of John Abraham, who stretches himself as both actor and producer. He does a commendable job. As does Prakash Belawadi, who plays Vikram’s hard-drinking superior. And cinematographer Kamaljeet Negi, whose camera gives the film scale and heft. Shantanu Moitra’s unobtrusive music underlines the tragedy. "Sun Le Re" is actually well composed and Ali Hayat sings effortlessly.

I suggest you give this film a watch! It'll be an eye-opener for many people (even though the movie is "fictitious")

RATING SYSTEM

Performance 7/10

Direction 7/10

Story/Script 8/10
Action 7/10

Music/Soundtrack 6/10
Cinematography 8/10

I give this film 7.13/10 "7.13 out of 10"
Rating: Conspiracy....I think not! Have a look to decide for yourself!

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Star Trek Into Darkness

Long overdue but here goes.... Star Trek franchise was relaunched in 2009 with the original characters from the Original series, but with fresh new faces. The film received very good reviews and the verdict was positive...so obviously, there had to be a secod film.

Star Trek Into Darkness was an impressive sequel with a great story which was held together by the friendship of James.T.Kirk and Spock shown by director J.J.Abrams.

Chris Pine as Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock showed their abilities in the first film but in this one, they exceed their expectations and completely dazzle the audience with their rapport. Benedict Cumersbatch was just brilliant as well Zoe Saldana and the rest of the cast! Brilliant acting....no doubt about it!

SPOILER ALERT!

Star Trek Into Darkness punches straight into an immediate manhunt movie. A bomb goes off in a Starfleet archive in London — 23rd century England will boast a skyline of buildings apparently — and the race is on to track down the terrorist, well-coutured renegade John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch). Abrams’ first Trek movie was criticised for not following the Roddenberry tenet of holding up a mirror to real-world issues. Into Darkness couldn’t be more prescient. Just weeks after the events in Boston, this keys into a hunt for a bomber, with Kirk given orders to forgo a fair trial (“I’m gonna run this bastard down”) and terminate Harrison with Star Trek’s version of extreme prejudice — undetectable photon torpedoes. 

Cumberbatch’s Harrison  is, in essence, a one-man army — watch him waste an arsenal of helmeted soldiers or take a vicious beating from Kirk with barely a flinch, or brutally batter some Federation flunkies. Yet, as you might expect from an actor who can comfortably portray Sherlock Holmes and Stephen Hawking, Harrison is as intellectual as he is muscular. 
It is a testament to the power of his performance that, although his early appearances are greeted with the most over-the-top Evil Musical Motifs imaginable, he manages to make Harrison ambiguous and chilling throughout.
"If the first film was about the coming together of the Enterprise crew, then Harrison’s threat means they have to divide to conquer. The strong ensemble — rejoice in the growing Kirk-Spock bromance, or Bones’ bad aphorisms, or a collector’s moment of Sulu steeliness without his sword — have etched likable sketches of the nascent TV icons, but you’d like time to hang with them a bit more. Similarly, you pine for a sustained Hannibal Lecter-Clarice Starling duel of wits between Kirk and Harrison, but it never quite happens. Abrams has real skill at dropping character beats in the heat of battle — Kirk and Spock get slivers of interesting arcs; the former is learning to become a captain, the latter is learning to be a friend — yet the film doesn’t give the emotions space to resonate and take hold."
Abrams directs with lots of flare, but, more importantly, flair. His style is somewhere between the machine-tooled work of Cameron and the manic intensity of Bay, efficient but still loose and seemingly improvised.

Working with screenwriters Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof, Abrams can flip between different tones in a heartbeat.... a comedic lovers’ tiff in the midst of battle turns into an affecting meditation on fear — and will leave no stone unturned in trying to entertain: tense bomb disposal, intense inter-race negotiations, big ship-little ship cat and mousery, Simon Pegg comic relief, a chase at warp speed, disaster movie mayhem and amazing performances by every single member of the cast. Not all of it works — compared to the opener, the last-reel action is enjoyable rather than jaw-dropping — but there is the sense of a true showman at work. Like George Lucas, J.J.Abrams doesn’t care about science-fiction and transwarp beaming. He just wants you to have as much fun as humanly possible.

If this is Abrams’ final frontier, he has left Star Trek in a good place, both in the fictional universe and as a franchise. In some sense, the title is misleading. Into Darkness is a blast, fun, funny, spectacular and exhilarating. The rule of great even-numbered Trek movies continues.

RATING SYSTEM

Performance 9/10

Direction 9/10

Story/Script 8.5/10
Action 8.5/10

Music/Soundtrack 8/10
Cinematography 9/10

I give this film 8.67/10 "8.67 out of 10"
Rating: Slick! Clean! Thrilling!

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The Conjuring review by Jaffrina Jahan

Like James Wan’s previous horror outing, Insidious, The Conjuring is typical in following the haunting of a family who move into a new home. It is filled with cliché horror devices ranging from the jack-in-the-box to the imaginary friend and it is clear that Wan has been inspired from other horror films such as the Exorcist and The Poltergeist. 

Ed and Lorraine Warren are the real life paranormal investigators who are called by the Perron family to investigate the strange events in their new home. The Perron family with Dad Roger, Mum Carolyn and their five daughters are given a lengthy introduction that included a dead dog and Hitchcock style suicidal pigeons. The slow build up was surprisingly effective in creating tension and a sense of claustrophobia which is subtly present throughout the film. A sense of entrapment is prominent as the house is a financial burden stopping the family from moving, which would not have helped anyway, and Carolyn being prevented from leaving the house. However, at times it felt as though the film was too long until Wan introduced a creaking door or sleepwalking child and you felt like an idiot for doubting Wan and the film.
 
The writers’ decision to delay the introduction of the Perron family to present the Warren’s previous case of the creepy doll, Annabelle was a wise choice. It was scary and the fact that the film was from two points of view; that of the Warren’s and Perron’s, added a sense of realism to make the ‘this is based on a true story’ concept all the more believable and thus frightening. The narrative conveys the events clearly and never leaves you feeling confused. After watching Dead Silence and Insidious I was concerned that the ending would be confusing and disjointed but Wan succeeds in closing the narrative without any open threads and disappointing plot twists to deliver a satisfying conclusion.
 
The soundtrack was by Insidious’ Joseph Bishara. It was similar to Insidious and an accomplishment in enhancing the tension and the subsequent scares. The acting was superb across the board, particularly from Vera Farmiga; Farmiga’s anxiety and tightly concealed fear are superbly portrayed and reminds us that she is rightly an Oscar nominated actress.
 
Ignoring the violence and gore of Saw and abstaining from CGI, Wan delivers a horror filled with old school scares which are executed with tactic and genius. The camera’s close, lingering shots of the ghosts are truly frightening and leave you closing your eyes and recoiling. It is well known that the best kind of fear is the fear of the unknown and Wan succeeds in this without doubt; from the clapping hands coming out the wardrobe to the creepy Annabelle doll mysteriously leaving her box and inexplicably returning. The Conjuring is one of the great films to come from the horror genre in recent years and for Wan is an impressive follow up to Insidious and a testament to the fact that he should stick to scaring audiences. 

RATING SYSTEM

Performance 9/10

Direction 9/10

Story/Script 8/10
Action 8/10

Music/Soundtrack 7/10
Cinematography 7/10

I give this film 8/10 "8 out of 10"

Rating: Better than most other horror movies! 

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Pain and Gain review

Obviously Pain and Gain had amazing box office collections in USA! Unfortunately, it didn't do as well around the globe but that does not matter one bit. This film is a true story (as specified many times during the movie) and is very well directed, shown quite well on the silver screen by director Michael Bay. I'll keep this review short and straight to the point. "Pain and Gain, which Bay and Bay alone was capable of directing, seizes on this image of his country and thrashes about with it dementedly; along with comedy dismemberings, farcical GBH and the barbecuing of human hands, the movie offers the equally gruesome spectacle of a metaphor being clubbed to death."

The idea of America as a musclebound nation, psychotically devoted to self-improvement, has some merit as a throwaway conceit — the sort of thing a Scorsese or Oliver Stone might toss into one of their bloody epics as a grace note. What should be clear by now is that grace notes are not really Michael Bay’s forte. His films usually involve brilliant action sequences so this does seem like a change of pace for him, and he accepts this challenge with open arms.

As this film goes through the motions, you never seem to be unengaged with the characters (yes, that was a double negative). Mark Wahlberg plays his role of  fitness 'freak' Daniel Lugo brilliantly well while beautifully anchoring the film through its various twists and turns.

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson does Paul Doyle's character justice with his wonderful portrayal that makes us feel sorry for Dwayne's personality in the film. The emotional and comedic scenes were also excellently captured and spectacularly laid down on the silver screen by Mr. Bay.

Other supporting cast of Anthony Mackie, Tony Shalhoub, Ed Harris and many others did the best job they could , even though they did not do brilliant, which does not mean they did not do good!

Inspired by a true story (and also IS A TRUE STORY), this film has a brilliant storyline which is completely unique due to its factual nature and witty and fast paced screenplay will blow your mind away! It seems like a line that should have been in the "Now You See Me" review but Pain and Gain does bring an amazing plot come to life for the audience.

Unfortunately, the film recognises the true story part more than once, which may lead some viewers, slightly unimpressed. This is due to the emphasis on the "true", at least three times in this 2 hour film.

The visual effects used in the film, make you feel as though you are actually in the film.. Living it as you go on with your own life! Cinematography is exquisite. The cleanliness in the way the film is shot is extremely good, but not in competition with Bay's previous works "Transformers" and "Armageddon"

This film has its bad points like the vast use of curse words (which isn't usually a problem in rated 15 movies but this was quite over the top)... still this film does amaze in its story!:) It seems like a line that should have been in the "Now You See Me" review but Pain and Gain does bring an amazing plot to life for its targeted audience.

RATING SYSTEM

Performance 8/10

Direction 7/10

Story/Script 7/10
Action 7/10

Music/Soundtrack 5/10
Cinematography 7/10

I give this film 6.83/10 "6.83 out of 10"
Rating: Great Story! Must Watch! (But never again)!

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Once Upon Ay Time In Mumbaai Dobara

The length of the title is a start to a film that will feel as though it is dragged on for longer than it needed to.
OUATIMD (Once Upon Ay Time In Mumbaai Dobara) is one of the few films that I wanted to watch at the start of the year, but unfortunately, the film seems to be too long for what it is.
This film is a love story...with action added into it, that actually looks very good.

Director Milan Luthria has made some absolutely amazing pieces of art on the silver screen but with this movie he can not put the same flavour, which unfortunately tarnishes the backbone of the film that is the character of Shohaib Khan (played by Akshay Kumar). Mr. Luthria has done quite well with the history part of the film, linking up his previous two films with this one. To be honest, all the scenes in the film were shot with fantastic precision and definitely looked the part on screen.

Shohaib was first introduced to us in the prequel to this film, Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai, in which the role was played by Emraan Hashmi. He nailed that role and I'd even go as far to say that role played a key role in his stardom. However, if you have seen the first installment, you will be slightly unimpressed in the way Akshay Kumar portrays Shohaib Khan, due to the unncessary dramatisation of this role. That does not mean he did not do a good job, he was great but Hashmi just set too high a standard for this role. All that said. "Halfway into Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai Dobaara! Akshay Kumar playing the all-powerful, Dawood-style, murderous mafia don, declares: “Villain hoon main, villain.” He says it with such a menacing relish that I wanted to applaud. More than anything else in Milan Luthria's sequel he was "THE" man to watch!" Akshay was brilliantly menacing which was a good turn from what Hashmi played in the first part. Some of the dialogues given to him were terrific, no doubt about that. I won't say Hashmi could've done a better job because in this film, Shohaib Khan had to be a villianous mastermind who says stuff like "Mujhe accha banne ka koi shauk nahin hai." This review seems to be all about Akshay Kumar, but the film does revolve around him. He was the key part of this movie. Akshay unlocks the loneliness and heartache of the horrific villian that is Shohaib Khan.

Sonakshi Sinha (played Jasmine Sheikh) was typical Sonakshi, with the "bubbly" personality in the film, however, she actually did a very good job, especially when she had to scream in some of the emotional scenes. The emotion she was trying to emit came out exactly as it should have.
Imran Khan surprisingly played the role of Aslam, extremely well, showing the whole industry that he is Aamir Khan's nephew. I'm sure he must have gotten some tips from his uncle when he found out he was chosen for this role. No doubt his performance was very believable and you felt for the guy.
Everyone else that was casted in the film, played their roles well but with abit of over acting that was bound to happen with this type of sequel.

The story in OUATIMD is not a true story, and is a new touch to the characted of Shohaib Khan. It shows a softer side to him, the "emotional" side which we had not seen completely in its prequel. It is an old school love triangle with an action twist added on, which does make it a decent film to watch, but nothing that you would want to watch again. Ending may just surprise some of the viewers, apart from that, the film does not contain many twists that you don't see coming from a mile away. Through out the film, you will be engaged by the atmosphere that engulfs you, but the aura of this movie diminishes as the end credits roll. 

Action....aaahhhhh.... very realistic, apart from the train sequence. SPOILER ALERT.... Imran Khan's entry into the film is on a train, where he is chasing some people, who he is stealing diamonds from. That whole section of the film, seems too unrealistic and filmy, but apart from that, all the rest of the action is spot on!

Box office wise the film has gone steady but not been a complete success either, which is a little surprsing for an Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha starrer. 40 crore in 4 days seems to be a good achievement for most films but with an extremely high budget movie like this, it's considered fairly mediocre.

Pritam does not reach his full potential with his 100th attempt at being a music director (well done to him) but I think the prequel had fantastic music (also done by Pritam). Songs like "Bismillah" and "Tu Hi Khwahish" were just added into the film to fill the quota of songs, which is a disappointment because "Ye Tu Ne Kya Kiya" and "Chugliyaan" are brilliantly composed and lyrically are great. "Tayyab Ali" is a humourous song, that was first made popular by Amar, Akbar and Anthony film in the 70's/80's but the song comes back with a bang in this film. The song is completely random and unncessary but even I laughed at parts of it.

"Yes, the film is over-wrought, melodramatic and designed as pulp fiction. But it’s intermittently fun. One of my favourite scenes was Shoaib going voluntarily to the police station. The cops are so busy trying to set up roadblocks to catch him that they don’t even notice that he’s standing there. It’s absurdly comic. And a special mention here of Sonali Bendre Behl, who shines in the few scenes she has.
Once Upon Ay Time in Mumbaai Dobara! had me cheering for the bad guy. Which, at least in the movies, is never a bad thing."


Finally, I do think this film was amazingly hyped up to be something it wasn't, unlike the previous part which was not hyped and turned out to be one of the great movies of 2010.

RATING SYSTEM

Performance 7/10

Direction 8/10

Story/Script 7/10
Action 8/10

Music/Soundtrack 6/10
Cinematography 8/10

Choreography 6/10

I rate this film 7.14/10 "7.14 out of 10"
Rating: Good! Experience it once, but not dobara!(again!)

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Chennai Express review

Back in 2006, when Golmaal:Fun Unlimited released (director Rohit Shetty), I found that film hilarious and thought that Shetty would become an amazing director with a unique talent for entertaining the audience.
BUT!!!!!! ROHIT SHETTY I am sorry to say...Chennai express was a disaster!! I can't believe I am quoting the film but this really was a "Bokwoas" film. Direction was so unfresh, predictable and extremely monotonous. This all has been done before Rohit Shetty, please bring something fresh to the table in your next venture. (1 Mark down for Chennai Express)

This is an all out old school Bollywood masala film...but alot worse! Most of the jokes were so obvious that you'd easily be able to predict what the punchline would be...plus, it won't be funny. The film contained no suspense whatsoever! I don't even have to do a "SPOILER ALERT!" because there is nothing to have a spoiler about! (Another Mark down for Chennai Express)

Screenplay was quite brilliant in a few parts and by a few, I do mean a few! Dialogue delivery by most of the cast was reasonable, but nothing shone like the horrendous, typical Rohit Shetty direction. K.Subhaash (the writer) literally looked at "Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya" and "Ready" and thought to himself "Let's just make a combination of these two with twists in the middle that are super obvious." (And Another Mark down)
Once again! I am ashamed of Karan Johar and Shahrukh Khan's film brain, even with the vast experience they share between eachother. They understand what makes money in India unfortunately, but don't understand what film goers actually need, a good entertaining well directed, well acted film, not a completely uninteresting attempt at an entertaining film, that just flopped at it. Mr.Johar, Student Of The Year, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and now this, all absolute disappointments in my book. Shahrukh Khan once again produces a film that should not be worthy of being called a film. Om Shanti Om, Ra.One, Jab Tak Hai Jaan...all these films could have been great, but unfortunately, all of them were disappointing..however, none were as worthless as Chennai Express. (I'm tired of the down marking, but you get the gist)

Mr. Shahrukh Khan...wait...he wasn't first billed....so let's start with Miss Deepika Padukone. She was the highlight of the film...no doubt about it. She kept her "fake" but quite reliastic South Indian accent through the entire film which played as a good comedic palate cleanser from the unrest that transpired around her. Her role was not amazing, but she pulled it off very well, with the grace that could have been added to this character of Meenamma.
I've already talked about Shahrukh Khan's involvement with this film as a great failure, but his acting was better than the film, even with all the SUPER OVER-ACTING by this so called "King" of Bollywood. His dialogues were funny, but like I said before, these jokes were not as spectacular as they were made out to be. A plus point for SRK fans, he was dancing amazingly well for a guy who's 47.
Anyone with half a mind would realise that these two actors and the others, Sathyaraj and Nikitin Dheer, were wasted in this movie.
The character development was inexistent. The connection or chemistry between SRK and Deepika glimmered through a couple of scenes when they end up in a small village, but otherwise, it was too cheesy and to be perfectly honest, just not there.

I am thinking long and hard trying to come up with some positive points about Chennai Express but I just can't think of any. I guess the music.....no wait....even Vishal-Shekhar went off their game with this soundtrack. All the music in this film was old and the audience would have heard a billion times in previous films. Addiction to songs, I'd say the most catchy tune is while the credits role, "Lungi Dance", which is such an annoying song, but will stick to your tongue as you start singing to it for no apparent reason (atleast that happened to me). This song was a tribute to Shri Rajnikanth, which is commendable, unfortunately the song was just horrific...but catchy.

Lastly, the ending....was so unbelievably obvious, that I just wanted to cry how bad it was. OHMYGOD!!! I found a plus point...the film had no vulgarity, sex scenes, swearing words anything, which was a nice pace for


an Indian film nowadays, but this film was a disaster even without those things.

RATING SYSTEM

Performance 6/10

Direction 5/10

Story/Script 5/10
Action 6/10

Music/Soundtrack 3/10
Cinematography 5/10

Choreography 5/10

I give this film 5/10 "5 out of 10" (The lowest rating I've given to an SRK film since Om Shanti Om :O) 
Rating: Below Average! Don't watch it...Please! I am begging you! Watch something else!

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