[Nikhilb2008]

The plot of the movie is very straightforward.

A terrorist is trained in Afghanistan and is taught that all Indians are against Islam. He has been brought up in such a way that he just cannot tolerate any Muslims doing any of the non-Muslim things (like drinking).

He is a person who believes totally in Islam and it's teaching. Of course, he believes that it is a Muslim's duty to kill every other person from any religion apart from Islam.

He comes to Delhi as Numair Qazi (Anurag Sinha in a role of a lifetime) and is staying with some other terrorists in Chandni Chowk. He poses as a person who lost both his parents in the Gujarat Riots even though he was actually born and brought up in Afghanistan. He meets up with a lot of other local guys who are supporting him and proved him all the details and everything.

During the first meeting, he kills one of them just because that guy says that he got drunk the previous night.

In the same area lives Dr. Rajan Mathur (Anil Kapoor) and his wife, Roma (Shefali Shah). He is a much loved and respected figure. He is a Hindu who teaches Urdu at the Zakir Hussain University. He has studied the Koran deeply and believes that it preaches non-violence.

Numair Qazi eventually ends up driving his own team away from him because of his hardcore and extreme beliefs of Islam. He needs Dr Rajan Mathur and his wife's help to get a pass to get into the Red Fort on 15th August to bomb it.

He gets close to them and is very influenced by Roma and Dr Mathur. Roma is a very hot headed female and very vocal abt some issues. She doesnt hesitate to pick sides and stand for what she believes is right.

She gets into a big argument with a Muslim and slaps him and some of the Muslims are very angry at this.

She gets killed later (because of something totally unrelated to this incident) and her husband doesnt want to mourn her death loudly as he fears the others will realise she has died and the Hindus will blame the Muslims and riots will break out in his area which he has tried to prevent throughout his life.

This still doesnt stop him from going to the Red Fort to see the ceremony on 15th August and he goes with Numair Qazi (who is the only person apart from Rajan Mathur and his daughter) to watch the ceremony.

This the climax and I dont want to reveal anything more.

There is a slight romantic angle involving one of the girls from Chandni Chowk and Numair Qazi, but this isnt much. Some reviewers have called it half baked but I think it was perfect just to show Numair Qazi's dedication to his "religion", his beliefs and his mission.

The direction is absolutely superb. Having never seen a single Subhash Ghai film but after hearing a lot abt them, I would have never believed this movie has been directed by him. There are only 2 full length songs and both are very appropriate.

Cinematography is excellent !! Some of the monuments like Red Fort, Humayun's Tomb, Jama Masjid, Qutb Minar have been shown brilliantly !! Honestly, this movie just makes me want to go visiting in Delhi again !!

The actors and actresses are brilliant. No other words to describe their performances. Anurag Sinha as Numair Qazi shines in his debut. Absolutely superb. He speaks more through his eyes than his mouth. He hardly has a few dialogues and those are delivered superbly. His voice has a rich baritone and I think he has great potential in him for the future.

Anil Kapoor as Dr Rajan Mathur, the Hindu professor of Urdu is superb. the last movie I saw of him was "Welcome" and this is such a pleasure to watch after that over the top performance. His sincerity is astounding.

His wife's character is played by Shefali shah and she has done a superb job as the loudmouth hotheaded wife !! she reminds me a lot of the Shrew from Shakespeare's play "Taming of the Shrew". There are a lot of funny moments in the movie. Most of them involve Dr Mathur and his wife.

There are quite a few touching scenes too. Especially one between Dr Mathur and Gaffar Bhai. Gaffar Bhai is a very old man in whose house Numair Qazi is staying while he plans the explosion. Gaffar Bhai makes it clear that his children arent very nice people and he isnt proud of them. He feels that Numair Qazi is a really nice boy but when he overhears Numair Qazi and some of the other terrorists discussing the details of the explosion in his house, he is shocked and this leads to his death.

The music is just abt ok. There are only 2 full songs and even otherwise, the background music is pretty decent.

I would recommend this movie to just abt every Indian only because of the story as it deals with Hindu-Muslim relations. Every Indian simply has to watch this movie. A lot of times, Muslims are stereotyped as terrorists just because of their religion. This movie takes that issue head on and confronts it. There are so many other Muslim characters in the movie who really touch your heart.

The only lame parts are the graphics on the terrorists computers showing stuff like "Explosion Date: 15th August" and all sorts of green crap trying to make it look like a high tech thriller. That was really not needed.


Anyway, that was just nitpicking. This is a superb movie.

Sadly, the theatre was more than three quarters empty when I had gone (monday evening show). This pains me. Crappy movies like Jodhaa Akbar are hits because of some meaningless controversy, but sensible movies like these are box office disasters.

My nightmare is that soon, people will stop making such sort of movies.

Do your bit and go watch this movie in the theatre.

I give this movie 9/10.

[normally_crazy]

@ Nikhil - nice review and I have merged it with the existing movie thread.

[normally_crazy]

Originally Posted by nikhilb2008

Cinematography is excellent !! Some of the monuments like Red Fort, Humayun's Tomb, Jama Masjid, Qutb Minar have been shown brilliantly !! Honestly, this movie just makes me want to go visiting in Delhi again !!

Actually I was quite irritated with the repeated shots of the metro and Chandni Chowk - also the empty galli shots were repeated too much.

[maddy42]

Well does anyone follow the serial Gateway which comes on sony pix channel?
Its about filmaking and is pretty good compared to the other reality shows and also has decent movies being played. Got good filmmakers like amritraj(well i dont know which of the two) And anurag basu in it. Pretty good

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by maddy42

Well does anyone follow the serial Gateway which comes on sony pix channel?
Its about filmaking and is pretty good compared to the other reality shows and also has decent movies being played. Got good filmmakers like amritraj(well i dont know which of the two) And anurag basu in it. Pretty good

His name is Prakash Amritraj!

[Proxima]

Guys, have been recommended Shortbus by a friend. Any reviews?

[hydrashok]

Originally Posted by Proxima

Guys, have been recommended Shortbus by a friend. Any reviews?

Post #189. Quoted below

Originally Posted by hydrashok

I watched it yesterday. I quite liked it for what it stands for.

Well, you have to get across the pretty explicit s3x to appreciate the movie. By explicit, I must say this is the closest a regular (even indie) movie is going to ever get to full blown (pun intended) p0rn. Even older "explicit" Indie movies like Ken Park, Brown Bunny (the end) etc don't even come close. I have nothing against gays, but ummm... showing what they do does kinda turn you off (and I have a stronger stomach than most). And this movie dwells on it a whole lot.

The movie is just about that one thing you've always wanted but never got or that one thing you have that you always wanted to get rid of but have never been able to, or that deep sadness about something that has always been there in you that you've never been able to get. The movie shows how for some people, this feeling becomes an all-encompassing thing and envelops everything else in their life. The characters (esp. the gay guy and the "couples' counselor") actually make you really feel bad for them and pity them etc. Its just the context used in the movie (sexuality) that clouds the whole issue.

And the soundtrack is just AWESOME. I loved how it really built the sad/depressed/oppressed ambience of the movie. I'm looking for it right now.

I did get the soundtrack a few days after I made the post There are quite a few really good songs in there. Soda Shop is my favourite.

[humyum]

The texas chainsaw massacre.A fantastic movie.Filmed on the real incident which happened in 1973.Has some real time shots too.A must must must watch if u love really edge of the seat,gripping and some gory entertainment.

[Proxima]

Originally Posted by hydrashok

Post #189. Quoted below

I just watched it and DID NOT ENJOY IT AT ALL.

Dont know, something just was not right. Maybe it is a good movie, but I didnt enjoy it one littel bit!!

[normally_crazy]

Originally Posted by Proxima

Guys, have been recommended Shortbus by a friend. Any reviews?

Originally Posted by Proxima

I just watched it and DID NOT ENJOY IT AT ALL.

Wow Proxima - 4 hours between posts and you have already watched the movie ! nice nice

[Proxima]

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

Wow Proxima - 4 hours between posts and you have already watched the movie ! nice nice

LOL yeah, the guy actually gave me the DVD so didnt have much of a choice.

[khanak]

Black & White

- Anurag Sinha who plays the lead is just about ok in the film. Its only during the climax and the last 20 minutes that he does a good job. He spends the rest of the film frowning and somehow that just isnt believable enough. He definatly had the look but somehow just wasnt convincing enough. Playing a terrorist doesnt mean having an angry expression on your face throughout the movie.

- The person who played Gaffar did an excellent job. Very Natural and nothing over the top.

- Some of the other actors did a strictly ok job.

- Anil Kapoor's character is a bit too squeaky clean and just not believable. Anil Kapoor's fascination with Anurag Sinha just isnt built up and hence isnt believable. A Dhoomish attempt at making Anil Kapoor's relationship with his wife seem natural by making her yell at him in Bengali is evident. Anil Kapoor overacted a bit though I guess it isnt 100% his fault which brings us to the next point.

- Filmy. The cops are chasing a terrorist and Anil Kapoor manages to catch up with them on his scooter and stands in front of the cops preventing them from catching a terrorist who had definite plans to blow up the Red Fort and yet the cops just say "oho hatt jaaeeye na". Numair's sudden love for his country is kinda predictable and you can see it coming all along. Anil Kapoor not reporting that his wife died to the cops and going to the Red Fort the next day? Yea, Very believable. Anil Kapoor's dumb daughter doesn't communicate using sign language but with these actions which she learnt at home. hmmmm

- A lot of stuff is explained a bit too much. When the two youth leaders are talking to the MLA they actually tell you what character they are playing. A little subtlety would have been good here and in a lot of other scenes.

- Comparing this movie to Black Friday - Black Friday had more natural characters, natural reactions, more believable events and somehow was a way more solid movie and to be honest this movie just doesnt compare.

- Totally unecessary romantic angle.

- Loved the shot where they are taking pictures for Numair's ID card. Very artistic.

- Dealt with a good subject though this isnt really the first time a movie like this has been done, a different, fresh, original angle would have been interesting.

- For some reason there is no trace of this film on IMDb

- Overall - 2.75/5

[normally_crazy]

And did you see the end ? The terrorist gets away scot free and emails them in the end from the same email id that the terrorists use to threaten to bomb. AMAZING.

[khanak]

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

And did you see the end ? The terrorist gets away scot free and emails them in the end from the same email id that the terrorists use to threaten to bomb. AMAZING.

ohh and I forgot to add, the singer hangs out in what should be a high security CID office and is allowed to overhear the contents of the email sent by the terrorist. Needless to say however that the entire office is really moved by the email and think about whether they really want to go after him or not.

cheers:

EDIT - Also the part where Anil Kapoor goes into the Supreme Court. His poor daughter is crying after havign seeing her mother murdered and her father arrested and the media is dying to get an interview and almost break down the barrier but the neighbourhood girl manages to sneak in to ask Anil Kapoor a question.

Oh and in the scene in the beginning where Anil Kapoor is at the chai wala. Theres a sardar sitting at the table with Numair and his friends and he suddenly dissapears when Anil Kapoor comes to talk to them. Where did he go? Under the table I guess.

[normally_crazy]

Originally Posted by khanak

EDIT - Also the part where Anil Kapoor goes into the Supreme Court. His poor daughter is crying after havign seeing her mother murdered and her father arrested and the media is dying to get an interview and almost break down the barrier but the neighbourhood girl manages to sneak in to ask Anil Kapoor a question.

Yes and the cops standing guard over him - do not even utter a single word or even try and get the girl away.