Movie: Kurbaan
Director: Rensil D’silva
Year: 2009
Stars: Saif Ali Khan, Kareena kapoor, Vivek Oberoi, Om Puri and Kiron Kher

Snapshot of the Story

Kurbaan is story of a terrorist group that plays the bloody game of extreme terrorism in the USA. Story seems to be inspired from post-9/11 attack on twin towers. Saif Ali Khan is a wanted terrorist and part of a terrorist group planning a series of attacks. A love story runs alongside with this intense and sensitive issue and has been beautifully directed. Music director Salim Sulaiman gave Sufiyana (traditional music from the middle east) music to the movie that was praised by all the critics and loved by the audience.

Storyline

Avantika (played by Kareena Kapoor) works in USA as a lecturer, but looses her job. She comes back to Delhi and starts working as a lecturer in a local college, there she meets Ehsaan (played by Saif Ali Khan) and as fellow lecturer both get attracted towards each other and love blossoms between them. Now Avantika gets a call from the same College to rejoin and both fly to USA.

Just when you think that everything was going rosy as romance of Avantika and Ehsaan is at it’s peak the story takes an unpredictable turn. Avantika comes to know that the bomb blast that took place in the New York subway was planned and executed by Ehsaan and his group. Avantika is shocked and is in a disarray knowing the fact that her husband is a terrorist on the other hand Ehsaan and his group are planning for another bomb in an aeroplane. Avanrika seeks help of Riyaaz (Vivek Oberoi) and infiltrates the gang to break off this deadly plan.

At times as an audience you will be wondering and can’t decide whether it addresses the issue of terrorism or showing terrorism for commercial benefits. There are many flaws in the movie, e.g. we all know that America become a different country post-9/11 when it comes to security and on other side you see Ehsaan a wanted terrorist roaming freely on the streets of New York which is hard to believe. With all these hiccups Kurbaan is an engaging story that works well and give you a lot of nail biting moments.

Director Rensil D’silva made a confident start to Indian cinema with great camera work of Hemant Chaturvedi and great music of duo Salim-Sulaiman that sounded flawless. The onscreen chemistry of Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan was fantastic as they share the great off screen bonding in actual life. The veteran actor Om Puri in the role of Khalu Jaan looked like a perfect cast.

Rating

Kurbaan scores 7 out 10 for handling the burning issue of terrorism so gracefully. Director Rensil D’silva made an impressive start in Bollywood.

Tags: A Romantic Action Thriller - Kurbaan, Kareena Kapoor, Kiron Kher, movie reviews ratings of Kurbaan, Om Puri, Saif Ali Khan, Salim Sulaiman's best music, Vivek Oberoi

Movie: Tanu Weds Manu
Director: Anand L. Rai
Year: 2011
Stars: R. Madhavan, Kangana Ranaut and Jimmy Shergill

Snapshot of the Story

New York based Doctor Manoj Sharma aka Manu (played by R. Madhavan) comes to India looking for an Indian bride. Manu falls in love with Tanu (Kangana Ranaut), but Tanu loves another local guy. Tanu request Manu to reject her and so he does. Movie takes the real romantic turn and becomes a romantic tale of Tanu and Manu. The on screen romance of Madhavan and Kangana Ranaut beautifully directed and equally well acted. “Manu Wed Manu” is a romantic entertainer.

Storyline

“Tanu weds Manu” on the front seems like an average story, but becomes special from the onset as every area of the movie has been well directed. Manu is a New York based doctor who comes to India looking for a bride. A typical Indian way to find the bride is to look for different girls and then choose the best one you like that fits your requirements. Manu starts looking at the potential bride Tanu and likes her very much. Manu agrees to marry Tanu but Tanu is not happy with this and has been in an affair with a local man. Manu comes to know this and rejects Tanu.

Later they both meet each again in a wedding as Manu comes to learn that Tanu is still single. Tanu ask for Manu’s help to get married with her boyfriend. Somewhere bottom of his heart Manu starts to love Tanu and wants to make her happy. Tanu would be happy if she gets married to her boyfriend and he could not say no to Tanu

This complicated ride becomes the romantic tale as both Manu and Tanu start liking each other but could not share their feeling for each other. Romantic scenes of Tanu and Manu were beautifully picturized as they looked like a perfect couple. Kangana Ranaut has made a special presence on the silver screen in her short career and looked very mature. R. Madhavan gave a towering performance and looked the perfect cast for the role of Manu.

Final Thoughts

“Tanu Weds Manu” is a romantic movie released after a long time in Bollywood. R.Madhavan has a few romantic hits in South Indian cinema. R. Madhavan did not have any romantic movie after “Rahna Hai Tere Dil Me”. Madhavan has been giving hits like “3 Idiots”, “Rang De Basanti” and Guru. Kangana Ranaut is the pick of cast and fits well in the role of “Tanu”. Kangana Ranaut gave a towering performance and she has matured as an actor since her debut in “Gangster”.

Rating
Movie scores 7 out of 10 for its simple yet entertaining storyline, good music and best performances by all the actors. Story fails to score more as at times it becomes very slow and as an audience you feel like fast forwarding to the main scenes.

Tags: Jimmy Shergill, Kangana Ranaut, R. Madhavan, The Indian Romantic Tale - Tanu Weds Manu

Movie: Biwi No. 1 aka Wife No. 1
Director: David Dhawan
Year: 1999
Stars: Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Karishma Kapoor, Sushmita Sen and Tabu

Snapshot of the Story

Biwi No. 1 is a typical David Dhawan comedy movie. Story starts as Prem living a happy life with his wife Pooja (Karishma Kapoor) and two young and sweet children. Prem is a flamboyant, complete flirt and looks for beautiful ladies to have affair with. Rupali (Sushmita Sen) is an aspirant model looking for her first break in modeling world. Prem and Rupali becomes entangled in an extra marital affair. This sensitive topic has been shot from a comical angle, which is the signature style of David Dhawan.

Storyline

Prem (Salman Khan) is a well settled professional living a life in a leading fashion house and has a beautiful wife Pooja (Kashmira Kapoor). The nature of the job is such that Prem is surrounded with beautiful girls and always looking for an opportunity to get friendly with them. Rupali (Sushmita Sen) is an aspirant model working with Prem and during their outdoor assignment they come close and starts getting to know each other. Prem is a flirt by nature and induces a soft corner in Rupali’s heart.

Pooja comes to know about all this and asks him to choose one out of them and Prem choose Rupali. Heartbroken Pooja decides to teach him a lesson and team up with Prem’s friend Lakkhan (Anil Kapoor). This is the most interesting part of the movie as how Pooja becomes the model and uses the Tip for Tat formula.

Story of the movie is very entertaining and the comical timing of Anil Kapoor was fantastic. It is the class of the David Dhawan who creates such an intense topic beautifully sandwiched with comedy. David Dhawan is one the very few directors in Indian cinema who create humor out of any situation. Teaming up with Govinda he has created many comedy hit likes Rajababu, Coolie No.1, Saajan Chale Sasural and the list goes on and on.

Biwi No. 1 was the hit movie of 1999 and bagged many Filmfare awards. Both Salman Khan and Anil Kapoor got the award for the best actor in comic role, Karishma got the award for the best actress and so did David Dhawan who also got the award for the best director.

Final Thoughts

Biwi no. 1 is a comedy movie based on an intense plot of an extra marital affair, but as an audience you will never feel this when watching the movie and this is what David Dhawan is well known for. He is master of comedy movies for the Indian silver cinema. Karishma Kapoor looks beautiful as ever and got a promising role that she acted with so much of ease. Salman Khan got the role in which he feels comfortable and at times you feel that he is over acting. Anil Kapoor plays a good supporting hand and one cannot think of anybody else in his role.

Rating
Biwi No. 1 scores 8 out of 10 for its great direction, compelling story narration, good music and ability to engage the audience for two and half hours with relative ease.

Tags: Anil Kapoor, Comedy Hit of Salman Khan and Karishma Kapoor - Biwi No.1, David Dhawan, Karishma Kapoor, Movie reviews and ratings of Biwi No. 1, Salman Khan, Sushmita Sen, Tabu

One of the lesser known pair Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera could be well placed as a case study of true love. It is said if love and hatred complements each other then it will create true love as a final outcome. Such an outcome did apply to Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera
Both were artists, and had a style of art which was as different as their personality, the Mexican pair were painters of unique sense and sensibilities that revolutionized the world of art.

Diego Rivera was born in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, in a well-to-do family. His paternal side had roots from the Spanish noble lineage. Since the age of ten, Rivera studied art at the Academy of San Carlos in Mexico City.

Later on he went to Europe and since his early days in Europe from 1907 he spent studying with Eduardo Chicharro in Madrid, Spain, and he soon proceeded to Paris, France. His had a life which revolved around art and artistic places for which France was well known across the world so for a while he made Paris his home away from home and his circle of friends included artists from Montparnasse, like Amedeo Modigliani who painted his portrait in 1914. He was close to people like Ilya Ehrenburg, Chaim Soutine, Max Jacob, gallery owner Leopold Zborowski, and Moise Kisling, are all on canvas by Marie Vorobieff-Stebelska called “Homage to Friends from Montparnasse”.

After traveling across Europe studying art and culture Rivera finally returned to Mexico in 1921 and took interest in the government sponsored Mexican mural program planned by Vasconcelos. Which after a year paved the way for pioneering the Revolutionary Union of Technical Workers, Painters and Sculptors, and later that year itself he joined the Mexican Communist Party? Rivera was invited to create murals and frescos for many prestigious organizations within and outside Mexico and other places of international reputation making him an art icon of sorts.

The above distinction earned Rivera a unique place in the history of art and culture which drew a certain amount of liking in Kahlo as she too was present at times in the many opening ceremonies of his creative contributions that was showcased in many place of national importance

During the youthful age of 15, Kahlo met Rivera for the first time at the National Preparatory School as she was a student in that school and Rivera was a teacher there. Not mindful of their age difference and the fact that Rivera was a married man did not hold Kahlo from falling in love with her teacher Rivera and soon she made up her mind that a day will come when she would become his beloved and bear him a child. Although her longing to be with Rivera was just a fantasy at the time, still she would play hard to win his attention and kindle his wife’s jealousy by being a prankster and playing witty.

Eventually the couple which had an uneven age gap had to part but again destiny would bring them together once gain. By 1928 Frida and Diego again were on a path of chance meeting and, this time it was due to the photographer and revolutionary, Tina Modotti. At that time when Modotti made the two artists reintroduce, it revived the dormant desire in Khalo to be with her beloved Rivera as it now had a better chance since Rivera was no longer married to Lupe. At once, Kahlo and Rivera sensed that they had much in common; pertaining to their work of art and the couple also found that they had a similar thinking about the social reality of their time. At last the couple married on August 21, 1929 when he was 42 and she was 22.

While rivera was an art icon but Kahlo was just known as Rivera’s charming wife and when the couple moved to America in 1930 Kahlo did not get the recognition that was due and was yet to be held in high regards for her artistic merit the way her husband was respected. So this created a deficiency in the relationship between the couple. But all that changed in 1932, when Kahlo experienced a devastating miscarriage. During the process of her recovery, Kahlo, made the fullest use of her extraordinary skill of giving a personal touch and created an a canvass self-portrait titled ‘Miscarriage in Detroit’. This was to be the first of several touching, astounding and, intellectual self-portraits that would propel Kahlo to dizzy heights in the world of art. From then on it was no-stop and she made good progress and was one of the best reknowned in the world of paintings.

It was after a good amount of talks and emotional discussion that the couple decided to return to Mexico in 1935, but again there were internal issues which got bigger by the day and soon it became the biggest problem. Once after arriving in Mexico, Rivera had an affair with Kahlo’s younger sister Christina, and this sliced Kahlo into pieces and every piece of her was subjected to the breach of trust by her husband and sister. Although the couple finally reconciled, Rivera’s affair had created a hate love relationship which also led to a disturbed pattern in their relationship causing both partners to later succumb to infidelity and betrayal.

In 1940 the couple got divorced and since then both had several affairs but in 1950, Kahlo’s health was giving up and it was not so promising to the point that Khalo kept on falling sick frequently and so the pair thought to reason their agony and suffering by reuniting and getting remarried. But call it bad fate or prolonged sickness which caused the sad demise of Frida, in 1954 and Rivera who was by her side.

The love affair of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera was one of true love and forgiveness making a love saga to be remembered by generations to come and was reflective of the couple’s untiring pursuit for artistic excellence and love.

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Tags: Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Love Story of Spanish Artists, Of Sweethearts and Arts : Love Tested and Passed

Movie: Don 2
Director: Farhan Akhtar
Year: 2011
Stars: Shahrukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Boman Irani, Om Puri, Lara Datta, Florian Likas and Kunal Kapoor

Snapshot of the Story

Thrilling fight scene, smashing car chases, boats blown up in the air with smoke every where and a plot based around robbery inspired from the movie “Ocean 11” and “Mission Impossible” the movie Don 2 tries to re-create the same magic as it created in 2006 with remake of original Don in 1978 starting Amitabh Bachchan. Shahrukh Khan is in the role of flamboyant criminal named “Don”, planning a bank robbery and looking for a safe escape from there.

Storyline

Don 2 is an action packed film and pre-release interviews of Farhan Akhtar suggested that one should not watch this movie with expectations apart from action and thrill, but after watching the movie I felt let down and has nothing much that excites the audience apart from random car chasing scenes.

Story of Don 2 revolves around a bank robbery by Don (Shahrukh Khan) and for this he takes help of his friend or should call him enemy Vardhan (Boman Irani) who is in a Malaysian jail and escapes with help from Don. Don (Shahrukh Khan) creates a plan to get out of jail along with Vardhan (Boman Irani) and creates a master plan of bank robbery. Kunal Kapoor plays the role of a hacker that helps them to break into the security system of the bank and is picked for this assignment. Lara Datta plays the role of Don’s girlfriend and proves that the old saying “Beauty with Brain” is actually true.

Om Puri plays the role of Interpol chief and Priyanka Chopra as Roma is an Interpol investigating officer that carries old rivalry with Don (Shahrukh Khan). Movie “Don 2”
entertains you in the first half and has some good action scenes but as soon as the story enters into the second half the story looses its grip with the audience. “Don 2” in the second half is a bit slow and has nothing much to offer other than the predictable robbery and Don’s escape.

Director Farhan Akhtar has written some good Donism for “Don 2” that show he lives Don unlike any one else and expresses this in his personal interview with Farhan Akhtar where he said that the original Don in 1978 was a life changing movie for him.

Final Thoughts

Director Farhan Akhtar has worked well on the script but could not create the movie with the same intensity as one had expected. Shahrukh Khan was good in the movie and was good in action scenes but he was bit boring at times and I am sure his fans would think the same. Priyanka Chopra was good with her share of action scenes and looked natural. Kunal Kapoor fits well for the role of young computer hacker. There is no room for hit music in this movie and looks like Farhan Akhtar missed the trick here. Unfortunately, the producers worked more on the hype than to bring about a movie that excelled the original.

Rating
We give “Don 2” 6 out of 10, “Don 2” was the most awaited movie of 2011 and expectations were high but the audience gets nothing much apart from few good action scenes. The whole second half of the movie was slow and tiring to watch.

Farhan Akhtar’s Other Hit Movies

Farhan Akhtar Aims Big with: Lakshya

Debutant Director Farhan Akhtar Rocks with: Dil Chahta Hai

Tags: Boman Irani, Don 2 - Farhan Akhtar Missed the Trick, Farhan Akhtar, Florian Likas, Kunal Kapoor, Lara Datta, Movie reviews and Ratings of Don 2, Om Puri, Priyanka Chopra, Shahrukh Khan