Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011)

Directed By - Zoya Akhtar

Starring - Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, Abhay Deol, Katrina Kaif, Kalki Koechlin, Ariadna Cabrol, Naseeruddin Shah (guest appearance)

A particular scene in the film has Arjun (Hrithik Roshan) sitting on a boat with tears in his eyes just after a breathtaking deep sea diving experience. You understand that the experience has set him free and made him realize that life is beautiful only when you live it by your own rules and not the ones that you are expected to live by.

Zoya Akhtar's second outing on the silver screen after the very sincere 'Luck By Chance', ZNMD is about three men,rather boys, who go on a trip in Spain. This road trip was a pact that they had made many years ago in college and planned it as a 'bachelor party' of sorts, but in the years between college and this day everything has changed while Kabir(Abhay Deol) is getting married, Imran (Farhan Akhtar) is coping with a major discovery about his life and Arjun has become a corporate tool who sees nothing beyond his work and money. The three decide to go to 3 different places in Spain and each chooses an adventure sport that the others have to do.Meanwhile old wounds resurface and a past tension between Arjun and Imran keeps coming up with kabir acting as the mediator.Slowly each adventure sport starts becoming a life changing experience for one of them, while deep sea diving makes Arjun realise that he needs to live his life to the fullest and that he has fallen in love with his diving instructor Laila(Kaif), Skydiving makes Imran realise that he  has to come out of the bottle and face his biological father whom he did not know about but recently (naseeruddin shah in a superb guest appearance), the final Bull chase makes Kabir realise that he is stuck in a relationship he is not happy with. Throughout the trip they relive their college and childhood days and also perform pranks on unassuming strangers (one of them lands them up in jail) and their bond becomes stronger than ever, and as is expected the film ends with the three individuals realising the true meaing of life and relationships. 

What works for ZNMD is that it creates a very realistic setup. The film catches the note 'boys will be boys' beautifully, whether its the Arjun and Imran fighting scene or the excellent 'drunken doordarshan' sequence every scene is written very genuinely so much so that many of the viewers might even find common events with their life. A personal favourite is the scene where the three boys visit the bathroom and Imran and Kabir plan to scare an old man there with a reluctant Arjun who later also joins in and has his share of fun, Notice the entire transformation of Hrithik Roshan from embarrased to ecstatic, pure class.

 Another USP of the movie is its cinematography and by that i do not mean where it has been shot but rather how it has been shot. Along with breathtaking visuals of Spain, the way the adventure stunts are shot is genius.Notice the skydiving sequence , you feel your heart thumping just like Imran's. 

Of the cast Katrina Kaif as Laila is a visual treat (just like Spain) and she looks very comfortable in the role ,. Infact she is pretty good. Kalki Koechlin as the over possessive Natasha does not have much to do except throw tantrums. Special mention to Ariadna Aabrol as Nuria, her playful scenes with farhan akhtar are very nicely written.Naseeruddin Shah in a special apperance as Salman Habib is as usual in his top form.

Coming to the 'maantal bwoys'. Abhay Deol as Kabir (or Kabira as he is called by his friends) potrays the role of a Mature 30-something very sincerely, he acts as the binding force between his two polar opposite friends and the entire character is very well fleshed out by Deol. Hrithik Roshan as Arjun is amazing, its a long time since we have seen Hrithik Roshan the actor. He is definitely given the most difficult role in the film and he executes it with elan. But Farhan Akhtar's Imran steals the show, the wittiest of the lot, Imran's brand of humour ranges from irritating to genuinely hilarious i am sure every friends group has someone like him. He is also given the best one liners (Farhan akhtar is the dialogue writer of the film too!) with my favorite being - 'chudail ALERT'. The chemistry between the the leads is amazing, while individually they are excellent, it is as a 'group' that they make the film what it is. In terms of characterization, it is very smart writing.

      

The characters in ZNMD are more mature than the similarly themed "Dil Chahta Hai' yet there is something about the Farhan Akhtar directed gem that simply aces this film. So putting an end to all comparisons DCH is a better film but that does not take away the fact that ZNMD too is a wonderful piece of cinema

  

All in all ZNMD works because of a smart and sensitive script, amazing camerawork, excellent story structure and the outstanding chemistry between the three 'maantal bwoys' 

Rating - 8.6/10

Friends With Benefits (2011)

Directed By - Will Gluck

Starring - Justin Timberlake, Mila Kunis, Woody Harrelson, Patricia Clarkson, Richard Jenkins, Jenna Elfman.

I have always believed Rom-com's are the most dangerous genre to attempt because although they are audience pullers, repetitiveness can turn them into disasters. But FWD proves that with  smart dialogues, fast clip sequences and an amazing chemistry between the two leads, even a genre like this can be reinvented.

'Friends with benefits' is about Dylan Harper(Timberlake), an art director based in Los Angeles whose recently-ex girlfriend claims that he is too emotionally unavailable. He gets a job offer of a lifetime to work for GQ via an Executive recruiter Jamie(Kunis) but he is reluctant to shift base to New York. In an attempt to make Dylan take the job, Jamie shows him around in New York. Quite obviously Dylan takes the job and forms a good friendship with Jamie and a drunken night later they decide to become 'Friends with benefits'.This particular setup goes through lots of ups and downs, which includes Jamie spending a weekend with Dylan in LA with his sister(Elfman) and Alzheimer's stricken father(Jenkins) and after a subsequent fight they realize they love each other and everything ends happily ever after.

 While reading the basic premise one will not be very impressed, its the moments in the film that entertain, right from the tennis analogy of Dylan to the final shot of Jamie and Dylan in the restaurant , its the way the film is made that makes it fun.The films greatest strength is it does not have too many subplots and absolutely wastes no time in back stories. The amazing supporting cast also aids the film with a special mention going to Woody Harrelson who portrays Dylan's gay colleague. His persistence of Dylan becoming gay although very cliched is hilarious.Also Patricia Clarkson as Jamie's bohemian mother is a treat. Her best scene , undoubtedly, is the one where she walks in on Jamie and Dylan(you have to watch the film to know what i am saying, there's no way in the world i am discussing it here!!) . But the film belongs to its leads. Justin Timberlake as Dylan portrays a cliched role of the emotionally detached male but plays it so honestly that he is able to make Dylan  very realistic. Timberlake is able to play around with the little nuances such as the regular sneezes (again you have to see the film to know why he sneezes), his childish happiness at the signals Jamie leaves him and makes Dylan an adorable character, one that you take back home with yourself. Timberlake is definitely the stronger of the two. Mila Kunis as Jamie looks stunning and perfectly complements Timberlake. The leads of the film share an amazing on screen chemistry and each every scene with the both is excellent, right from the New York dance on the road to the New York dance in the climax, Timberlake and Kunis spell magic, remove any one of them, and the film is not as good.

The screenplay is pretty smart for a rom com. Its fast paced and genuinely funny. the scenes are very well planned and the opening scene is a particularly clever one. 

Earlier in the year the Natalie Portman-Ashton Kutcher film 'No Strings Attached' had released which is about the same relationship set up, although even that was pretty good FWD trumps it big time.

Friends with Benefits adds nothing new to the well worn Rom com formula but smart writing,a great supporting cast and an outstanding chemistry between Timberlake and Kunis make it one hell of a ride!!

Rating 7.8/10

Aarakshan (2011)

Directed By - Prakash Jha

Starring - Amitabh Bachchan, Manoj Bajpayee, Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Prateik, Sourabh Shukla, Darshan Jariwala

When it comes to making socio-political issue based films there are few who can match up to Prakash Jha in India. With a filmography boasting one some of the most acclaimed films like Mrityudand (Gender inequality), Gangaajal (Bhagalpur Blindings), Apaharan(Kidnapping nexus) and Raajneeti( party politics) Prakash Jha now shifts his focus to the one of the most fiercely debated issues - Reservation.

Aarakshan is the story of idealistic educationist Dr Prabhakar Anand (Amitabh Bachchan), headmaster of one of the leading private universities in the country who believes that to ensure a bright future it is important to give everyone equal chances and that is why he runs a 'free' coaching centre in his house to help those who are economically backward and cannot afford such private classes. One such student of his is Deepak Kumar (Saif Ali Khan) who looks at Anand as his God for all that he has done for him. Despite being brilliant he fails to land a job owing to his status and finally takes up a teaching job in Anand's college. The other 'players' are Poorvi (Padukone) Anand's daughter who is in love with Deepak and Sushant( Prateik) who fails to get admission in a famous college owing to the 'qouta raj'. Enter Nithilesh Singh (Bajpayee) a professor whose specialized tuition centre is very popular popular among students belonging to the upper class.When the supreme court passes the verdict which directs all government colleges to reserve 51% seats for SC/ST and OBC candidates, the society gets divided between the so called lower caste who feel this is an opportunity that they have been denied from many years and the so called upper caste who feel that it is unfair. Sushant fails to get admission in a reputed government college owing to 'aarakshan' and this causes a rift between him and Deepak(who is a lower caste), Deepak who has always believed in tolerance meanwhile finds his loyalty shifting to his caste seeing all the hatred around him for his societal position. Nithilesh Singh on the other hand feels that this is the perfect opportunity for specialized institutes such as his to flourish as competition becomes even more fierce but remains anti-reservation and he clashes with Prabhakar Anand who believes that this 'parallel commercialized system of education' will ruin the the institution of education itself . When Anand states that he believes that those who are deprived economically should be given a chance for better life. Nithilesh singh and his gang of seedy ministers manipulate it to spread that Prabhakar Anand is pro-reservation. Anand resigns and so starts his fight against the 'education mafia'.

The first half is crisp and raises some pertinent questions- is caste based reservation feasible in today's time? should reservation be caste based or economic condition based? the people invoking the qouta are they actually needy? Jha cleverly shows both sides of the debate and never takes a side.The various questions that reservation poses are answered well and the scenario is made crystal clear. The second half is where the film starts to lag and from a film on aarakshan it becomes a film on 'the cons of a parallel commercialised system of education' there are times when it is hard to link the issue dealt with in the second half to that which the film promises.From what one can make out it is a film which deals with all that reservation has led to how it, has become a political tool for some and a means to make money for some as is stated in one of the scenes of the film 'Is desh mein Education sabse bada business hain' . This entire screenplay although promising is dealt with unsatisfactorily which is not what you expect from Jha who is known for his watertight screenplays. 

Of the cast Saif Ali Khan shines as Deepak Kumar a man torn between his education of tolerance and his background. Khan invests generously in Kumar to make him a very real and relatable character although his screen time is lesser than expected. Deepika Padukone does decently as Poorvi, Prateik's Sushant sticks out as a sore thumb. He looks bored and disinterested and his dialogue delivery goes from bad to worse. Manoj Bajpayee as the menacing Nithilesh Singh is a treat to watch in each and every scene he has with Bachchan the screen is set on fire. But it is Amitabh Bachchan's Prabhakar Anand who steals the show, as the idealistic teacher who will not compromise with his principles , whose idea of education is very Utopian yet executable Amitabh Bachcan shows why there can be only one Big b. Bachchan breathes life into Anand, he makes you hear him out and he makes you sympathize with him, when he wins you  feel yourself smiling and when he loses you see yourself frowning. The film cruises on Amitabh Bachchan's shoulders it is amazing to see a 69 year old man still dominating the screen.

 'Aarakshan' is at best an average movie but with the kind of cast and the director at the helm it could so easily have been an Outstanding movie(which is the most dissappointing factor).While the acting is superb( in case of most of the actors) the script is sadly very botched and does not seem to know where it is going.This one definitely deserves a miss

Rating- 6.2/10