Break Ke Baad (2010)

We all know Bollywood gives us unrealistic expectations about men and Break Ke Baad makes those expectations rise to the sky. It’s a story about the ideal guy, Abhay (Imran Khan) who technically any girl wouldn’t leave no matter what happens. But here’s an exception; Aaliya (Deepika Padukone). Abhay and Aaliya are childhood friends and as they grow older together, they get into a relationship with each other. The two are shown to be complete opposites. Abhay has no goal in life whereas Aaliya is highly ambitious and aspires to be an actress. The story moves on when these two decide to give their relationship a break after Aaliya makes a decision to move to Australia to pursue her career.

However, since Abhay is the perfect guy, he follows her to Australia and makes her believe she loves him to the extent that she’s ready to leave everything for him after feeling nostalgic and lonely for a while. Clearly, the major flaw in the story is the switching on and off in their relationship, which hasn’t been portrayed convincingly either.

The film still works on some accounts though. And the reason is that you just can’t help falling in love with Abhay and Aaliya; Abhay because he is so tolerant, kind, wise, loyal and good in general and Aaliya because she is fun, crazy, bold, ambitious and determined. The actors have done a great job. Both Deepika and Imran look perfect for their respective roles. Deepika seems real in the crazy girl role who flies to a completely new territory to chase her dreams and follow her passions. Imran too is apt for the role of a patient man who isn’t afraid of commitment and has great confidence in his love.

Also, the concept is fresh considering Bollywood hadn’t yet explored the issue of space in relationships. However, the execution of this issue hasn’t been very unique in Break Ke Baad, which makes it look clichéd in parts and reminds the viewers of similar movies. Moreover, the name itself gives away the farm (a couple breaks up and gets together again because, guess what? It’s Bollywood and they have to end up together).

Halfway through, the movie becomes sluggish and it seems like it’s going nowhere but the witty banter between the protagonists does fill in the gaps to a certain extent. Scenes like the one where Deepika insists on calling herself Shah Rukh and oscillates between Gulati, Julati and Gelatto when it comes to referring to her boyfriend put a smile on the viewer’s face and make the movie interesting as a whole.

A major flaw in Break Ke Baad is that of locations. Half of the film should be in Australia but they haven’t shown any popular Australian locales that could prove that! Whoever thought that setting three quarters of the film in Australia, but actually shooting those scenes in Mauritius, was a good idea, deserves to be locked in a room and never allowed to come out and make films.

Today’s audience is very intelligent and directors should realize that. Especially when filmmakers like Karan Johar have made Bollywood films so international, nobody is going to be fooled by a couple of Aussie props and a few poorly dubbed ‘Australian’ extras.

The music is fresh and fun. Vishal Shekhar have done a great job and a few songs like ‘Dooriyan Hainn Zaroori’ and ‘Dhoop Ke Makan’, which are both beautiful and melodious songs, take the narrative forward. Debutant director, Danish Aslam has done a fairly good job but he hasn’t shown us anything that we haven’t seen in romantic comedies and light hearted films before.

But if we forget these intricacies for a while, Break Ke Baad is simply a movie which teaches you that love never fades away. And if two people are meant to be together they will be regardless of what happens or how many distances are between them. It also teaches that at times in life, distances bring people closer and if they don’t that means the two weren’t meant to be. So the next time you think a relationship is taking its toll on your life, try taking a break and as Aaliya puts it a break does not always mean a break up! – Hafsah Sarfraz

Rating – 3 out of 5

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 2010, Genre – Romance/Drama, Country – India, Language – Hindi, Producer –Kunal Kohli, Director – Danish Aslam, Music Director – Vishal Dadlani, Shekhar Ravjiani, Cast - Imran Khan, Deepika Padukone, Sharmila Tagore, Shahana Goswami, Yudishtir Urs, Navin Nischol, Lillete Dubey

Lafangey Parindey (2010)

Whenever they say everything’s possible you should know it’s Bollywood they are talking about because yes literally everything is possible in that land. Lafangey Parindey, directed by Pradeep Sarkar and produced by Aditya Chopra is another Bollywood movie which proves the stated fact. The plot of Lafangey Parindey takes us into the lives of Nandu [Neil Nitin Mukesh] and Pinky [Deepika Padukone] who live in a small colony or ‘vadi’ as they call it. Pinky is an extremely talented dancer who has very high aspirations and wants to get out of the locality she’s living in because people there can’t understand her dreams. Pinky aspires to win India’s Got Talent through dancing on skates. Winning this competition is her only ticket out of the small colony she is living in.

Nandu, who lives in the same colony as Pinky, is a one shot boxer working under Usman Bhai’s gang. One day while driving, Nandu accidently runs over Pinky and that’s when life takes a different route for both of them. While the world and Pinky herself think that it was Anna who ran over Pinky, Nandu is the only one who knows the real secret but remains silent about it. Pinky loses her vision and dreams both in that accident but not her desire to win the competition. That’s when Nandu finds her out and teaches her how to see using other senses that she has and Pinky chooses Nandu as her partner for the competition. While they are teaching each other and practicing together, the two fall in love as Pinky regains her confidence and starts watching the dream to win ‘India’s got talent’ again. The story, however, takes an expected turn when Pinky finds out who her real culprit was.

Clearly, the story is average and falls short on the expectations build by Yash Raj Films. There are absolutely no unexpected twists and turns that would stick your eyes to the screen, which is a major flaw of Lafangey Parindey. Like I said before, there are some things which are completely unbelievable like Pinky losing her sight in an accident in a scene and in the next scene you watch her standing up and making a decision to dance without learning the daily things at first. Then she starts dancing perfectly that too on skates. That’s a little too much for someone who is blind! Also, the dance that gets them through the first round of competitions isn’t good enough for selection. Moreover, Nandu falls in it too, which makes one only wonder who was judging it.

The dialogue is excellent and breathes life into the roles. The comical lines make you laugh while the emotional ones touch your heart. Keep in mind though that this isn’t a comedy so there are a very few dialogues that would make you laugh! The tapori language used also makes one smile once in a while.
Throughout the film, Deepika stands out. She has enacted every scene with such excellence that you can’t pick out any flaws. The part where she is trying to understand that she has lost her vision is beautifully done and touches your heart instantly. With every upcoming film, Deepika is proving that she is really competent and a mixture of beauty with brains. This is probably the best acting she has done so far. As far as her looks are concerned, she is beautiful in Lafangay Parindey and her outfits suit the role perfectly. Seems like the designers really understood what is demanded from the role.

Neil Nitin Mukesh could do a lot more. In some areas he is expression less especially when emotions are expected to be shown! Had he been more expressive, the audience could have related more to him. I personally think he isn’t well suited for the role of a gangster either. Deepika out shadows him completely.

The chemistry between Deepika and Neil is fresh partly because they have never been seen together before and partly because it’s different from most Bollywood films. There are no looking-into-each other’s-eyes scenes or singing and dancing at mehndis or near the Egyptian mountains. Indeed Lafangey Parindey is filmy but in its own special way, which in fact is the beauty of the film. The way Pinky  flirts with the shy Nandu is quite delightful.

The music fails to soar high or add to the charm of the film. However, there are scenes where the music is incorporated really well and hence blends. All in all, Lafangey Parindey is an average movie, which falls short from the expectations that Yash Raj Films have probably because it’s a bit too predictable. You can totally afford to miss this one and wait for something that lightens up the screen in the best way possible! Let’s just hope that happens soon because Bollywood has been very disappointing lately – Hafsah Sarfraz

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 2010, Genre – Drama, Country – India, Language – Hindi, Producer – Aditya Chopra, Director – Pradeep Sarkar, Music Director – R. Anandh, Cast - Neil Nitin Mukesh, Deepika Padukone, Piyush Mishra, Manish Chaudhary, Viraj Adhav, Namit Das, Vinay Sharma, Palomi, Amey Pandya

Housefull (2010)

There are many reasons to watch a particular movie. The star cast, the direction and the plot are some of them. When none of these antics work, the film is considered a failure. And here`s a rare movie that works on all three fronts.

Housefull has a killer star cast: one look at the movie`s poster will have anyone rushing to the cinemas or their nearest DVD stores. The direction has been well taken care of by a fairly new director, whose previous film Hey Baby (2007) was a huge hit, and considered one of the most entertaining movies of that year. The plot however, is so twisted that one can barely understand what happened when. But then perhaps that is the whole point of the movie.

Housefull is about one `loser`, who is doomed with bad luck no matter where he goes. He feels he will be saved from this horrible curse, once he finds his true love. Therefore, with the help of his best friend, he sets out on a journey, filled with unimaginable lies and deceit, where he sinks himself in a deep intricate web, from where resurfacing with the truth becomes almost impossible.

Now the humour is over the top, almost indigestible at times: There are some really crude jokes, and then there are those jokes that seem to be so forced that you feel like slapping the stars who delivered them. However, some scenes are hilarious, and one needs to give a round of applause to whoever came up with them.

Akshay Kumar is a hugely talented actor, and can easily fit into any kind of role. Throughout the movie, one`s mood fluctuation, from almost crying to laughing hysterically because of his acting.

If Jhoom Barabar Jhoom flopped then with Housefull Lara Dutta proves herself to be the queen of comedy. There aren`t many women in Bollywood who can look hot and be funny at the same time. The expressions on Lara`s face on their own are enough to have you giggling away, even if the scene isn`t really funny.

Deepika Padukone has never looked this gorgeous, and easily takes the award for having the best body in all of Bollywood. She carries herself with such ease and grace, that when she`s present on screen, she overshadows the others. Deepika looks great but its Lara Dutta who steals the show with her comic timing.

Arjun Rampal had the same X effect, as he looks so incredibly handsome, and has acted extremely well for the character he was portraying. Even if one does not like this kind of humour, the movie can be watched solely for the purpose of staring at these two beauties, that is Deepika and Arjun, sing and dance and prance around.

Jiah Khan, too has taken this opportunity to gain her self some recognition. This young star (of Nishabd fame or notoriety rather) has never looked this phenomenal. Her long gorgeous locks and her innocent face in this film will endear her far more to the audience than her Lolita act opposite Amitabh.

Boman Iran, adds another feather to his cap for some of the most hilarious characters everacted, whether it was the crazy college dean in 3 Idiots (2009), or the insensitive doctor in Munnabhai MBBS (2003), this man has left no stone unturned.

The songs aren`t great, you wouldn`t purchase the OST specifically. But even some of the soundtrack is hilarious. One track which keeps playing in the background has a man merrily singing “he is a loser, he is a loser, he`s such a such a such a such a loser”… we all know people we could sing that too. And and there is a song in the beginning where Jiah is trying to seduce the inexperienced Akshay, who doesn`t know how to react, which results in confusion and chaos.

Before anyone decides to watch Housefull, you should keep in mind the kind of humour that is being talked about here. It`s complete slapstick. There is extreme screaming, jumping, and unnecessary vulgarity at times. Also, the fact that it is a Saijd Nadiadwala Production (who has produced countless Govinda-category comedy movies) should be considered.

But it is the perfect movie to watch if you`re in the kind of mood where you feel like laughing loudly, for no reason… and you are the kind who laughs at silliness – Manal Faheem Khan

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 2010, Genre – Comedy, Country – India, Language – Hindi, Producer – Sajid Nadiawala, Director – Sajid Khan, Music Director – Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani, Loy Mendonsa, Sameer, Cast - Deepika Padukone, Riteish Deshmukh, Jiah Khan, Akshay Kumar, Arjun Rampal, Lillete Dubey, Randhir Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Lara Dutta, Malaika Arora