One Life, why so serious ?

Why Honda Jazz didn’t sell ? Cause it’s Sales Team said, ‘One Life, why so serious ?‘ Zoya also says the same thing. But interestingly that’s exactly why ‘ZNMD’ works.

" Dilon mein tum apni betaabiyan leke chal rahe ho, toh zinda ho tum…
Nazar mein khwaabon ki bijliyan leke chal rahe ho, toh zinda ho tum…

Jo apni aankhon mein hayraniyan leke chal rahe ho, toh zinda ho tum…
Dilon mein tum apni betaabiyan leke chal rahe ho, toh zinda ho tum...”

Calling this a review would surely be inappropriate. You will soon realize why.

When plot of this movie started appearing in Wikipedia, I strongly felt : using the ‘Inception’ technology, Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti have stolen the idea of a get together from my mind and made a movie over night. Such is the advancement of technology these days !!!

This movie couldn’t have come at a better time. Since last three weeks, I am in the center of all arrangements going on for the 2nd ‘TRUE GET TOGETHER’ of 7 friends to be held on 13th August 2011.

After the terrible shock/disappointment of ‘Delhi Belly’ (1st time in last 10 years, Aamir Khan Productions has disappointed us with an unbelievable ‘slang-is-the-Gen Z formula-for-commercial-success’ film), ZNMD comes as the much needed source of inspiration and holds back our belief in Good cinema. So much so that it led me to write this blog.
Last when did you go on a trip with close friends where you simply eased yourself by returning to the good old childhood days…shared your present problems with friends…listened to their problems..helped solving them….of course apart from miles of tracking, bungee jumping, water rafting, para gliding, mountaineering…or if not anything else simply sitting idle while watching the scenic beauty around ???

Doesn’t sound different ? Dil Chahta Hai, 3 Idiots, RDB, Rock On.. the list is endless. Right. But what makes ‘ZNMD’ different is the unique and refreshing treatment of an extremely simple plot with the visual grandeur of picturesque Spain brought to life by a rock solid star cast who not only live up to expectation but also surprises through their never-seen-before chemistry.
There is no denial in this. ‘Friends are the ones who understand you best’. Its cause, they are the ones with whom you can be yourself..more importantly - Always. ‘ZNMD’, a title creatively derived from the title song of brothers Film ‘ROCK ON’, is a splendid visual treat for people from all walks of life to return to the basic : ‘It’s the journey that matters; not the destination’.

How mysterious and contradictory life is !!! Those who are kids, keep on fantasizing how they will grow old and be like their father/mother. And those who have attained the apex of maturity, want to go back to those curiosity /excitement filled childhood days. After all, what is life without those vigorous/ fun filled aura of friends/friendship ? Blame it on Zoya and Reema (The story writers), if the hilarious ‘Diamond Biscuit' poem , the ‘scary’ pranks, the children like fight and a recall of Doordarshan theme song make you nostalgic and take you back to that ‘na aayegi dobara’ moments of your school/college days.

‘Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away.’ So true. Breathtaking are the moments for both the audience as well as ‘The Three Musketeers’ who indulge themselves in three extreme adventure sports as a Matter-of-PACT while getting over their phobias; namely scuba diving, sky diving, bull fighting. So captivating are the frames which take the audience to the non-ending depths of sea bed, the feel-like-bird flying experience & the run- for- your- life bull fighting that for a moment you doubt whether the makers would have tried one extra dimension for an added ‘immersive experience’. Carlos Catalan as cinematographer has accomplished sort of Bollywood milestone especially when it comes to shooting the underwater scenes. Also creditworthy is the Art Designer for the famous 'La Tomatina,' which has been re-created perfectly for the song ‘Ek Junoon’.

Any person like me who has grown up in a joint family and loves to organize events, get together will feel like being ON SCREEN for 135 Minutes ( the running length) of ZNMD. Thanks to Kabir, the anchor. And who else can better tell how difficult is to organize get-to of friends at a stage, where everyone has his own priority. In our case (real life), interestingly and unfortunately, Rahul, the very ‘character ‘who conceptualized this year’s get –to is not able to attend it because of his no-time-to breathe schedule in IIML. Work at office, No leave, Family commitment, classes, illness the reasons can range in billions, but the anchor shouldn’t give up. He/She should not only ensure that it happens as planned, but also make sure that everyone enjoys it to its fullest. And to a soon-to-be-married-bachelor, the very thought of missing all the excitements ,fun and pranks scares badly, takes all the smiles away as if they were never there. That too at the expense of marrying to a girl friend who takes the Diamond ring as your proposal not even bothering to think that it can be a gift intended for your mom’s birthday. Abhay,'the first ever non-Angry Deol', has undoubtedly played a Brilliant Kabir. And Kalki Koechlin (Dev D girl)starring opposite to him has also done justice to her role of over protective fiancée. Their proven chemistry works wonder once again.

Farhan as the soulful, jolly,care free Imraan with his situational poems reminds you of father Javed who has left no-stones-unturned to mesmerize us with his awe-inspiring poetic talent. Imraan is spontaneous. His larger-than- God treatment of a Ladies Bag which he visualizes as a Billion-dollar-lady, his scared-to-death fear for sky diving and the unlikely ‘Hindi’ romance with a ‘Spanish’ girl are moments which make you think that Farhan-the-producer has come out with a flawless Akhtar-the-actor.

Last but not the least it’s THR RETURN of Hrithik– THE ACTOR, which doubles this movie’s ‘Surprise Quotient’. After Kites – The Heights, Guzaarish – The Crisis, its ZNMD- Taarif milegi Dobara. As Farhan/Zoya clearly understand and go by the wise formula : ‘Use Hrithik’s dance talent only if the script demands’. We feel its high time for other film makers to follow suit. The magnificient transformation from an I-breathe-cash stockbroker Arjun to a man who just discovered meaning of life through scuba diving, to a love-struck, caring, emotional friend.. the other perfectionist, for heaven’s sake, returns to his charisma.

Katrina, after completing Nth movie with ‘Tees Maar Khan’, for critics delight, acts instead of worrying about ‘More makes-Ups. And her acting is convincing. Laila, the instructor is well cast and her pairing with Hrithik is certainly a welcome move and a praise worthy attempt by the makers.

A veteran like Naseeruddin Shah is not at an age, where we even think of judging his acting skills or performance. It’s his presence which speaks for itself. Even though for a cameo of 5 minutes.

Zoya who has to her credits the ONLY film with both Shahrukh and Aamir on board (although in different scenes) as evident from her debut 'Luck By Chance' knows the industry inside out. She has well accepted the challenge of delivering another off-formula movie which will surely lead ‘Excel Entertainment’ truly excel in the Entertainment business.

‘ZNMD’ is all about celebrating life and living each moment to the fullest. Go. Watch this movie with your friends. Who can guarantee that ‘such a LUCK, by CHANCE Milegi Dobara’ !!!

Rating : *****

-BnR Films

Review of Imtiaz Ali's

1) Imtiaz Ali is back after JAB WE MET

2) This is SAIF ALI KHAN (read ILLUMINATI FILMS) ’s production debut And

3) Pritam’s Music has already spelled the magic.

You are not to be blamed if you too had opted for FIRST DAY (and may be even FIRST SHOW depending upon how well you manage your time)

The story starts with a never heard before ‘break-up party’ between the protagonist Saif (as Jai) and Deepika (as Meera) complimented by Gen Z lingo like ‘Senti’,’Smarty’ and some even newer (and humourous) additions like ‘Aam Aadmi- The Mango People”. You expect the script to be the never-seen-before kind even in spite of the fact that SAIF ALI KHAN is playing his favorite (and of course the stereo type) role of being a confused, happy- go-lucky and cool (courtesy : the Yash Raj series HUM TUM, SALAAM NAMASTEY, TARA RUM PUM, THODA PYAAR THODA MAGIC (hey I am sure you didn’t dare to see the last one) . The initial credits starts rolling at such a perfect time (with the beginning of the song ‘ Yeh Duriyan’) and the duo play such a ‘smart and cool’ couple in the first 30 mins that you look forward to a smart story, smart screenplay and last but not the least ‘a smart climax’.

But that’s where your ‘smartness’ ends.

From nowhere, comes the character Veer Singh (although flawlessly played by Rishi Kapoor) who claims that he was looking exactly like Jai in his youth and starts telling his own LOVE STORY when asked by Jai, only to surprise the audience by saying that he had got a Jai-in-sikh-look in 1965. Now Karan Johar is surely wrong if he says “Bollywood is recession proof” . If that’s not the case, definitely SAIF would have gone for some other actor for playing ‘Veer Singh’. And they say ‘Om Shanti Om’ was illogical (I can surely DIGEST a Reincarnation story better than the Jai-is-Veer Theorem )

What goes then is the synchronized tale of two stories (that of Jai (LOVE AAJ -2009) and Veer (LOVE KAL – 1965) Contrary to Jab We Met screenplay where songs pleasantly complimented the on-going situation/scene, here the song and dance sequence appear as a BIG SAVIOR for relaxation/to bit the boredom, as the story line turns out to be nail-bitingly simple and predictable. But certainly, no comments for Pritam, who is one of those who have honestly done their (decent) part of job and undoubtedly maintained the level of intensity and expectation after JWM. Kudos to the music director.

In between the songs-follow –dialogues-follows-songs sequence, in Love Aaj (read 2009), Meera starts becoming sentimental (transformation from the modern day ‘Senti’ tag ) and delivers plastic dialogues. Too far from comparison with Geet of JWM (played by Kareena who atleast spoke with confidence and grace). The audience is in utter confusion whether to laugh or cry. They chose laughing perhaps taking it good for health. The only time she delivers her best is the song and dance sequences where she returns to her cool avatar. Same is the case with Jai (and also Saif the producer) who forgets what was shown in the first half and turns into Love-is-full of pain mode most of the time in second half. Post interval, their chemistry only works when they return to their once-shown cool characters which sadly is only for a duration of 15 mins .

What comes as a surprise (perhaps the only surprise) is the spectacular performance by Veer ( its Saif again) and Harleen Kaur ( played by a refreshingly new face Giselle Monteiro). No over acting, no high dose dialogues. These characters best depict simplicity and innocence through sheer expressions and dialogues. Rajendra Zutshi ( known as Raj Zutshi) as Harleen’s father manages to chuckle some funny bones.

Before I forget, let me mention the name of another artist who had sincerely performed his job : Cinematographer Natarajan . Fabulous are the ways, in which he had displayed the visual effects one of which includes transforming 2009- London Bridge to 1965-Howrah Bridge.

Personally speaking, the “Our special thanks” list at the end should also include :

1) Rahul Khanna as Vikram – For agreeing to repeat the Anshuman of JWM

2) The publicity and promo team – For choosing the ALL NEW font, color and styling for LAK

3) Giselle Monteiro - For agreeing not to appear in pre or post-release publicity and promos 4) Imtiaz Ali- for providing the minimal no of dialogues to Meera

What could have been a better option is to build a story completely in the 1965 era. It seems the director of such claimed movies like Socha Naa Tha and JWM has not only compromised in storyline but more tragically hadn’t cared for a full bound script (perhaps for the first time). He ends the reel in JWM pattern by putting an ‘Aahoon Aahoon’ number.

Perhaps the only common elements between JAB WE MET and LOVE AAJ KAL were (sadly all are technical ones) :
1) The titling (Usage of Hinglish- combo of Hindi and English words)

2) Music Director – Pritam

3) Cinematography – Natarajan Subramaniam

Because of the huge publicity, star cast and the music, the movie has been able to generate the second highest ever opening day collections (Rs 80 million/Rs 8 crore ) after Ghajini, which did net business of Rs 92.5 million (Rs 9.25 crore) on the day of its release (25 December, 2008). We hope it would be able to generate a near 50 Crore revenue (if not more than the revenue generated by JWM- Rs.55 Crore)

Overall Rating : *** ( Thanks again to Pritam’s Music )