New York --- Movie Review

This year has been virtually empty when it comes to film releases . Those that managed to get released before the strike were all major disappointments and the year has been so far not good . The first half of 2009 has almost got over and now we finally have a film that one can look forward to , New York . The film's subject matter is known to everyone and this film is not a typical entertainer . When a production house like Yashraj makes a film like this it is bound to get a bit commercialized . What matters though is that does the core subject matter of the film gets lost under the glossy outside .

The answer to that question is no . Kabir Khan is an intelligent film maker and he had proved that in Kabul Express . This time he re-confirms it . He has made sure that the big cast and budget do not affect the film in any way and affect it only in a positive way . The positive that I see is that when big names and big stars get associated with such a subject the message that the story aims to send reaches a far wider audience than what it would have in case of a smaller budget film .

Talking of film , it starts off in a great way and comes straight to the point . There's no circumlocution and the director makes his point clear right in the beginning that this ain't no usual masala entertainer . The introduction of characters on screen is one of the most powerful I've seen in recent times . The song "Junoon" has been Brilliantly used for this task and I could have never imagined that it would be used in this way . The small love angle that is there in the film is there just for some roughly 20-25 minutes in the beginning and that too done in a very swift and neat way . Time passes by in the film pretty fast and it takes no time for the director to come right from 1999 to 2008 . The whole introduction part has been done in a very fresh and brilliant way . The friendship of all the three characters has been portrayed in a very subtle manner and it is not in your face . They become friends just like normal people do , presentation might be a bit different and large . The emotional connect with the main characters gets established in this part and I must again say Kabir has done this job fabulously .

Once that connect is established , the film gets right down to business and talks of life after 9/11 for an average Muslim person in America . The film moves about in a very fast and a bit thrilling way . It talks about the inhuman torture that the non-american prisoners have to bear in the prison cells and how it got even brutal after the 9/11 attacks . Kabir and the actors have very well understood and felt the subject and carried it off brilliantly on screen . There is this small character of guy who has been traumatised by the treatment he gets for no fault of his own . He is just brilliant . Though a really small part but when he speaks about what happened with him , it shakes you to the core . The actor has done a top quality job for this small part and he has the strongest part apart from the main cast . This is one character that you would remember for a long time even after the film ends .

I don't want to give out many details from the story as it is treated in a way that it would be better if you know them as you watch the film . The little bit of suspense that Kabir has kept has been done in a nice way in the film . The film's story unfolds in a really nice way and it manages to hold attention of the viewer throughout the film . The first half of the film ends strongly and manages to hold the interest of the viewer and keep it alive for the second half .

If majority of the first half is seen through Omar's (Neil) eyes then second half has Sam's (John) view of things . The second half starts afresh and the story moves forward from there and doesn't creep slowly towards the end . The serious tone of the film continues here too and it is this part where the director aims to send out his view on the things and also the message of the film . The way story moves , the end is a bit expected yet the director manages to surprise a bit here too and executes it in an almost perfect manner . The end comes at a proper time and again comes at a swift pace . The film doesn't have any emotional drama yet the emotional connect with the characters is good . Kabir proves his point that one doesn't need long emotional dialogues to establish that connect .

The cast of the film is also great and they all look good together . The friendship of the characters has been portrayed in a very fresh and good way . Katrina , John and Neil look great on-screen together and a good friendly love film can be made using this chemistry . But I guess it won't look as fresh the second time as it did in this one . Too bad that this film has none of that and has only small trailer of what could have been full length Yashraj feature film . The innocence of their friendship and their characters add a lot to the film and make the point of the film even more stronger . The young characters of the film also make sure that the message goes out straight to the young people of our country or as Pepsi calls it , the Youngistaan .

Talking of acting , everybody has done a great job and even Katrina who is accused to be a mere show girl does her part well . John and Neil both have felt the characters in the script and acted out them well . Irfan needs no compliments and he is great as usual . His character is also an important one . The small kid that is there in the film is also great and his really short part is also good .

Music of the film is also good and it has been brilliantly used by Kabir . He has made sure that almost through every song the story keeps moving and the songs don't hinder the pace of the film . In fact the songs have been used in such a way that they add to the film in so many ways . The background score by Julius Packam is great and only in some parts it could have been a bit different . The cinematography by Aseem Mishra is great and he shows new york in a great way . While watching the film I realised that the trailer of the film had been cut in a really brilliant manner and kudos to Kabeer and his team for that . The editing of the film by Rameshwar Bhagat is also good and film is very brisk in nature and moves about at a constant rate .

In all , its a great film and you need to see it to believe it . The script of the film is great and when script is great things generally tend to fall in place automatically . The director Kabir Khan has done a really good job and he needs to be applauded for making a film on this subject . I don't like Aditya's decisions mostly but I respect him for supporting this film and also providing Kabir with a good budget to make it . He should support films like this and look forward and if not many then at least make one such film a year . Kabir is a good film maker and I am now looking forward to his next project , I hope it is also a good one . I would recommend this film to everyone and it is high time that we support good and subject oriented cinema no matter who produces it . If this film works on the box office which I am sure it would then many producers would dare to support such projects and not go for the usual masala entertainers .

Movie Rating : Four out of Five ; A good film made with a good intent .

New York --- Music Review

New York is the first big film to hit the screens after the long strike between the producers and multiplex owners and also Yashraj's first film for this year . Yashraj had a terrible last year with RNBDJ being the solo hit of the year and they would expect to start this year on a positive note . This film by Kabir Khan of Kabul Express fame is based on different subject matter and is not usual Yashraj entertainer . The film as we all know has the backdrop of 9/11 WTC attacks and the story revolves around that incident . The trailers of this film had hit the cinema halls long back along with Rab Ne.. but the release got delayed and now Yashraj have very less time to promote the film . The music of this one is by Pritam and expectations of a commercially hit album are always there from him . He last worked on Aa Dekhe Zara and the track "Gajab Huio Rama" is still on the charts .

Since the film is completely based in New York , the music of the film also has that complete western feel and there are very few Indian elements in it . The soundtrack has eight tracks in total with 6 originals and 2 remixes . The first song on the album is the track that features in the trailer , "Hai Junoon", by KK . The track begins with a guitar piece that reminded me a bit of the guitar theme from Sholay . When I heard it in the trailer my expectations with the music rose and I started expecting a good soundtrack . I must say that the best part of the track was in the trailer itself and apart from that it has very little to offer , at least in terms of music . The track though a simple one but yet in my opinion is the best on the entire soundtrack and comes upfront . It will definately get popular but at a a slower rate probably because it is not one of those instant hit types . The lyrics by Sandeep Shrivastav are nice and refreshing and capture the emotions of the characters very well . This song suits Katrina very much and this is definately her time . KK as usual does a good job singing the song and I loved the chorus also in the track . Overall , a nice light track to begin the album .

Next comes "Mere Sang" by Sunidhi Chauhan who I think sings very few good songs these days . She has far more talent and she is wasting it on so so commercial tracks . By the way this track is not one of those and is a good one . It also has a western feel to it and is of the league of songs from pritam's film METRO. This song also has a good use of guitars and drums and has the rock feel to it . The lyrics of this one are also good and have that urban feel to them . Overall , its a nice track and Sunidhi does well singing it .

Coming third is "Tune Jo Na Kaha" which reminded me of the track "Chal Chalen Apne Ghar" from Woh Lamhe . Pritam who is famous for composing inspired music this time got a little inspired from his own work from the past . Though not largely but in certain parts you can observe the similarity between this track and that one . Listen to both the tracks and if you think that I am right then please leave a comment , I want to know that is it me only who thinks this way or you also think so . Well , this track is also good one and the lyrics here add to the beauty of the song . Sandeep has done a great job once more and he can do even better . The vocals are by Mohit Chauhan on this one and he has done great job as usual . Overall, a nice slow number and has some nice piece of lyrics .

"Aye Saaye Mere" comes next which aims at sending out a message through itself . The central message of the film also probably lies in this song . This one has been composed and Sung by Pankaj Avasthi . He does a great job singing and his voice does have that sufiana quality of a saint and the music he composed for the song is also pretty simple and basic . This song would most probably feature in the background and would look good that way along with the film's storyline .

Next come the remix versions of "Hai Junoon" and "Mere Sang" which are just like every other remix and have those bass beats and DJ effects with a higher tempo . Nothing great about them and are good for discs etc. Amongst the two , I liked the "Mere Sang" one more . The tracks have been remixed by Julius Packam who has also composed the two themes musics that follow next .

In the end come two theme musics by Julius Packam , first one being "Sam's Theme" which is nice and has vocals by Caralisa Monteiro . The fact that Sam's character has a theme proves that it is the central character in the film . Caralisa does a great job with the vocals and apart from her vocals the music has little to offer in this theme . Nothing so new about the theme but might look good in the film . Sounds a little sad which leads me to believe that Sam probably dies in the film .

Finally comes the theme music of the film and this one is nice bit of music but not a great one . Julius had done a fabulous job in Kabul Express and I expected a little more from him . I hope he does a great job with the background score of the film just like he did in Kabul Express .

Overall , the album falls a little short of the expectations but still is worth listening and the songs are pretty simple . They match to the theme of the film and I am sure they would look and sound even better in the film . Lets hope that the film doesn't fall short of expectations and is at least as good as Kabul Express .

Album Rating : Three out of Five ; certainly worth listening .

Dostana --- Movie Review

Dostana , the last film for Abhishek and Priyanka this year brings a lot of expectations along with its release and the expectations are also from Dharma Productions who are also back after a long time . So do we get what we expect from the team ? The answer would be a Yes and a slight no along with it . Yes because it is entertaining enough to get your money worth and no because it is not a flawless product . Dostana as the name suggests is about friendship and its different avatars. The film addresses that central theme effectively to an extent but in a little different way . By now everybody knows that the film has Abhi-John playing a gay couple and the film as a result focusses majorly on the homosexuality that they act out in front of Priyanka . The title of the film is Dostana yet the film focusses more on Gay Jokes for its length rather than the friendship part . The good part though is that the Gay jokes are at least funny enough to make you laugh throughout .

The film starts off with a Super-Hot song Shut-up and dance in which Shilpa sets the screen on fire with her hot bod and her dancing skills . She builds up a good youthful momentum in the beginning that makes it quite clear that the film is only for young blood . She probably looked hottest of them all and she is still a hot property . As soon as the song gets over we get to see the the two guys in the film flaunting off whatever they have to please the female audience or should I must also say even the homosexual male audience . Together they put up an image of the youth of today very effectively on screen that focusses more on enjoying the life as it comes in the best possible way . Both John and Abhishek become friends as a result of a co-incidence and then they act out their homosexuality to get an apartment to live which is actually owned by Priyanka . Priyanka allows them to live with her only because they are homosexuals . Then starts the whole sequence where both Abhishek and John hilariously act as a gay couple and also in the meantime keep hitting on Priyanka individually .

There is also a twist with a third guy , Bobby , that drives most of the second half . As I said earlier that the film's first half majorly focusses on Gay jokes and hence the story gets a little side-lined . Yet the first half is very entertaining because it is quite well acted part and hilarious . It makes a lot of fun of the Homosexual's which might offend them to an extent . The story is a sort of an extension to "Deewana-Mastana" story . Just like that one, this one also has a third guy , just the set-up has been updated and has been taken to Miami . One more common factor between both the films is that both are pure entertainers with very less emphasis on content . The film has some typical illogical things that any Entertainer has and sometimes we have to overlook them to enjoy the film . The film can be best called as a "Modern Entertainer" and though it follows the path of a typical entertainer the presentation is different and new .

The first half is brisk and has enough content to make it very much enjoyable whereas on the contrary the second half is a little slow and has very less to offer . It ends in a typical style and there is nothing unexpected about it . The entertainment quotient in the second half is a little less and it is just good enough and doesn't spoil the show . The film ends on a comic note which makes the audience leave with a light heart in the end . Some of the songs in between are quite a turn off and they disrupt the film's pace , especially "Ma Da Ladla" .

Talking of acting , the chemistry between Abhishek and John was much better than what Priyanka shared with any of the guys . Abhishek delivers a fine performance and has majority of the role . Priyanka and John serve as nice eye candy along with a little bit of acting . Priyanka looks great in the film and her looks attracted the most . She doesn't have much of a role and her acting was also very typical . There was nothing romantic for her to act nor it had something comic for her . He role was very limited in the film and though her character is the central one yet it is the guys that have done most of the acting . John can very well take Salman's position as a guy who knows a little bit acting and looks great . When everyone was showing some skin in the film Abhi was cladded with clothes , he just did the job of acting and that too was an average performance . Priyanka can do much better and she has struck a nice balance with Fashion being entirely focussed on her and this one being a commercial film . There is also a small cameo by Boman Irani and he does his job good . But I felt that the Director , Tarun Mansukhani , could have used him in a much better way considering his great acting skills .

The locations and art direction were good as any Dharma Film has and even the choreography of the songs was great . The cinematography was good but nothing exceptional about it and the background score was great . It uses the piece from the track "Jahan Teri Yeh Nazar Hai"(Kaalia) in a very nice and funny way in the background . The film's music is good enough to hold the film and Desi Girl is a rocking song . The Direction by the debutant director Tarun Mansukhani is good and he pulls off a good entertainer in spite of the fact that it was a little low on content . He has created some good comic sequences and has done a fine job overall .

Overall , its a nice entertainer with a little different set-up . It would keep you entertained for its length and looking at the commercial elements of the film it looks like it will work a lot on the box office and would also get decent ratings . The Director makes a nice first attempt and can certainly do much better provided he has a better and stronger script . Go watch it and get entertained .

Movie Rating : Three and a Half Star out of Five ; Nice Entertainer with good Packaging .

Dostana --- Music Review

Its been a long time since last film of Dharma Production has released and music from them is always great , no matter how the movie is . Their last film , KANK , though didn't do well but still its music is one thing that shows one quality of Dharma Productions that they have a great taste and knowledge of music and even if the movie is below expectations sometimes , music is always at par . So they are back with Dostana which will hit the theatres soon . This time though its Karan's assistant Tarun Mansukhani in the director's chair . If we consider that Karan didn't interfere in the Direction then as a producer he at least would have definitely sat in Music seatings for the film . The music this time though has been given by Vishal Shekhar instead of SEL and Lyrics are by Anvita Dutt Guptan and Kumar . The film as we all know by now is based on story of three friends with hopefully some pleasant twist .

Lets talk of the music now . The album consists of Six Original tracks and no Remixes(Thank God!!) . The first song on the album "Jaane Kyun" though is not the title track but very well puts up the entire theme of the film . The song very well portrays the feeling of friendship and has a very nice tune attached to it . The song has been sung by Vishal Dadlani himself and has lyrics by Anvita . Anvita does a good job and has put up a nice blend of Hindi and English Lyrics . Vishal also does a nice job in singing and the duo have also composed it quite well . The tune basically is pretty much western and so is the entire feel of the song . No Indian tunes or pieces in it . Vishal has also sung it in a different fashion . Overall , the song is a nice blend of music and lyrics and backed by good singing . This song would get most popular from the entire album and hence is my Pick of the album .

The second track on the album is "Desi Girl" which is a trademark Vishal-Shekhar track which has Desi-Videsi Cocktail . I am personally not a fan of such tracks and we already got a taste of such tracks in Tashan and Bachna Ae Hasino soundtracks . Such tracks are not meant to be listened , you can just dance on them without listening them . Still , the tune is not one of those that can make anyone and everyone sway to it . The lyrics by Kumaar are an average affair and quite commercial .Shankar and Sunidhi do their usual in Singing dept. I don't know how this song will feature in Miami where the whole film is set-up . I hope they don't have a situation where every Firangi is doing a Bhangra with our leads .

Next comes a Punjabi Track (one of the Four Pillars of a Bollywood Soundtrack) , "Maa Da Ladla " . This Punjabi track has some modern Bass Beats of a Disco and no Dhol in it . A modern Punjabi track with average piece of Lyrics . The lyrics in-fact have nothing to offer and neither they are that catchy . But you never know , if "Bhootni Ke" of Singh is Kinngh can work so can "Ma Da Ladla" of Dostana . Saleem who sings the song has a nice Punjabi voice and sings it well . Overall , a track that I would prefer to listen in the movie itself . Nice pacy tune for dance lovers .

The fourth song on the soundtrack is "Shut Up and Bounce " . If you have seen the first trailer of the movie then you would probably remember the groovy music it had . Well , that was from this song . I must say that when I heard the music in the trailer I was pleasantly surprised but I was quite disappointed when I heard the song on the CD . The whole music is really good but the lyrics have nothing good to offer . I can say that a very good tune probably wasted due to improper lyrics by Anvita . One more thing to notice is that apart from the piece that was in the trailer the whole song has very average music and some basic beats only . In any case , the song is good only to an extent and probably would be liked by people at large due to the bass in it . Another disco track and has some nice singing by Sunidhi Chauhan . Overall , the track is good but could have been much better .

The next track on the album " Khabar Nahin " is a little on the slower side and also on the romantic side . The song has very nice guitaring through out by Sanjay Divecha but apart from his guitaring the tune is pretty much basic and nothing so great about it . The lyrics by Anvita are good and Vishal again does a good job singing . He has been very well supported by Shreya and Amanat Ali . The song in all is a nice one and has some nice guitaring in it . The guitar lovers would like the guitaring in it .

The last rack on the album is again a slow soulful track "Kuch Kam" . It stars off with very less music on Piano and then later slowly some basic music beats are put in it . This one again is a Romantic track which gives a hint that the movie would start off with all the fun and masti and would finally end on a Romantic Note . This song has been composed well by Vishal-Shekhar and they have kept it pretty basic . Shaan sings quite well as usual and his fans would love this track .

If you have noticed , I've repeatedly used word "Basic" in the entire review . I don't know , the tunes and lyrics made me use that word . I found the entire album pretty much basic stuff and nothing extraordinary was there in the entire album . Only the first song "Jaane Kyun" is a winner all throughout . The two slow songs in the end are good but not extra-ordinary . The other songs are good for parties etc. I was expecting a lot since it is an album from a Dharma Productions film . Well , those of you who don't know , there is a special appearance of Shilpa Shetty in some song probably . I couldn't figure out which song it would be . But one thing I couldn't understand , what is Abhishek , the flabby , doing in between all these hot people (Piggy,John and Shilpa) ? No offence Abhishek , I like your acting but dude try to look like your contemporaries . Even your seniors (Shilpa) look much younger than you.

Overall , its a nice album and can be listened to . Jaane Kyun and Khabar Nahi are the pick from the entire album . Good part is that the album won't damage the film and would give it some boost only .

Album Rating : Three out of Five , Jaane Kyun being the best and all songs being good.

Dostana --- Teaser Trailer Review

The next film of Dharma Productions after their infamous KANK will hit the cinemas in November this year . The first teaser promo of the film is out now and from the looks of it another blockbuster is on the cards . This time though Karan has just produced this baby of Tarun Mansukhani . Since this one comes from Dharma Productions the Budget has to be quite high and the movie would also be a full blown commercial one . The teaser gives a taste of whats in store this November . For the ones who don't know the film starrs Abishek , John and Piggy Chops (Priyanka Chopra) .

The film is set in Miami (Florida) so a change of location from Dharma's favourite New York . The film looks as cool as the spirit of the city and would be targeting the Youth at large . Karan has already said that this Dostana has no resemblance with the 1980 hit of same name which was produced by his dad . The only resemblance is that this is also a story of three friends , two guys and a girl .

Well , the teaser starts off with the usual - "From The Makers of " and then the list of films by Dharma Productions over the past few years with the Music of Kal Ho Na Ho in the background . Strangely "Kaal" was missing from the list , maybe because it was not a pure Dharma Productions film . Well , after the slow soulful music of Kal Ho Na Ho suddenly starts a groovy youthful score and the mood of the trailer changes from depressing tone to a lively one . Then we get to see introductory shots of all the three main leads with everyone looking hot apart from AB Baby . With Priyanka in super hot and sexy swim suit and John flashing his six packs they set the screen on fire backed by the terrific background score . Karan would have for sure flown to Miami to see Piggy in a Bikiny .

After this comes the only Dialogue in Trailer where John says that he and Abhishek are a Gay couple which is a lie . The whole story starts with this lie and how this lies gets stretched into truth and the life after the lie . After the dialogue there is a whole sequence of scenes from the film where Abhishek and John do some homosexual acts and tickle our funny bone with their expressions . The Trailer ends with a three framed scene showing all the lead in their avatar . The chemistry among the three leads looks great on screen and a lot depends on that for the success of the film .

The teaser trailer is great in every sense and much much better than Abhishek and Priyanka's October release - Drona . Piggy is super hot and Abhishek might once more face a Media lashing on his looks and fitness compared to other stars . This one creates a lot of interest amongst the audience and people won't be able wait for three more months before the film releases . I am not sure how many of you remember this but Teaser trailer of Kal Ho Na Ho was a treat to watch . In my list of best trailers it ranks quite high because of the fabulous music it had and the rapid moving scenes that were quite in sync with the Music and the famous Heart Beat music of that film . That one had scenes which were not in the film and SRK had delivered some fine lines in that one . This teaser is not as good as that one but still it is a great one and it will for sure create a big element of interest about the film.

Interestingly there are lot of big releases before this one and the Teaser has hit the theatres quite early . I don't know what is the publicity plan of Dharma but I hope it is a good one . It should not be like that the teaser has been released and then its after one and half month or so that people get another dose of the film . The teaser has been attached with Bachna Ae Hasino (another dud by Yashraj) so look out for the trailer in the film or check it out here only :