Kidnap --- Movie Review

The much awaited Imran Khan starrer Kidnap released on Thursday this week with high expectations and competition from Abhishek starrer big budget film Drona . So does Kidnap provides as expected or disappoints ? The film also has Imran in a slightly negative character , so does he act well in this new avatar ? It is also the third film from Dhoom fame Sanjay Gadhvi , so does he come up with another blockbuster ? These questions will get answered only to an extent as Kidnap is a film that is good only in Bits and pieces .

The film starts off with some Manga animation in the starting credits showing a small boy suffering the tortures of a Jail life . He suffers all the physical tortures which are both cruel and unfair . The film in this way starts with quite a unique way and the animated credits are backed by some nice background music . As soon as the credits with such serious depiction of a Juvenile criminal get over we see Minissha Lamba in a bikini and excessive skin show trying to show you the exact opposite of what life a kid in jail has . She shows her freedom and carefree nature with a wannabe Britney Spears number and shows off not only her skin but also her life . Just after the song she has an argument with her divorced mother , believe it or not Vidya Malvade , over she wanting to meet her father , Vikrant Raina who left them because of the Divorse .

Then after the argument Minissha (Soniya) leaves the home to take a swim in the sea to calm her temper but instead gets Kidnapped by Imran . Imran's introduction shot shows him quite casual making some tea and minissha getting conscious after her kidnapping . The Director probably aimed at an Intense but still casual Kidnapper but instead got only a casual looking Imran in the end . Imran had no intensity in his voice and though her eyes tried a lot to portray the intensity his voice and body language conveyed just the opposite .This is the first short coming of the film where a kidnapper as intelligent as Imran looks more casual than intense . Then after this the whole Kidnapping game starts off where Imran makes Sanjay Dutt who is a billionaire do things that he never did in his life . Imran makes Sanjay feel powerless who otherwise boasts his power and influence in front of everyone . Imran purposely leaves a trail of clues for Sanjay that would lead him to his daughter . The clues that Imran leaves for Sanjay are quite easy and do not require a excessively intelligent man to figure them out .

The whole game that Imran plays is a result of all the trials and tribulations he suffers in Jail because of Sanjay Dutt . He takes a revenge of that torture and makes him realise his mistake . He makes Sanjay realise that how easy life is for a Rich powerful person and how difficult it is for an orphan like him . The film's story is just this much where Imran makes Sanjay realise his mistakes and he does that to make his own life much easier . The film is more like a collection of scenes inspired from here and there put into one single bundle and a loose story being made out of those scenes . The characters have many flaws and some of them being unimportant . The biggest flaw that I could see pretty clear was the fact that after every action packed thrilling scene in the film there was small emotional scene that almost completely broke the momentum of the previous scene . The emotions that were required for the film should have been kept limited to very few scenes .

The problem with Sanjay Gadhvi is that instead of making a nice pacy thriller he makes a commercial film having everything from an Item Number to a Love Angle in the end between Imran and Minissha . Most of the songs were not at all required and the most unnecessary were Mausam ye Awsome and Shaadi Barbadi which are just stuffed in to make the movie long . The intensity was missing from the entire film . The action chase sequence between Imran and Sanjay also comes into the film from now where and also ends in the same way . If you have seen Casino Royale then you would find this scene just a mediocre affair . A lot of things in the film were just stuffed in to make it look much better . Minissha has been just used to show some skin and has no other purpose as such . Imran's character has been shown quite light and such a character would never ever dare to Kidnap a girl single handedly in real life . The intensity is what was lacking the most . The screenplay had many flaws and goes quite lose at many moments .

Talking of Acting , Imran doesn't deliver in the way he was supposed to and his character doesn't appear to be negative for most of the part .His character doesn't play at the Psychological level which in my view is supposed to . He looks fit and good for action but not apt for negative roles . His acting is very limited and doesn't impress much . Sanjay Dutt is good as usual and he does some justice to his character . Minissha as I said earlier is just there for some skin show and nothing much apart from that . Vidya Malvade acts as usual and has not much to do . She suits as a wife of Sanjay Dutt but does not suit at all as a mom to Minissha . Then there is also a small unnecessary role of Rahul Dev as a security specialist .

Talking of Direction , Sanjay Gadhvi makes a very average film that basically has a very short and weak story which has been lengthened . He has put in some unnecessary commercial elements in the film and did no research for his film . It looks good in some parts whereas very amateurish in others. The writer Shibani Bhatija does a below average job and writes a very predictable and simple story . Screenplay as I said earlier has many flaws in it and is very lose . The music of the film is an average commercial track that doesn't impress much . The cinematography is quite nice and even the Art Direction is good .

Overall , it is just an average film that somehow manages to entertain for its length but would leave you unsatisfied in the end . The story won't impress you much and neither will the acting . You can go out and watch the film if you have nothing else to do . Some bits and pieces are good and might keep you a little bit of Interested in the film . The biggest problem being the weak script which is the problem even with previous dhoom . The film could have been much better if the Director would have had a clear mind in terms of what he wanted , a commercial film or a good pacy thriller. He gets trapped somewhere in between and the film turns out to be an average affair .

Movie Rating : Two out of Five Stars ; the film entertains only in bits and is a weak product on a whole .

Kidnap --- Music Review

After wining the showdown against Harman , Imran is all set to have a one on one with Abhishek on the coming Gandhi Jayanti . This time though the contest is little harder and Abhishek is having a fan-following which would definitely be more than Harman Baweja . The common thing though in both cases being that Imran's film is pitched against a high budget Fantasy film . Last time it was Love Story 2050 and this time being Drona . His small budget youth love story became the biggest hit of this year and made him star by night . Though this film would be a real test for him , his acting skills and his stardom . The Music of any film as I always say plays the biggest role in its publicity apart from its stars and in that front Kidnap is definitely scoring some goals over Drona . And as I suspected in my earlier post , Kidnap Vs. Drona , the music of Kidnap is definitely sounding a little better .

The soundtrack consists of seven songs out of which five are originals and two are remixes . The soundtrack of any film has to be according to the mood of the film and should show us the character of the story and film itself . This soundtrack definitely manages to do that . The Pacy Thriller nature of the film can be felt even in this soundtrack which makes it quite interesting . Pritam got his first taste of success in Sanjay Gadhvi's first film Dhoom and then on he has given back to back hits , most of them being lifted from here or there . Keeping the loyalties he has given music to this film also and the lyrics are by Mayur Puri .

The opening track of the OST , "Mit Jaaye" though is not the Title Track but can be called so because it very well sets the mood for the entire soundtrack upfront and even gives you a hint of the film . During the entire song you can imagine Sanjay Dutt chasing Imran to get his daughter . What I mean is that this song has the thriller element in it and is also very pacy . The song also expresses the feelings of the lead character of the film played by Imran . The video on this song is already on air and is creating some buzz . Interestingly the best track on the album is not by Pritam and Mayur , instead it has been written and composed by Sandeep and Sanjeev Vyas and has been very well sung by Sandeep Vyas . The two brothers have single handedly carried the entire song on their shoulders and have come out with flying colours . This song is definitely going to get Popular among the masses . A great job by the vyas brothers . Sandeep is a good singer and has long way to go . They are also great composers . I've become a fan of this track and my personal favourite on this soundtrack .

The next track on the album is a Hip Hop song called "Hey Ya!" by Suzie Q. who recently gave a hit song Jee Karda in Singh is Kinng . This track sounds like and introduction song for Minissha Lamba , the rich daughter . The song is decent and goes about well according to its nature . I just hope that story keeps moving while this song is being played during the movie . That way this song would look good in the film otherwise it might hinder the pace of the film . If properly placed this song would look good in the film with a hot video on Minissha . Suzie sings well and has done her job quite well . The song doesn't deviate from its character and remains Hip Hop through out .

The third song on the soundtrack is a slow song "Mausam" by Shreya Ghoshal . This song is a little different and Shreya has sung it quite well , as usual . It is not something extraordinary but still it has enough music and lyrics to keep it going . This song would be shot beautifully and the video would do the rest of the job . It is a typical track yet it can be heard once . The music is good and the singing is also accordingly . Overall , a different one as compared to other songs on the album yet quite ordinary in general sense .

Next comes a very commercial track called "Haan Ji" by Adnan Sami . Adnan is one of those singers that can even make a very ordinary song sound sound good . This song is a very unusual song and has some very unusual lyrics . The lyrics are more like a conversation and less of poetry .The music is good on this one but it is the singing style of Adnan that stands out . He is a talented singer but sings quite less no. of songs . Overall , the song is a very average commercial track that might work because of its singing . In my opinion this track might damage the film and hinder the pace of the story .

The last original track on the album is "Meri Ek Ada Shola" by Sunidhi Chauhan . This song has very old sounding lyrics and even Pritam has gone about it in a very old style . Pritam has also put in some Shakira like music in this song . This song suggests that when it would be played in the film the story would keep moving . The song has been sung in her typical style by Sunidhi and Sukhwinder has given her good company . Overall , this song is more of a commercial track and would mean more in the film .

Next comes the remix of Hey Ya which is been done by Imran and Vikram . Imran and Vikram do a fair job and they have put in usual remix beats . This one is almost like the original and is as good as the original . The last track on the album being the remix of Mit Jaaye which has been done by Hyacinth D'souza . This one is called the Rock Version and not a remix on the album cover . Whereas this can be called Rock Remix because I don't think they have re-recorded the song for this one . Hyacinth has done a fair job and just put in drums and guitar with the original one . This one might appeal to die hard rock music lovers but I still prefer the original one .

Overall , the album is fairly good and can be listened once . The songs won't look bad on screen and won't cause much damage to the film . Not all of them are potential hits but Mit Jaaye is a big time winner . In all , the album is neither too good nor too bad so you can give it a try .

Album Rating : Two and Half out of Five ; Average album with Mit Jaaye being the best .

This poll has been on since my post Kidnap Vs. Drona , do vote on it :

Drona Vs. Kidnap

The second of October this year will have two films battling it out for their fate on Box-office. The first release being the long awaited Drona which according to Goldie Behl is not a superhero flick and is an Indian Fantasy Adventure film . The film has been long in the making and has no buzz around it as such . The promotion of the film hasn't started in a full fledged way yet but whatever has started looks quite dull . Even Abhishek doesn't look excited about the film and is currently on his world-tour , far away from his film . This is the second Directorial venture of Goldie after Bas Itna Sa Khwab Hai which was a box-office dud . Though the budget of this one is much higher and the star-cast is also stronger the film itself is not creating that excitement in me for it . I am not a big fan of Abhishek and even Priyanka is getting quite repetitive these days . Abhishek's looks are always a problem and he doesn't even do anything about it . The Music of the film is yet to hit the stores and a lot will depend on it . The trailers and rushes haven't given any taste of the music that would be there in the film so nothing can be said about it . A lot is on stake in this film for Abhishek as Sarkar Raj was a multi starrer and also wasn't appreciated that much among both critics and audiences . This film will show the solo star power of Abhishek since no big name is attached to this film apart from him and Priyanka . No Big Director like Mani-Ratnam or Big Producer like Yashraj so a lot will depend on him .

Giving this film a very tough competition would be Kidnap . Fresh out of the success of Jaane Tu .. Imran Khan is riding high on the success wave and at present provides more attraction than Abhishek . The promos of Kidnap are also better than Drona and hence an initial interest in this film is much more than that in Drona . This film is Directed by Sanjay Gadhvi who has tasted success earlier in both the Dhooms . So it can be said that he has an experience of creating "Dhoom" among the audience . Sanjay has also done nothing apart from the Dhoom series . So this can also be considered as his second attempt . Though Dhoom was produced by Yashraj and hence Aditya had an influence in those films , how much we don't know . We might know after Kidnap releases . Still , Kidnap is produced by Ashtavinayak which is also a good production house so production quality won't suffer .

Imran is playing a slightly (or completely?) negative role so people would definitely wanna watch that out since he played a good-boy in Jaane Tu. The music of the film also looks good . The second promo of the film features one of the songs which looks and sounds quite good . Apart from this the film also has Sanju Baba who is also a crowd pulling factor for the film . The female lead is played by Minissha who is looking quite hot and has already proved her acting skills .

For now , there are lots of positives in favour of Kidnap and it looks quite strong on Paper . Whereas Drona is looking quite dull and doesn't have that energy in it . People like to see young energetic performances these days and a young cast of Imran and Minissha would certainly provide that . Priyanka is also on streak of flops and dull movies so that is also not gonna go in her favour . Both Abhishek and Priyanka look more enthusiastic and fresh in the promos of Dostana which means the fact that Drona being released so late is also going to go against it .

Overall , I am looking forward to see Kidnap on the second of October which is a national holiday and hoping for the best for Drona . Which film are you going to watch first ?

Bachna Ae Haseeno --- Movie Review

One thing is for sure now that after giving hit films like Hum Tum , Salaam Namaste , Dhoom , Bunty and Bubly , Chak De etc. , Yashraj have either sold their common sense and logic along with their films or maybe all these films were made without any interference by Aditya Chopra . SCRIPT is one word that Aditya needs to Meditate while breathing and even all his associates who are emptying the fortunes of Yashraj every month or so . I don't know why actors keep doing Yashraj's film and expecting a wonder out of them . Off lately all my posts which have the Word YASHRAJ in it sound like I am protesting against them and booing them down . But the truth is that apart from Chak De nothing has excited me that came from their house . I am a huge fan of Films like Hum Tum and Salaam Namaste which were commercial success only because they had a good script . Two years before I thought Yashraj will rule not only the Box Office but also people's heart but now I think the opposite . Well , enough of Anti-Yashraj Rant lets talk of the film that has released last week , Bachna Ae Hasino , starring Ranbir and three other girls .

The film as you know is about a Boy and Three Girls who fall in love with him . Sounds a little like Dil Mange More starring Shahid and Directed by Anant Mahadevan but take my word guys it just sounds like that . That film was an underrated and box office dud . In fact it was a far better product than this one and the actors in it were also much better . Well this one has three girls , three weak stories and three kisses so I am also devoting three paragraphs to each of them .

The first story is set up in 1996 where Raj Sharma (Ranbir) and his group are on a holiday in Europe and they meet girls just like SRK and group did in DDLJ . This whole part is kind of a spoof on DDLJ since the heroine of the story Maahi (Minissha) is a huge fan of the film . She comes to Europe to find her Raj and meets Ranbir who sets her up so that she falls in love with him to get a little physical with her . So this is when the first question arises . Can Ranbir who has a mushy mushy and a sweet guy image play such a wicked guy's role ? The answer is a straight no . I'll talk a little later about this . This story ends for a while when Minissha realizes that Ranbir was lying and that he doesn't love her . Talking of errors and stupidity in this one , the story is set in 1996 but music of Dhoom is played while the group walks over to girls . Apart from this , the movie starts with the Title track and the starting piece of that song has been used often in the film . It is so often that after each dialogue Ranbir says there is the music of title track in Background . You would like it the first time its played , you would like it even more when used second time but then on it just becomes an overdose of such a fantastic piece of Music . Instead of using it wisely they have bought the rights and abused it . Talking a little about acting , Ranbir though is the lead actor of the film but still he was not able to stand out among the group of four friends . He looked just like all other guys who were as pathetic as he was . Minissha though is a fabulous actor did a lot of overacting in this one and it never appeared that she was in love with Ranbir . It was more like she was in love with the film's Raj , I mean the chemistry was no where . The kiss was looking passionless and emotionless .

Next comes the story (set up in 2002) of Bipasha Basu who is a struggling model and a cool girl who has a live in relationship with Ranbir . She also falls in love with Ranbir but without his knowledge . Ranbir gets a job in Australia and he decides to leave her but she asks him to marry her as she thinks that Ranbir completely loves her . Ranbir tries all the tricks in the book so that Bipasha breaks off with him but he fails since she loves him so much . So at last he ditches her on the day of the marriage and runs away to Australia . Talking of errors again , Ranbir talks of Australia to his friend in the accent that became popular after Jaaved Jaffrey did Salaam Namaste which got released in 2005 . Maybe Yashraj did a special screening for Raj(Ranbir) of the film in 2002 . Then there is a scene where Strippers dance in his apartment along with him on the song Jhoom Barabar Jhoom . Just Imagine strippers dancing to the music from Jhoom Barabar Jhoom which again released just last year . There was one kiss in this one also which in my opinion was the best among all the three . Bipasha looked comfortable while kissing Ranbir and hence it looked better than the other two .

Then starts the third story in 2007 in Australia where Ranbir works happily and Deepika does all kinds of Day and Night Jobs to support her studies .She is a Taxi driver and Ranbir falls for her . She doesn't believe in Marriage at all and breaks Ranbir's heart just as he does with two other girls . Then as usual Ranbir realises his mistake and decides to repent for it . So he flies back to India and then to Germany to say sorry to Minissha and Bipasha respectively . The whole saying sorry sequence has been dragged for last one hour or so and when Ranbir comes back to Australia , Deepika is waiting for her Kiss , I mean she also realises that she loves him and decides to settle down with him . The ending sequence had to be in a Taxi since she is a cab driver . The End .

Talking of Acting Bipasha was the best among all and only she acted professionally . All other actors looked like that they didn't knew what they were doing . Rest of the cast is quite young and they were all probably excited since this was their first film with Yashraj . They enjoyed the foreign locations and comforts . Ranbir , for most of the part played the role of a Wicked guy which not at all suits his personality and he more looked like a Puzzled Guy than a Handsome Hunk . His acting didn't impress me at all and it appeared that he has style without enough substance to back it up . Bips was the best and she tried her best to play Miranda Priestly(Devil Wears Prada) for some part of the film . Ranbir still tries to imitate his father's and grandfather's in his acting but lacks a little bit of Charisma (not Karisma) . And Deepika looks boring on screen but she is so beautiful and has those killer smile and dimples that you can forgive everything else wrong about her . Not much of a role for her and a little disappointment after OSO .

The film as you can see has no script again and even a lay man can guess the whole plot beforehand . There are a lot of Mistakes throughout the film with one of the most loose background score that I have ever heard . Two fantastic pieces of Music from DDLJ and Karz wasted like some ordinary background score . The Director had nothing to do since the script itself was so weak . The Music of the film is also weak and only Khuda Jaane is soulful . If we compare this one to Dil Mange More of Shahid then its a perfect example of how a bad film can earn more than a much better one just because of the Publicity and the names attached to it . I cannot believe the same Director has directed a film like Salaam Namaste and then this one . He has used pieces of Shehnai and the very old Thunder Sounds in background when there is a sad sequence or shock sequence in the film . Where is Yashraj going , now maybe only a Widow breaking her Bangles is left for them I suppose to show on screen .

Bachna Ae Hasino is much better than Tashan is the best compliment that this film can get from my side . Ranbir is OK and Bips is good . The film might entertain you but won't satisfy you . Nothing new in it apart from the actors . The same old formula and same old scenes with almost zero chemistry among the leads . I don't know what I would get to see in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi , Yashraj's last hope for the year . SRK would never work with Yashraj again if the film turn outs to be a failure . Lets not hope so and SRK being my favourite I have to hope for the best . I hope SRK interferes in the film if Aditya gets Logic less while directing the film .

Movie Rating : Two out of Five Stars , Another dud from Yashraj .

First Look --- Kidnap and 3 Idiots

The first look of two films , Kidnap and 3 Idiots , are out now . One being the next of Aamir Khan after Ghazni and other being the next of his cousin Imran . Lets talk about the Aamir one first .

The Teaser poster of Aamir's next venture as an actor , 3 Idiots , is out now and its one of those posters that say a lot about the film and create an interest beforehand . The film as everyone knows is based on the Famous novel "Five Point Someone" which is based on a group of students from IIT and their misadventures of their college lives . The film is to be Directed by Rajkumar Hirani who will be directing something different from Munnabhai for the first time . This film would be a real test for him as a Director . The Producer is the same , Vidhu Vinod chopra who has produced both of Hirani's film . The film also starrs R. Madhvan and Sharman Joshi as supporting cast and will also have Kareena as the main female lead .

Now talking a little about the poster which has shown Aamir pressing against a blackboard which has Problems of Calculus written all over it . Amir is having his cropped hair cut and I don't know how would he be able to play a role of Boy who is half the age of what he is right now . We know thatAmir is a a great actor and can almost play any role with utmost perfection but I don't understand till when he and his contemporaries are going to play such roles . The Directors need to find some new talent now and they need to take risks . Anyways , as I said the poster says a lot about the film especially the tag line which goes like this " chose excellence - success will follow" . The poster reminds me of Good Will Hunting and A Beautiful Mind where two geniuses keep solving their calculations with anything that they find .

We know that this film would be adaptation of a famous novel that has been read by a huge block of people so it would be interesting to see for the first time in Indian film industry , people responding to an onscreen adaptation of a Famous book . Though Devdas has also been adapted many times and several such other stories but those stories had been read only by a few selected people and not by a people at large . This would be probably the first such experience when people will react to a film based on a book . This film and book might also lead to a new fashion of Adapted Screenplays and for sure create two new categories in all the league of Awards - "Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Screenplay " . The award guys will get too happy since they like to distribute more and more awards and please everyone in the Industry . So even if Hirani doesn't gets best film he can at least get "Best Adapted Screenplay" and be happy .

Well , I still hope that Hirani gets the best film award and the film turns out to be as good as the novel is .

Now Talking a little about the next release of Imran Khan , Kidnap , whose trailer is running in the cinema halls along with Singh is Kinng . This is the second film of Imran whose first film has proven to be biggest hit of 2008 up till now (Singh is Kinng might overtake it ) . In Jaane Tu... Imran Played a role that was meant for him and he had just needed to be natural whereas his acting skills will be tested in this film where he plays a not so good guy and his role has a negative side to it .

The film is Directed by Dhoom Fame Sanjay Gadhvi and it also starrs Sanjay Dutt and Minissha Lamba . This film would be Gadhvi's first film which is not produced by Yashraj . In this one Sanjay plays a role of the Richest Indian in the World and what happens when his Daughter gets Kidnapped by a guy played by Imran .

Talking a little about the teaser trailer , it starts with Sanjay (Vikrant Raina) being introduced and his net worth is shown which is in Billions . Then Imran is shown in a completely different look than what he had in Jaane Tu.. , making the Kidnaper's Call to Sanjay .He Kidnaps Sanjay's Daughter played by Minissha . Then starts a series of scenes which show that Sanjay instead of Paying the ransom decides to chase Imran down and catch him . The film looks like a good thriller from the scenes that have been shown in the Trailer and the background score used in Trailer is also good .Sanjay looks more like a Dude and the title of "Richest Indian in the World" doesn't go with his personality . For such a role a Corporate personality is needed , someone like Rajat Kapoor might have looked better .

Anyways , the trailer looks good and the film looks a little inspired from Mel Gibson starrer 1996 hit Ransom . That one was Directed by Ron Howard (Director - Da Vinci Code) and he is an intelligent man and he made a nice pacy thriller . This one , I am sure has many Indian elements in it with a probable love angle between Minissha and Imran . I hope that Both Sanjay Gadhvi and Imran prove themselves apart from their Debut attempts . Imran has done a great thing by signing this film and would prevent him from getting trapped in a Chocolate Boy image . But this might even prove a big risk if he is not able to play the role properly .

The film is all set to release on October 2 which is roughly one and half months from now . It would be interesting to see audience reaction to Imran especially after Jaane Tu .. which is still running in some of the Cinema Halls . Check out the Trailer :

Bachna Ae Hasino --- Music Review

The next movie from Yashraj after the disastrous movie Tashan,Bachna Ae Hasino, is all set for release and the Music is out now . The rushes of the film are getting positive feedback and it is visible that Yashraj have again spend a good sum of money for this one . But one thing that Yashraj always forget is to put some efforts on script . The director of this one is Siddharth Anand who gave films like Salaam Namaste and Ta Ra Rum Pum , both of which did quite well at the box office and were also appreciated by the critics . Interestingly music of both these films also got more popular as compared to other films from Yashraj . So we can atleast expect and hope for a nice film if not an exceptional one . This film is also very important for Ranbeer since very few saw him acting in Saawariya . This one would be seen by all and then he would be rated by people at large , as an actor .

The first track on the album is a romantic Track "Khuda Jaane" which is a nice track and quite melodious . The song is sung by KK who has a speciality in singing love ballads , his last one being "Ankhon mein Teri" from OSO . The song is at a higher pitch and we get to hear a different KK from that in OSO . He has the company of Shilpa Rao who also sings quite well . Shilpa got popular from the song in Salaam-e-Ishq - Saiyan Chod Ke na ja . This one has been sung in completely different style by her . She sounds quite soulful in this one . Overall the song has a nice blend of both good lyrics and Melody . The lyrics are by Anvita Dutt who does a decent job .

The next track on the album is Lucky Boy by Sunidhi and Hard Kaur . This one is from the league of Tashan , melody less and lyrics that are so so . Commercial track and might look good in the movie . These type of songs look good in the movie but not meant for Listening purpose only . The tune and lyrics aren't that catchy and overall the song is meant for listening once only . Hard Kaur is a regulation these days and she does her job well as usual . Sunidhi is good but nothing unique . Just regulation stuff .

The third track on the album is Ahista Ahista by Lucky Ali and Shreya Ghoshal . When was the last time that Lucky Ali had sung a song ? And he chooses to come back with this song which is so not at all Lucky Ali style . He usually sings slow and soulful songs with great lyrics . But this track is just a regular track with excessive use of Bass which gives it more of a Club feel . Both Shreya and Lucky are known to sing Great Tracks only but out of the blue they sing this so normal track . Vishal-Shekhar have done almost nothing for this track apart from the starting music piece. This song could have been composed by any DJ in this way . The lyrics are good but get wasted due to lack of melody . The song might work in the movie .

Then comes Jogi Mahi by Sukhwinder, Shekhar Ravjiani and Himani Kapoor . The song has a quite old tune of Dhol and it is suppose to be a Punjabi track . Punjabi Tracks are usually fun filled but this one has a different feel to it . It has been tried to incorporate a sad song into a commercial tune . The attempt has failed to a large extent and the blend has not worked . The song again is like a commercial type of track of the 90's . There is no newness to it and neither the lyrics are that good . The song would definitely slow down the pace of the movie and it would remind you of the movies of 90's . I don't know why Yashraj is doing this Hybrid thing of Mixing the Old with the new . There movies now look like the typical commercial movies that people saw for quite long in the 80's and 90's . They have no new story at all . Though this film has three heroines and one hero which gives it a look of a modern film yet it might end up like a typical commercial movie .

Coming back to Music , the next track is Small Town Girl , one more hybrid track with pathetic lyrics . This one is sung by Shankar Mahadevan who himself is music director and this one sounds a little similar to Jhoom Baraabar Jhoom Title Track and is of the same league . Yet Jhoom Barabar Jhoom had catchy lyrics and tune and this one has none . Those who like just plain noise with no rhythm and lyrics might like this track . One more useless track of Tashan genre with no meaning and feel to it .

Then comes another REMIX version of version of Khuda Jaane which has been done in a nice way and is a faster and has more club feel to it . The original itself is such a good track that even this one rocks . The track has been remixed in a nice way by Abhijit Nalani and has a newness to it . It is not a typical remix and it would definitely work . Abhijit has put some effects which have added some more beauty to the track .

Then comes the title track which is just a remixed version of the older song with some extra lyrics . The Rap in it by Vishal is quite good and he deserves credit for it . Apart from that the entire rhythm and Lyrics are from original which are already a big hit . This song belongs to R.D. Burman and Majrooh Sultanpuri completely so Vishal-Shekhar don't get any credit for this one .

In all , the album is just a regular soundtrack that would just come and go and won't leave its mark . Apart from Khuda Jaane there is no original track that is worth listening twice or more . Vishal-Shekhar have a very limited talent and they are getting repetitive . They should take a break and Yashraj should look for some new talent to bring to their Production house .

Album Rating : One and Half out of Five stars ; one for Khuda Jaane and Half for not including unnecessary Remix tracks on the album .

Shaurya --- Movie Review

The second film of television host turned Director , Samar Khan , released this week and I must say that it is worth a watch if you are tired of watching same movies every week with a typical formula . The first movie of Samar was Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye which nobody remembers . I only remember one song of that movie featuring Arshad warsi . The remarkable quality of that movie was that it was so damn dull and had no energy in it even though it was a love story . And I must say that this movie also has shades of that dullness in the first half because the first half of shaurya moves too damn slowly . The story is somewhat quite small but it has been blown to make a full length feature film out of it . The story is good and since the casting is top notch the audience won't feel bored but what lacks in this film is its loose direction .

The story is of an army officer , Javed Khan , who kills his senior for some reason . Then there is a court case in which Rahul Bose defends Jaaved Khan and Jaaved Jaffry who is a dear friend of Rahul is the advocate of opposition . Rahul is an easygoing guy who doesn't like army but he still joins army on his Dad's wish . His dislike increases even more because he loses his dad in War . He is never serious in life and Jaaved who is his best friend insists him to become serious . Rahul lands in this case as an advocate to Jaaved Khan on the recommendation of Jaaved Jaffry . Everybody believes that the case is an open and shut case but Rahul doesn't think so and he defends Jaaved reaching to his motive for killing his senior officer . The regiment to which jaaved belongs is headed by RP Singh (Kay Kay) who is a very powerful and disciplined army officer . Kay Kay loses his family because a Muslim guy, who was a servant in his house , rapes and murders all of his family . Since then Kay Kay develops a deep seated hatred against Muslims and hence thinks every Muslim to be a criminal and hence makes all his officers of his regime think the same way and also makes them sick to such a large extent that they kill innocent people in the valley just beacuse they are Muslims . Due to this unjust approach of officers Jaaved Khan who is a junior officer kills his senior who causes a lot of hate massacres . When Rahul realises that how sick Kay Kay is , he defends Jaaved with his full strength and in the end manages to prove Kay Kay guilty .

The story is very short and has been en-longed just by putting in characters of Minissha Lamba who is a reporter and Love interest of Rahul . Even Jaaved Jaafry's character as a friend of Rahul is a minor character and has been put in just to waste some time . The entire first half consists of introduction of Minissha , Rahul and Jaaved and the story moves very slowly in the first half . If a person omits the entire first half even then he would enjoy the movie to same extent .

What is the strong point of the movie is the pacy second half and powerful acting performances by Kay Kay and Rahul . The climax of the movie where Kay Kay confesses all his crimes is a treat to watch and Kay Kay has given one of the finest performances in those scenes in his entire career . Though the role of Rahul was strange in many ways and lacked the finesse in terms of an Army officer but still it was quite good . Kay Kay plays negative roles quite good but he should now look for some more positive roles or else he will get type casted as villain . There is a very small part of Amrita Rao but even in that small part she leaves a mark and displays her acting skills to the max . So much so that even with few minutes on screen she overshadows the role of Minissha completely . Minissha's role is quite different and even she is a fantastic actress . She has the mettle to become star of both commercial and off beat cinema . Jaaved Jaffry's role is just pure time pass and it has got nothing to offer . Still it has been well played by him .

Cinematography by Carlos Catalan is top notch and he has shown the valley quite beautifully . Full marks to him . The background score is not that good with repetitive sounds that don't even fit the situations that well . Thank God , the movie has no songs or else it would have got longer with story still moving slowly . The film is well written and the writer's have done a good job .

Overall , the movie has got a good script but what it lacked was the inefficient direction and unnecessary blowing up of the plot . The director Samar Khan still needs to learn a lot in Direction . Still , it was way much better attempt than his last movie . The reason why you should watch this movie is that it has got some message and it even has some great acting performances by Kay Kay and the entire remaining cast .
It is not at all a court room drama and has got way much more important message than a typical courtroom drama .

Movie Rating : Two and Half Stars out of Five , for great acting performances and different script . Go watch it and support off-beat experimental cinema .