Cocktail

My rating: 2 stars out of 5
Starring: Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Diana Penty, Boman Irani, Dimple Kapadia.

It is about three people who happen to meet each other by chance and end up being friends. Meera (Diana Penty) is a simple girl from India, married to a good-for-nothing guy living in London, who does not want to have anything to do with her after marriage. She meets Veronica (Deepika Padukone), a girl with too much money and a devil-may-care attitude which comes along with it. As opposites attract, they become good friends. In comes Gautam (Saif Ali Khan) who has a fling with Veronica but develops sincere feelings for Meera, much to Meera’s chagrin and Veronica's despair. This all is followed by the sacrifices which are a part of the package and deep introspection by characters about others’ happiness.
The movie is a typical run-of-the-mill kind, love triangle where the bad does the good in the end and the all sacrificing Indian girl finds real solace in the arms of the bad boy she loath initially. There was not a hint of acting from any of the lead actors, the only artist was Boman Irani (as Gautam’s uncle), who lent a bit of charm to the otherwise crude work. If his role had been more, then the movie would have got half a star more. The story was very clipped with much left to the audiences’ innate understanding, which was good in a way. It considerably shortened the pain of watching. The best part about it all was that the Bollywood drama was thankfully less. This one was more practical and a westernised story. The real soul of the movie was the music. Every song can be added to one’s playlist. The styling in the movie was also commendable; in sync with the characters. The direction left a lot to be desired. All in all, something that can be avoided.

Shanghai

My rating: 4 and a half stars out of 5

Starring: Abhay Deol, Emraan Hashmi and Kalki Koechlin.

The movie is based on a political shindig in a fictional town of Bharatpur. The CM is planning a major housing and commercial development thereby moving a large population of slum dwellers. A fiery activist, Dr. Ahmedi, speaks against it and is murdered in the process which is declared a drunk-driving accident. Shalini (Kalki Koechlin) wants to reveal the truth and meets a cocky photographer Jogi (Emraan Hashmi) who has some evidence to help her. IAS officer, T.A. Krishnan (Abhay Deol) is handed the task of inquiring the murder-accident and stumbles upon some dirty secrets of the political world.

The beauty of the movie lies in the way Dibakar Banerjee has portrayed the notorious world of beaurocracy and the superb acting by the cast. Emraan Hashmi is the soul of the movie and plays the role of a small town photographer to par. The make up is flawless and a lot of attention to details have been given which lends a sense of authenticity. The two songs in the movie took a minute too long which could have been done away with. The rest of the movie was tactfully music lacking which had the desired effect of making people grip. I admit the Tamilian accent of Abhay Deol wasn't convincing at all and the starting of the movie was a bit darb, but it is the best Bollywood movie in a long long time. I hope the trend continues

Ek mai aur ekk tu...

My rating: 3 and a half stars out of 5.
Starring: Kareena Kapoor, Imran Khan, Boman Irani and Ratna Pathak.

Rahul Kapoor (Imran Khan) is an architect in Las Vegas trying to fulfill all the expectations his parents have from him, making him uptight and straight-laced. On losing his job and falling into an abyss of hopelessness, he meets Riana Braganza (Kareena Kapoor), a hair stylist. They drink the whole night and finally end up marrying each other. They plan to annul the marriage and in the process become very good friends. They story then progresses showing how Rahul found himself in the time he spends with Riana who is everything he isn't.
The movie is a sweet tale of friendship between two opposites. Imran Khan and Kareena being the most unlikely couple on screen, look quite real together, though Kareena's role was essentially the common happy-go-lucky girl she plays mostly. The movie took the basic idea from What Happens in Vegas but the over-all take is very different and fresh. Imran looked adorable in the timid role he played. The fact that the movie had cool feet-tapping music just added the relief from the daily life the movie was set out to give.