Posts Tagged ‘rohit shetty’
By Joginder Tuteja, December 30, 2009 – 12:16 IST
The likes of Imtiaz Ali, Rajkumar Santoshi, Vishal Bhardwaj, Balki and Prabhu Deva must be feeling disheartened. If only Rajkumar Hirani, Aamir Khan and Co. would have released 3 Idiots a week later, the competition was just amongst the five of them for Love Aaj Kal, Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani, Kaminey, Paa and Wanted respectively. However, due to the fact that 3 Idiots is a fantastic experience for millions of cine-goers and above all is pretty much fresh in audiences mind, it is the unanimous choice for one and all. Whether it is ‘aam junta’ or industry alike, there is no negative word around this movie. Instead, it has been universally hailed, acclaimed, appreciated and above all respected, which has proved once again that if a film is really well made, all bad blood is forgotten, all negative vibes are kept aside and all competition stays a distance away. Over to the Bollywood folks who (keeping certain exceptions aside) truly believe that 3 Idiots is the film of 2009.
Kareena Kapoor – 3 Idiots was the best film of 2009.
Sajid Khan – Best movie of the year was Avatar. Reason? It was not a film but an experience.
Shirish Kunder – For the sheer sincerity with which it has been made, 3 Idiots is simply the best by leaps and bound. Aamir has once again proved that he is the ISI mark of good cinema.
Piyush Jha – 3 Idiots was the best film that 2009 had to offer because it took a very relevant issue and banged home the point. Moreover, the icing on the cake was that it was thoroughly entertaining.
Kalki – Best film of 2009 was Kaminey because it’s a furious and an intelligent film with great performances and music.
Aanand L Rai - For me the best movie in 2009 is 3 Idiots. It boasted of a brilliant screenplay and direction.
Suneel Darshan – 2009 ended on a positive note with two movies – Paa and 3 Idiots. Paa displayed refined performances by Mr. Bachchan and Vidya Balan. On the other hand 3 Idiots is a sincere attempt at entertainment with a soul.
Hasnain Hyderabadwaala – I enjoyed watching Wanted most. It was after a long time that I saw a complete masala film. Total paisa wasool!
Ramesh Taurani – Of course I believe that Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani was the best film of 2009. But so have been 3 Idiots, Paa, Wake Up Sid and Love Aaj Kal. All these films have been hugely entertaining.
Robby Grewal – It’s a one horse race – 3 Idiots.
Sadaa – 3 idiots was surely the best film of 2009. It was a complete film as it lacked nothing. Moreover, there was some very good message being delivered in an entertaining format.
Vaishali Desai – I loved both Avatar and 3 Idiots. Both films belonged to completely different genres. Avatar boasted of some breathtaking special effects and it was an entirely new experience. Whereas 3 Idiots is yet another cult film about the education system from Mr. Hirani.
Raksha Mistry – Call it ironical but the best of 2009 came at the very end. Yes, I am talking about 3 Idiots which is not just the best of 2009 but also one of the finest movies ever in all aspects.
Boney Kapoor – I have heard great things about 3 Idiots but I haven’t seen it yet. Of course Wanted was a complete package as it brought back the concept of hero, something which was in vogue years back when Amitabh Bachchan used to play such characters. Somehow such cinema had become extinct. Amongst other films, I also loved Love Aaj Kal. It’s entire approach was very fresh and everybody performed well. Its music was superb. The film was as mainstream as it gets and was a good blend of the old charm and new thinking. Even Paa was quite exciting. After a really long time came an Amitabh Bachchan film where he could showcase his talent. It was a neat and clean movie that really moved me. Moreover, in spite of having a sad tale on the surface, it was tackled in a very lighter vein. It reminded me of Hrisihikesh Mukherjee at his peak. Watching the film gave me the same feeling as I had when I watched Anand. Since Amitabh Bachchan’s effort didn’t show in the film, that itself reflects that how great an actor he is. Really, Imtiaz and Balki are two filmmakers to look out for. From Hollywood, it was Avatar all the way. I can’t think of a better movie visually. In fact it would take a really long time for anyone to match it technically; it has surpassed all films where technical wizardry and visual appeal is concerned. All the special effects have been taken to a different level altogether with Avatar.
Ken Ghosh – I am on a jury for an award, so I can’t really quote around the best or the worst of the year
Rohit Shetty – Best film of the year is 3 Idiots for sure. It makes you feel so good and happy after watching it.
Jagmohan Mundhra – 3 Idiots was the best movie of 2009.
Tanushree Dutta - For me, the best films of 2009 would be 3 Idiots and Avatar.
Ruslaan Mumtaz – Kaminey was the best film of the year along with 3 Idiots
Sujoy Ghosh – I haven’t seen 3 Idiots but I’ll go with Paa. It’s a film which made me feel very good about life. It’s a film which took some of my fears away. It’s a film which taught me to look at different things normally. I really appreciated that. It’s a film which didn’t try to squeeze my balls for emotions. And of course Mr. Bachchan, Vidya, Balki, Illayaraja and P.C. Sreeram made it all possible.
Sophie Choudry – According to me, 2009 was filled with below par cinema both in Hollywood and Bollywood. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed 3 Idiots, Kaminey and Paa. They were all brilliantly made films.
Urvashi Sharma – Baabarr is one of my favourite films from 2009 but I think 3 Idiots has broken all the records and is the best Hindi film of the year. From Hollywood, I loved both The Hangover and Avatar.
Kunal Deshmukh – I loved Avatar because it educates us to think ahead and learn so much. And of course 3 Idiots, as we all know today, is a fabulous movie. It brought home a message without shoving it down your throat.
Ananth Mahadevan – Though Paa and 3 Idiots are what I would define as ideal mainstream cinema (they made cine-going a pleasure after what seemed ages), if one has to select a film, my choice would be Nandita Das’ Firaaq. The four stories were moving accounts of the aftermath of human folly fuelled by political insanity. The critical eye may pick a few bones of contention, but the film was relevant, urgent, well enacted and most importantly, credibly treated.
Tusshar Kapoor – Which movie is best for me in 2009? Obviously, there is going to be just one answer – 3 Idiots.
BOLLYWOOD HUNGAMA.COM
Source: IBOS
BY SUBHASH K JHA
Raat Gayi Baat Gayi
Starring Rajat Kapoor, Neha Dhupia,Irawati Harshe, Vinay Pathak,Anuradha Menon, Dalip Tahil ,Navneet Nishan, Aamir Bashir
Directed by Saurabh Shukla
Rating: ***
Somewhere on the second-half of this slightly seductive jigsaw about a one-night scam, filmmaker Sudhir Mishra shows up as Neha Dhupia’s father who drops in to have a chat with his sullen sultry daughter on the way to the airport. Little does the stoic Mishra know beti-babe has two men stashed away in a cupboard in the living room that looks consciously like a prop on a stage- set.
Quirky sex comedies are allowed their moments of eccentricity. Last time we saw a benevolent patriarch stop over in transit was Sanjay Dutt in Rohit Shetty’s comedy All The Best.
Maybe at this point Shukla deliberately wanted to introduce an element of staged comedy.After all, isn’t the world a stage? Shakespeare got there first. But hell. Saurabh Shukla is panting from behind to catch Sheakespeare’s comedy of ‘eros’ in a modern context.
Saurabh Shukla(who can be quite a funny-guy on demand) has made a quirky sometimes-crisp sometimes-placid look-see at marriage and infidelity. The seductively – paced work is set at a party hosted by a loud Punjabi clueless woman(played with much gusto by Navneet Nishan) whose amiable husband Dalip Tahil we soon come to know, is cheating on his plump wife with the svelte seductress on the block played by Neha Dhupia who seems to invite more male attention than is healthy for any girl with a respectable appetite. And we aren’t talking about her tummy.
Tahil isn’t alone. Vinay Pathak(playing the goofy slightly stupid and undiplomatic regular guy once again) is cheating on his wife Anuradha Menon(the hilarious Veejay Lola trying hard not to be funny,and succeeding) by checking out porn on the internet.
“At your age?” tut-tuts Tahil before himself being caught with his pants down. Though nothing much up at his age.
But our main potential philanderer is Rahul( Rajat Kapoor,as suave in his sleaziness as ever), married to the sullen Irawati Harshe who befriends the all-round resident siren(Dhupia) at a party , gets drunk and then forgets whether he actually did anything naughty or not. Hangover, anyone?
“I can do it even when I’m drunk, no problem there,” Rahul (Rajat Kapoor)says vainly to his porn-fed pal.One of the problems here is that everyone speaks in Hindi because…well, they’re part of a Hindi film when they’re characters who would be comfortable in English. Having said this and that, the characters seem to be effortlessly conscious of their authentic bearings. None of the performers strays from the not-so-straight and borrowed path of betrayal, deception and infidelity.
The Rahul-Mitali marriage has a twist in its tail at the end. It doesn’t shock you. It just makes you sigh. Saurabh Shukla’s direction embarks on a journey through one night of steamy sensations. The revelations are hardly shocking, just diverting.
Stylishly cut(Sankalp Meshram’s editing is amazing in its austerity) the material’s chic movement doesn’t quite justify the content. But the narrative has moments that spill out the acerbity underlining urban marriages which are at best functional and at their worst, lies told to keep up an appearance of domestic smoothness.
The film exudes the scent of intelligence and competence. The actors all know their jobs. Most of them have earlier been through this kind of sexual-moral dilemma in some form or the other. The cutting edge is missing . But the proceedings never get cumbersome.
MUMBAI MIRROR (December 30, 2009)
Kareena Kapoor will star in Golmaal 3. Apparently, director Rohit Shetty was asked to make sure that Kareena is the solo heroine in the film, as she is not keen on multiple-heroine projects. Rohit says, “Kareena will be the only female lead along with the five boys; Ajay Devgan, Tusshar Kapoor, Arshad Warsi, Sharman Joshi and Shreyas Talpade. However, she will not be the romantic interest of any of the heroes.
In fact Kareena will be the one of the heroes – the sixth hero! I have also made sure Golmaal 3 is far more family-oriented. The boys’ jokes in Golmaal Returns won’t return.” The film’s shooting begins in April 2010. –Subhash K Jha
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TIMES NEWS NETWORK (BOMBAY TIMES; December 18, 2009)
A lot of films try to lay claim to the old ‘most anticipated film of the year’ tag, but on Tuesday night, it was clear that Avatar was indeed the biggest Hollywood film of the year amongst Bollywood’s celebrity film buffs; it brought the Bachchans and the Khans onto the same blue carpet in a premiere rivalling the big Bollywood premieres. After 14 years of incubating in director James Cameron’s brain, Avatar, the once-ultrasecret project known as ‘Project 800’, finally premiered to an enraptured and appreciative Bollywood crowd. But before the 160-minute-long saga of 10-foot-tall blue aliens on a distant moon called Pandora began, the blue carpet was walked by larger than life superstars like Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Yash Chopra, Gurinder Chadha, Harman Baweja, Vivek Oberoi, Ram Gopal Verma, Rohan Sippy, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani, Anthony D’Souza, Rohit Shetty, Shirish Kunder, Tisca Chopra to name a few.
At the end of the film, as the news channels spoke to the guests leaving, some admitted to tears, many felt it would be difficult to watch “normal movies again” and most were ready to take another trip to Pandora right then and there. Networking sites were instantly flooded with more gushing praise.
Aryan had his school exams and couldn’t make it, but Shah Rukh Khan was so amazed by the experience that arranged a screening for his family and friends over the weekend. … Hrithik, who was stuck at the shooting of Guzaarish and couldn’t make it in time to the venue, is also looking to have a private screening of the film. Amitabh Bachchan told the media “It was a fabulous film, a wonderful experience!” Abhishek, who was not scheduled to come as he had to walk the ramp the same evening in the suburbs, rushed just in time to catch the film. He posted his views on a site soon after “It’s not a film. It’s an experience! James Cameron is Hollywood’s answer to my favourite director, Manmohan Desai! He could pull off anything. Avatar too is a Hindi film at heart. It’s definitely a ‘must watch’ for the experience.”
By Joginder Tuteja, November 2, 2009 – 15:43 IST
This has becomes a trend of sorts. No sooner does a film hit the screens or is ready for release, stories start floating around how its maker is ready with the plans of making his next. It may be mere speculation, a PR plug or a confirmed report but the fact that it does get the film (which is about to get released) noticed. In certain instances a filmmaker knows the origin of the news. However, there also have been cases where he himself is flabbergasted with such information floating around. What may just turn be a thought over a mug of coffee is elevated to the scale of being confirmed to such an extent that it appears as if the film would get on floors within a week of the news making headlines.
Diwali releases went through the same syndrome with glowing announcements around the next projects of Rohit Shetty (All The Best) and Prem Soni (Main Aurr Mrs Khanna). While Rohit was said to be caught in a dilemma of choosing his next film between the sequel to Golmaal and All The Best, Prem confirmed that Salman Khan had green lighted another project for him.
Something similar happened to Anthony D’Souza as well who happened to share certain thoughts about his next assignments with a few associates. The next thing he heard, there were projects like airborne thriller Aerial and a sequel to Blue all set to be kick started. What’s more, he had apparently also signed one of his favourite actors from the industry and close friends – John Abraham.
However, a fortnight after the release of Blue, Anthony D’Souza a.k.a. Tony is ready to term this information as sheer rumour that doesn’t come with any basis. He denies working on either Blue 2 or Aerial and also dispels the theory that he has signed John for his next.
“All of these are mere speculations and I have no clue from where have they originated. All I said was that I would love to work with John since he is a close friend. He is the one who got me in the industry and I owe him a lot. Tomorrow if a project works out well for both of us then we would be game for working together. However, this isn’t something that I am stating today after Blue; I have maintained this for a year now. If this admiration and gratitude of mine is sensationalised by some and posted as twisted headlines, then I can’t help it, right? On a lighter note, I have always been forthcoming in admitting my love for Hollywood. However, that doesn’t mean that Francis Ford Coppola has sanctioned a film for me”, jokes Tony.
There have also been talks that other than John, the principal cast of Blue is coming together with him again. What does the filmmaker has to say about that?
“As much as I love John and would want him in my films, there is no project for which he has signed on the dotted line yet. Neither is that the case with Mr. Akshay Kumar, Mr. Sanjay Dutt, Zayed, Lara or Katrina. They are all great actors and I would love to work with all of them together again. But no, there is no film which is happening with them at the moment”, Tony sets the record straight.
Where does that leave so-called announcements like Blue 2 and Aerial? The moment Blue hit the screens and took a very good opening; a sequel seemed to be offering. Also, knowing Tony’s penchant for action adventure, it was being stated that he would now take his cast and crew in the air with Aerial. There have also been theories around him making a trilogy of such action adventure cinema.
“These are nothing but overzealous minds at work”, laughs Tony, “For the records, I am neither doing Blue 2 nor Aerial. These are all speculations. Yes, I have a penchant for making action flicks and my next would belong to that genre as well. However, it won’t necessarily have an adventure element to that. Whether it would be Blue 2 or something else? Well, for all you know, it could be Red or Yellow“, he laughs, “Seriously, it’s too early to be even talking about it. I am still in the process of fleshing out a subject. Let things take their due course and we would make the right announcements. Till then, let’s enjoy Blue.”
Well, with another rumour biting the dust, one looks forward to how the trend continues for weeks to come. Whether there would be more in the offering around adventures of Aladin? Whether London Dreams may lead way for New York Dreams? Would Ranbir have many more stories to tell after Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani? Or if Aamir Khan would be bringing in four idiots for his next assignment after Three Idiots?
Of course, we are waiting!
BOLLYWOOD HUNGAMA.COM
Sanju in Golmaal 3?
Posted on: October 30, 2009
Sanjay Dutt agrees to star in Golmaal 3, which will feature almost all the stars from the earlier two films
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After his recent success with All The Best, director Rohit Shetty is set to start Golmaal 3. Although Rohit is still finalising the film’s script, its star cast is already in place with Sanjay Dutt being the new entrant in the series. Sanjay, apparently, has agreed to be a part of the multi-starrer. A source reveals, “Rohit and Ajay Devgan mutually decided to first go ahead with Golmaal 3. The male actors in the film will be more or less the same as the earlier two Golmaal films with Ajay, Tusshar Kapoor, Shreyas Talpade, though Arshad Warsi and Sharman Joshi will not be a part of it. Kareena Kapoor, Bipasha Basu and Mugdha Godse are also being considered to star in Golmaal 3.” “The film will go on the floors in April next year and the actors have been asked to give the required dates. The film will be shot at an international location,” adds the source. Rohit says, “I’m still in the scripting process. Nothing has been finalised yet. Once my script is ready, we will proceed with the rest of the work.” When asked about Sanjay also being a part of the film, he says, “How many stars are you going to give me? That’s too big a star cast. I can’t have 12-14 stars in my film. That Sanjay is now part of the film is not true. Once I finish the script, we will make an announcement.” The official spokesperson from producers Shree Ashtavinayak Cinevision says, “Golmaal 3 is still in the planning stage. We aim to start the shooting in March.”
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‘We are still laughing’
Posted on: October 23, 2009
TIMES NEWS NETWORK (BOMBAY TIMES; October 23, 2009)
“The film didn’t open big on Friday but on Sunday and Monday, it jumped by leaps and bounds — from 30 per cent to 95 per cent,” said trade analyst Amod Mehra. Indeed, because audiences everywhere are having a blast watching the comic timings of Sanjay Dutt, Bipasha Basu, Mugdha Godse, Fardeen Khan and Ajay. “It’s very refreshing. No number of stars given by critics can change the opinion of cinegoers. Once the public says a film’s a hit, then it’s a hit. This film picked up because of word-of-mouth publicity,” added trade analyst Komal Nahta.
Multiplexes are enjoying the post-Diwali ticket sales that this Ajay Devgn Ffilms’ release is fetching them. “On Tuesday, the film did better business than it did on Sunday and Monday. The audience, just like me, was laughing its guts out,” said Ashish Saxena from Reliance BIG Pictures. Devang Sampat from Cinemax attributes the success to Ajay having picked the right script for the festive season. “It’s been a trend where people look for total entertainment during Diwali. They just want to have a good time… I’m expecting this film to do even better in the coming days,” he said.
Not strangely, film critics have given good ratings to this one too. Even Bollywood stars, keeping their own films aside, have been entertained by this comedy. “It’s an honest entertainer and I laughed throughout. I felt happy after watching it,” said hunk John Abraham. Ditto was the reaction of the producer’s wife and beautiful actress Kajol. “I laughed, my daughter Nysa laughed and the whole theatre laughed. And that’s when Diwali started!” she said.
— SWB
It was really disappointing to see the spate of comic flicks released in recent times. Some said that there have been an overdose of comic flicks and that’s why now each one of them is failing. However, the underlying truth was-those films flopped because all of them were plain bad films-as simple as that! Some producers had assumed that even if the script is flawed, their comic caper would work and audiences would accept. And when this didn’t happen, they came up with the explanation of overdose! All The Best breaks all these myths! The film is a laugh-a-minute riot and it works damn big time because of its wonderful performances, mind-blowing script and even better execution. This is the most satisfying comedy in a long time, in the lines of Hungama, Hera Pheri et al!
The story of the movie: Veer (Fardeen Khan), a singer, stays in Goa and has a car-expert friend Prem Chopra (Ajay Devgn) and a ‘vastu-expert’ girlfriend Vidya (Mughda Godse). Veer’s elder bro, Dharam (Sanjay Dutt) is a big businessman who stays in London and sends money to Veer each month. Dharam then starts sending ‘double pocket money’ to Veer after Veer falsely tells Dharam that he has got married to Vidya-an idea given by Prem to Veer! Unfortunately, Veer and Prem get into debt and have to repay Rs. 10 lakhs to a local goon, Tobu (Johny Lever) in a week. In the midst of all this, Dharam pays an unexpected visit to Veer! Due to some misunderstandings, Dharam mistook Prem’s wife Jhanvi (Bipasha Basu) as Veer’s wife Vidya! Watch the movie to see how the drama and madness unfolds!
All The Best takes some time to set the mood and once it takes control, it entertains and how! The real mazaa initiates when Dharam visits Veer. From here till the last frame, the film is abounding with outstanding hilarious moments!
With so many characters in the narrative, the film could have got confusing. But it doesn’t, even for a second! You understand everything that’s going on even in every scene! Kudos to the screenwriters and the director! Also, there is not a single vulgar or double meaning joke in the entire film! Thus, All The Best is a clean and uncomplicated film which can be enjoyed by everyone from kiddos to oldies!
The fun quotient at times gets a little low esp in the 2nd half. Also there are some flaws in the story too. But there’s so much funny things happening in the film that you just don’t care! The film gets a bit mellow only during the song ‘Kyun’. But even that is so wonderfully treated that you are left amazed!
The climax is chaotic but isn’t nonsensical like seen in some recent comic flicks. In fact, the climax entertains and it also has a twist, which brings the house down!
From the promos, it seemed that Sanjay Dutt will steal the show. But surprise! It’s Ajay Devgn who comes up with the best performance! He showcases excellent comic timing and this is definitely one of the best performances of his career! With this film, he also turned producer and scores in it too!
Sanjay Dutt, like everytime, was just marvelous! He is an expert when it comes to comedies and gives a smashing performance. He was in much better form than he was in Blue and Luck! Watch out for his scenes with Ajay-both the talented actors steal the show! Just fabulous work!
Sanju and Ajay deliver such powerful performance that others get overshadowed, even though all were rocking. Fardeen Khan was brilliant although he had a better screen presence in Acid Factory and Life Partner. Bipasha Basu had an important role and does a great job. Mughda Godse looks charming but unfortunately doesn’t have much to do in the film, esp in the 1st half.
The film has lots of supporting actors who contribute a lot in making the film a hilarious caper. Johny Lever as the dumb goon was amazing. He rocks big time in 2 scenes-when the tyre of Ajay’s car gets under his feet and in the climax. Johny Bhai is back! Sanjai Mishra’s performance, too, was brilliant and he provides ample moments of laughter throughout the film. Asrani, Vijay Patkar, Atul Parchure, Ashwini Kaleskar and Mukesh Tiwari contribute well. The film also stars Shraddha Musale, who plays Dr Tarika in the weekly sitcom, CID!
Pritam’s music was in sync with the film. The title song and Dil Kare were the best songs. Haan Main Jitni Martaba was unnecessarily added but again, one doesn’t mind. Everything is so perfect in the film!
Dudely’s cinematography is as cool and stylish as his name! Jai Singh’s action and Rakesh Ranjan’s sound design works wonders in the car racing scene. Sanjoy Chowdhury’s background score was apt.
Finally, we come to the winners! Farhad-Sajid and Bunty Rathore’s dialogues are funny, witty and very impressive! Robin Bhatt and Yunuj Sejawal-the two experienced writers come up with a terrific screenplay. None of the scene seemed messy and this is how scripts should be in comic flicks!
And Rohit Shetty deserves nothing but applause! He has evolved wonderfully as a director. He knows what the audience wants and delivers everything perfectly! His first flick, Zameen was impressive. His popularity soared with his second film, Golmaal. But in my opinion, it fell at lots of places in the 2nd half. His 3rd film Sunday was disappointing while Golmaal Returns was as good as Golmaal. Thus, All The Best is undoubtedly his most accomplished work so far! Take a bow!
Some of the best scenes of the film:
1. The ‘sauce’ sequence!
2. The car race
3. Dharam’s call to Veer informing about his visit
4. The scene at the airport
5. Prem gets to know that Dharam has mistaken Jhanvi as Vidya (outstanding!)
6. The intermission point
7. All scenes of Johny Lever
8. The action scene at the beach
9. Exchange of bedrooms at night (Oudstading!)
10. Prem taking Jhanvi to hospital and Dharam following him (Super-Duper!)
11. The song ‘Kyun’, ‘Dil Kare’ and the title song
12. The climax
On the whole, All The Best is a true winner in all respects! It is the finest comic flick to hit theatres in a long long time! It’s a must watch for audiences of all age groups! Go with your siblings or with your parents or with your friends or with your loved one or simply go alone-but do go for it…coz it’ll surely make your day! ENJOY!!
My rating-**** ½ out of 5!
This review first appeared on MouthShut.com:
By Taran Adarsh, October 16, 2009 – 08:25 IST
Sometimes, we laugh at movies. At times, we laugh in movies. Thankfully, ALL THE BEST, helmed by Rohit Shetty, belongs to the latter type.
ALL THE BEST makes no claims of catering to the intelligentsia or the elite. Instead, it’s aimed at those who want to spend two hours of their precious life flexing their facial muscles. ALL THE BEST is for those who expect fun and laughter unlimited in those two hours. This one makes you smile, laugh, even break into a guffaw at times.
| BY BOLLYWOOD HUNGAMA.COM |
The jokes and the goings-on may appear silly, but who cares! As long as one feels positive and wears a smile on the face even after the show has ended, nothing else matters.
Comedy is serious business and Rohit Shetty is a pro at this genre now. This time, the talented director seeks inspiration from RIGHT BED, WRONG HUSBAND and what works to the advantage are two factors – the written material and the right casting. Both are just right!
From time to time, it has been noticed that some films are made with the motive of keeping you entertained. ALL THE BEST is one of those films. Go, have a blast this Diwali!
Veer [Fardeen Khan], a singer by profession, is greedy of extracting extra pocket money from his brother Dharam [Sanjay Dutt], a business-honcho. Veer lies to Dharam that he has got married and his friend Prem [Ajay Devgn], a concept car expert, lends a helping hand in cooking up this alibi.
Veer is in love with Vidya [Mugdha Godse], but has qualified in the hate list of her father. Prem is happily married to Jhanvi [Bipasha Basu], who takes care of his ancestor’s outdated gymnasium. Veer and Prem land up in debts as they had opted for a short-cut to earn easy money.
The two get into a bigger soup when Dharam pays a sudden visit to their place. Time does not give a chance and unavoidable circumstances arouse such situations that Prem’s wife Jhanvi is mistaken for Veer’s and Veer’s girlfriend for Prem’s.
Like his previous films, director Rohit Shetty rests the story on multiple characters, with a dozen odd actors in supporting roles. With so many characters in the film, it generally tends to get confusing, but ALL THE BEST has an easy-to-comprehend story and a trouble-free and uncomplicated screenplay [Robin Bhatt and Yunus Sajawal].
Ten minutes into the film and you know that ALL THE BEST is all about mistaken identities. But the proceedings actually take off when Sanju enters the scene. That’s when you get drawn into this madcap world completely.
A number of sequences are howlarious. Note Johny Lever’s intro. Ditto for Sanjay Mishra’s track. Also, when Johny Lever regains his voice – towards the climax – it’s sooooo funny. On the flip side, the pace drops in the middle of the second hour. Also Pritam’s musical score is uninspiring and the songs act as speed breakers.
Rohit Shetty is in top form and his team of writers, Robin and Yunus, contribute enormously in making this film watchable. Dudley’s cinematography is perfect. Farhad – Sajid and Bunty Rathore’s dialogue are very much in sync with the mood of the film. In fact, a few one-liners are extremely witty.
Sanju portrays his part well. His sequences with Ajay are truly fantastic. But the show-stopper is undoubtedly Ajay, whose comic timing is only getting better. He plays to the gallery completely and delivers a sparkling performance. Fardeen needs to loosen up, though he makes a sincere attempt. Bipasha is sweet, while Mugdha doesn’t get much scope. Amongst supporting actors, Johny Lever and Sanjay Mishra are in terrific form. Mukesh Tiwari, Vijay Patkar, Ashwini Kalsekar and Atul Parchure lend credible report.
On the whole, ALL THE BEST is fun and laughter unlimited. At the box-office, the festive period coupled with the solid track record of Ajay Devgn and Rohit Shetty and also the strong merits will ensure ample footfalls at cineplexes, making its investors laugh all the way to the bank. Recommended!
MARK MANUEL Times News Network (BOMBAY TIMES; October 15, 2009)
He’s busy dubbing for London Dreams with Salman Khan. And shooting with Katrina Kaif and Ranbir Kapoor for Rajniti. But it’s All the Best that Ajay is living right now. And happily for the producer in him, the book on this Devgn Films release is that it is a clean comedy that families can enjoy for Diwali, there are no double meaning dialogues at the cost of humour, the situations in the script are hilarious, the performances by Sanjay Dutt, Bipasha Basu, Fardeen Khan and, well, Ajay himself are funny and riotous. “The film takes ten minutes to sink in,” Ajay revealed, “but from then on until the climax, you’ll laugh. There is an emotional moment in between. It’s needed. You take a rest in between laughing!” I understand the production of the film in Goa and Hyderabad was one big party. “We had a blast,” Ajay agreed, “this is a good team, and for 80 to 90 per cent of the film, all the characters are in every scene. Well, five are definitely there… and there are seven or eight characters. The climax has 20! All complement each other. When you are comfortable with your co-stars, when the entire cast understands that the film is the most important thing, then there is no stress. It’s team work. You can see that in All the Best. There’s great rapport between Sanju and me, Bips and I always get along well, Fardeen — I just got to know, but what a great guy he is, and Mugdha took just a day to get comfortable.”
Ajay is handsome in his praise for his director, Rohit Shetty, who apparently knows the pulse of comedies. “A comedy improvises,” said Ajay, “but how much works, when do you stop stretching it? Rohit has mastered the knack of entertaining audiences. He stopped well within the limit.”
It was getting onto 9 pm and Ajay was stubbing out his last cigarette when the door burst open. Little Nysa bounded in, cutely dressed for bed, but with a reserve amount of energy and mischief left in her to fuss over her father. “How long,” she demanded. “Five minutes, sweetheart,” the big Bollywood produceractor said unconvincingly. She picked up his phone meaningfully and began to fiddle with the keys. “Nysa… please, not my phone,” Ajay was pleading. “All the best,” I told him slipping out.
mark.manuel@timesgroup.com
