Posts Tagged ‘Yashpal Sharma’
By Taran Adarsh, July 10, 2009 – 10:09 IST
Sometimes, big things come in small sizes…
SANKAT CITY may not boast of stars to lure the audiences, it may not have a colossal canvas [on the contrary, the making is very basic], it may not have a terrific musical score to act as a hook [there are hardly any songs here], but SANKAT CITY succeeds, and succeeds largely, in its endeavour: Make the viewer laugh at the right places.
One walks in with zilch expectations [the promos don’t do justice to the product], but when you make an exit from the audi, it’s with the feeling that the 2 hours were well spent.
By BOLLYWOOD HUNGAMA.COM |
Comedies, today, can be segregated into two categories — Brain-dead entertainers and intelligent comedies. Films like JAANE BHI DO YAARO, BHEJA FRY and SANKAT CITY fall in the latter category.
Let’s be honest. Not all of us can think whacky or come up with a crazy madcap comedy like SANKAT CITY. It requires a wild and imaginative mind to come up with one and most importantly, execute it with panache. Debutante director Pankaj Advani gets its right on both the counts. Sure, there are glitches in the narrative, but Advani compels you to sit and listen to the story he intends narrating.
Final word? Don’t give SANKAT CITY a miss just because the film doesn’t star the Khans or Kumars. This ‘City’ is worth a visit!
Guru [Kay Kay Menon] is a small-time car thief. Ganpat [Dilip Prabhawalkar], who owns a dilapidated garage, is his partner-in-crime. Guru robs cars and Ganpat gives them a make-over in order to sell them for tidy profits.
One night, Guru chances upon a swank Mercedes parked outside a brothel, unattended. He steals the car and takes it to Ganpat. While working on the car, they discover a sum of Rs. 1 crore in it. They are delirious with joy at the unexpected turn of events. Little do they know what’s in store, for the car and the money belong to a gangster/loan shark called Faujdaar [Anupam Kher]. What happens next?
It takes time to get a hang of things, but once the characters and their traits are introduced at the very outset, the goings-on become one joyride. The assorted characters and the way they are integrated in the storyline, as also the way they’re inter-connected, makes the film stand out.
If the first hour is akin to a roller coaster ride that you enjoy to the optimum, it’s the middle of the second half that bothers you. That’s because things stagnate and even get monotonous for a few minutes, before the climax strikes again.
SANKAT CITY is more like a relay. One incident leads to another, so on and so forth and it keeps you involved and entertained for most parts. But the most stunning sequence is reserved in the pre-climax when a bulldozer runs over a bagful of currency. A brilliant sequence!
SANKAT CITY is embellished with super performances by each and every member of its cast. Anupam Kher [terrific], Kay Kay Menon [excellent], Rimi Sen [first-class], Dilip Prabhawalkar [splendid], Chunky Pandey [very good], Manoj Pahwa [effective], Yashpal Sharma [first-rate], Hemant Pandey [perfect], Rahul Dev [good], Virendra Saxena [wonderful], Srivallabh Vyas [nice], Sanjay Mishra [decent]… every actor deserves praise. It’s as if the roles were tailor-made for them.
On the whole, SANKAT CITY is a small little gem that deserves a watch. Yes, there’s a bombardment of new films week after week and chances are that this film may get sidetracked thanks to the invasion of biggies, with the multiplexes sidelining it to embrace the biggies. But here’s a request to all cine lovers and also multiplexes, from this writer. Give this one a chance. Let’s nurture it well, so that genuine efforts like SANKAT CITY don’t go unnoticed
BOLLYWOOD HUNGAMA.COM
First look: SANKAT CITY
Posted May 15, 2009
on:Cast: KAY KAY MENON, IRRFAN KHAN, ANUPAM KHER, RIMII SEN, RAHUL DEV, YASHPAL SHARMA and others
Produced By: MOSER BAER & SEVEN ENTERTAINMENT
Directed by: PANKAJ ADVANI
Source: BOLLYWOOD HUNGAMA.COM
Arshad Warsi’s film dares to release amidst multiplexes v/s producers stand off
Posted April 9, 2009
on:By Joginder Tuteja, April 9, 2009 – 12:16 IST
Even though bigwigs like Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan are coming together in their stand with the producers, there are some filmmakers who are defying the strike and going ahead with the release of their films. One such film is Arshad Warsi starrer Ek Se Bure Do which is silently arriving in theaters (including multiplexes) this Friday i.e. 10th April in spite of majority of Bollywood fraternity choosing to do otherwise.
However, it isn’t too much of a worrying thought though. The film belongs to ‘stuck in the cans’ variety and was actually launched 5 years back. There has been no promotion of the film during its making and is now seeing a near ‘dead’ release due to scarcity of releases in multiplexes. Even though everyone associated with the film would know that it’s a loose-loose situation for all, they are rightly going ahead with the release to get rid of some backlog.
The film sees Arshad Warsi as a hero along with Rajpal Yadav who plays the second lead in the film. A comedy, it stars Natassha as the female lead whose last major release as a heroine was Koi Aap Sa (2005). Ever since then she has appeared in only film, Just Married, and that too featured her only in a cameo. The other female lead of the film is Tusha who makes her debut with the film.
In a way, release of this film would be a relief for Arshad Warsi who has moved into A-grade films in the years gone by. Ek Se Bure Do is the second in line for an old film of Arshad to be hitting the screens. A few weeks back it was Kisse Pyaar Karoon that had arrived and disappeared in a matter of a single week. That film too was years in the making and was a ‘let’s get this one out of the way’ release.
Coming to Ek Se Bure Do, the film boasts of a heavy supporting cast comprising of actors like Govind Namdeo, Yashpal Sharma, Virendra Saxena, Vijay Raaz and Razzak Khan. In fact the biggest draw for the film could be well through an item number that has been picturised on aiming-at-being-an-item-girl Brinda Parekh whose claim to fame has been a short appearance in Madhur Bhandarkar’s Corporate. However, the song (which also features Arshad Warsi) hasn’t been promoted at all; something that has hardly helped the film’s cause.
Produced by Suresh Seth, Ek Se Bure Do is directed by Tarique for whom this will be his first venture behind the camera. Arriving with zero publicity, the film would be lucky to survive a single weekend at theaters!
For Arshad though, it could well translate into good news. With Kisse Pyaar Karoon and now Ek Se Bure Do being finally out of his way, he would certainly be hoping that his other stuck films like Jeetenge Hum and Zamaanat are released soon as well and clear his backlog releases.
BOLLYWOODHUNGAMA.COM