The Train

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Emraan Hashmi .... Vishal

Geeta Basra .... Roma

Sayali Bhagat .... Anjali

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The winding twists and turns in the plot of ‘The Train’ make it a good ride for passing your time.
Director duo Raksha Mistry and Hasnain Hyderabadwala seem obsessed with Hollywood. After rehashing ‘Collateral’ as ‘The Killer’, the duo now comes up with ‘The Train’, inspired from the Clive Owen, Jennifer Aniston starrer ‘Derailed’. However, the directors have Indianized the plot by making their own additions and alterations at the movie’s fag end.
There is a very apparent attempt to cash in on Emraan Hashmi’s image as a serial kisser. Lip locks there are sufficient in the film. There is also a dash of glamour and exposure, thanks to the gorgeous and well-endowed Geeta Basra. Newcomer Sayali Bhagat, a former Miss India, leaves an impression because of her looks and not because of her acting.
‘The Train’ is a tale of love, lust, adultery, murder and deceit all rolled together into one. The story takes place in Bangkok, Thailand.
Vishal Dixit (Emraan Hashmi) is in an unhappy marriage with his wife Anjali (Sayali Bhagat). The two have a 5-yr-old daughter who is a diabetic. There is hardly any spark of love left between the married couple.On a train ride, Vishal bumps into a beautiful woman named Roma (Geeta Basra) who, like him, is also in a marriage of compromise. She is neglected by her husband (wonder what kind of a moron would neglect a woman like her).
Anyway, there is mutual attraction between Vishal and Roma. They indulge in a passionate extramarital affair. Just when they reach the point of crossing the forbidden line, a nightmare happens. There is a rape, followed by blackmailing and murder.
‘The Train’ begins as an ordinary tale of extramarital romance but it changes track with a twist that turns the life of the protagonist topsy-turvy. Thereafter, focus shifts to a blackmailer (Aseem Merchant), and the movie becomes a thriller with a twist in the tail.
Emraan Hashmi proves a dependable actor in ‘The Train’. He knows the art of not going over-the-top and shows control and restraint in enacting his character. He doesn’t look bad either.
Geeta Basra is beginning to show the making of a good actress. There are glimpses of refined histrionics in her performance. Sayali Bhagat doesn’t have many expressions. But she does look gorgeous.
On the sidelines, Aseem Merchant fails to rise above a mediocre performance. At times he tries to play a cool cat, but there is no conviction in his act.
Mithoon’s music is another strong point of the film. Songs like Woh Ajnabee and Beete Lamhe take to your lips easily. The cinematography is visually striking.
Director duo Raksha Mistry and Hasnain Hyderabadwala have made a fairly watchable rehash of ‘Derailed’.

Naqaab - The thriller

To call ‘Naqaab’ ‘The Most Shocking Thriller Of The Year’ (as its tagline says) would be a gross overstatement. Without exaggeration, the movie can be described as an engaging romantic thriller revolving around characters with disguised intentions.
For years, director duo Abbas-Mastan have honed their skills of making thrillers through movies like Baazigar, Ajnabee and Humraaz . Their latest work, ‘Naqaab’ is nowhere near their previous thrillers in which suspense came out like a bolt from the blue.
In ‘Naqaab’, one part of the suspense is not hard to guess. But there are many twists and turns before the film’s climax. The unmasking of the secret is indeed unexpected, but it lacks enough conviction. If the movie’s plot has ample knots and tangles, it also has its holes.
To cut to the chase, ‘Naqaab’ isn’t exactly a nail-biting, edge-of-the-seat experience. It is a fairly decent thriller you wouldn’t mind watching once.
The movie brings together the ‘Humraaz’ team of Akshaye Khanna and Bobby Deol .
Bobby plays a millionaire, Karan, in love with a middle-class girl Sophie ( Urvashi Sharma ) who, despite her rich boyfriend, works in a burger joint. Enters Vicky (Akshaye Khanna), a struggling actor out of work. Vicky’s charm, charisma and eloquence wins the affection of Sophie. Sparks fly, and the two find getting drawn towards each other.
Hidden from all this, there is someone who is watching and filming the three characters.
As the love story gets more complex and contrived, hidden intentions of the characters are unmasked.
The first half of the movie is breezy but clichéd. Story picks up just before the interval and from there on it develops in the second half. There are surprising revelations and interesting bends in the plot. The director duo have tried to add the shock element with force, rather than wit. And there is too much beating around the bush before coming to the point in the climax.
Among performances, Akshaye Khanna’s stands out most prominently. His chemistry with Urvashi is superb. Bobby Deol manages his part well but offers nothing impressionable. Newcomer Urvashi Sharma acts as if she has the experience of many films behind her. She is comfortable and confident in playing her part before the camera.
The film’s cinematography is gripping and its editing is slick. Pritam’s music is passable.
Abbas-Mastan’s direction is tight and there are indeed sequences in the film that pump your adrenalin. But the director duo fail to create the hard-hitting impact in the second half, despite the twists and turns.
To sum it up, ‘Naqaab’ doesn’t turn out to be a riveting thriller, but it is engaging enough to be seen once.

Hey babby !!!

The music score of Sajid Khan’s first full-length feature film (as director) ‘Heyy Babyy’ is yet another testimony to the talent and versatility of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy.
‘Heyy Babyy’ is essentially a feelgood comedy about three men and a baby. Akshay Kumar, Fardeen Khan, Ritesh Deshmukh and Vidya Balan comprise the film’s cast.
The title song Heyy Babyy is a moderately paced dance number with groovy beats. Despite an ordinary melody, the song has a very catchy bass line. And the singers, Pervez Quadir, Neeraj Sridhar, Raman and Loy, never try to infuse any superficial energy into their vocals. This, along with the song’s chorus, makes it an eminently hearable and danceable track. It would also turn out to be an eye-candy track in the film as it features as many as 20 actresses.
DJ Whosane infuses some extra zing into this number in the Big 'O' Remix version, which is high on tempo and spunk.
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy step into a different mould altogether in the rustic Dholna – a very simple composition with a delectable blend of tabla, dhapli, harmonium and guitar. On top of it Sherya Ghoshal’s soothing voice, coupled with Sonu Nigam’s evocative vocals, lend a subtle and unassuming appeal to this song.
DJ Whosane again gives a different twist to this track in Dholna - Love is in the Air Remix. Without altering the tempo much, Whosane embellishes the track with a sprinkling of piano notes and hip-hop sounds.
Jaane Bhi De has a rhythmic feel but a mediocre melody. The song’s lyrics convey a feeling of taking things easy. Sample this: Gustakhi maaf kar de, Ab to insaaf kar de, Apna dil saaf kar de…Kehna toh maan le…Jaane bhi de, Jo bhi hua, Jaane bhi de. Shankar Mahadevan’s soft but vivacious singing brings a breeziness into this otherwise passable track.
Jaane Bhi De – Hip hop Hiccup Remix has more hiccups than hip-shaking hops.
Temperature rises with Mast Kalandar, originally a traditional song paying ode to the 13th century Sufi master Lal Shahbaaz Kalandar (literally translated as Red Falcon). The song, sung by Salim Shehzada, Rehan Khan and Shankar Mahadevan, is a high-energy, powerful number that sets your blood rushing and feet tapping.
Australian ‘Girl Band’ gives a peppy flavour to the title song Heyy Babyy in its English version. The quartet, comprising of singers Renee Bargh, Renee Armstrong, Jessica Smith and Patrice Tipoki, bring a buoyant feel to this techno-savvy version of the title track.
And then comes the best song of the album – Meri Duniya Tu Hi Re. The lyrics of the song are not directed towards a lover but towards a kid. The song has a lilting, soothing and sentimental melody. Singers Sonu Nigam, Shaan and Shankar further bring tenderness into the number with their gentle singing.
All in all, the music score of ‘Heyy Babyy’ may not be of chart-busting standards, but it has a few songs that remain with you even after a single hearing. Songs like Meri Duniya, Heyy Babyy and Dholna fall into this lot.