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.

Chakde India Chakde !!!

Chak De India’ is a beautifully made film that makes you laugh, makes you cry, gives you goose bumps, and stirs up patriotism inside you. It is a film that every lover of good cinema must watch.
It is heartening to see Yashraj Films move away from their stereotypical mushy romances and sentimental family dramas. Sports, in itself, is not a popular genre in Bollywood. On top of it, ‘Chak De India’ has no love angle even though it has Shah Rukh Khan playing the leading man alongside 16 new girls. Despite so many odds, ‘Chak De India’ turns out to be a riveting film. Reason – excellent writing (by Jaideep Sahni), well etched-out characters, brilliant performances (by Shah Rukh, Shilpa Shukla, Sagarika Ghatge and Chitrashi Rawat) and, last but not the least, superb direction by Shimit Amin .
I cannot recall a single dull moment in the film. From the word go, the movie grips you like a vice and keeps you riveted until the end credits roll. During this ‘Chak De’ ride, you go through myriad emotions. You empathize with the pain of the protagonist, cherish the clashes and camaraderie of the girls, and you are filled with an uplifting, charged-up feeling as you see the underdogs rise to the occasion.
To cut to the chase, ‘Chak De India’ keeps you on the edge of your seat, even though it is a sports-based film and not a thriller.
The film’s story is simple and yet it carries so many undercurrents.
Kabir Khan (Shah Rukh), the best centre-forward in Indian hockey team, misses the crucial, last-minute penalty stroke against Pakistan and is blamed for the Indian team’s defeat in the finals. So much so, he is labeled gaddar (betrayer) by his own fellow countrymen. Disgraced and dishonored for one momentary failure, Kabir Khan leaves his parental house with his mother and disappears into oblivion.
Seven years later he appears again, not as a player but as a coach of a bunch of girls in whom even the Hockey Federation has no confidence. Kabir Khan has just three months to coach and train these girls for the Hockey World Cup in Australia.
The girls come from all over India – Haryana, Chandigarh, Punjab, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, North East and other states.
On the outside, Kabir Khan is very strict with the girls. Through his toughness he wants to instill discipline and integrity in the team, something which is significantly missing.
Within the team, there is hardly any camaraderie. There are usual girlie fights and arguments. Somebody is egoistic, somebody too self-centered, somebody is hot-tempered and somebody is simply naïve.
Using very unconventional methods, Kabir Khan manages to create a team spirit among the girls. But some differences remain, only to be sorted out in the World Cup tournament in Australia, which the team must win to make India proud. But Kabir Khan is fighting for more than pride for India. For him the victory would bring redemption (for his momentary failure 7 years ago) and reclamation of his lost honour. And when that moment of reckoning does come, he looks on with disbelief in his teary eyes.
‘Chak De India’ is not just a sports film. It is replete with myriad emotions. And the best part is that Shimit Amin tells the story very realistically, making it all the more believable. He also doesn’t bring any unnecessary dramatization into the story.
The movie has a number of intelligently conceived sequences. For instance, a sequence when the girl’s hockey team has to prove their mettle against the men’s team. The girls lose by a narrow margin, but they get an applause and salutation from male players. Or another sequence when the girls bash up a bunch of eve teasers. These sequences and the last portions of the second half – when the crucial matches are played – evoke a flood of emotions inside a viewer.
A constant thread of humour runs through the film’s narrative. The humour is vernacular, and genuinely funny at that. The funniest of the lot is the rustic Haryanavi girl Komal (Chitrashi Rawat) and the hot-tempered Punjabi girl Balbir Kaur (Tanya Abrol).
After a long time – perhaps since Swades – Shah Rukh gives a substantial reason to write something about his acting. The superstar doesn’t go overboard in his performance in ‘Chak De’– there is no quivering of lips and no heavy breathing. Using his facial expressions and intense eyes to his advantage, with utmost conviction SRK plays a man simmering and seething within. Undoubtedly, this one is a praiseworthy performance from the King Khan.
SRK isn’t the sole focus of the film. Ample footage is given to the girls. Shilpa Shukla (as the egoistic Bindia) delivers a laudable performance. She maintains a snooty, high-headed demeanor throughout the film. Sagarika Ghatge (as the attacking forward player Preeti Sabarwal) is convincing. Vidya Malvade (as the goalie) plays her part well.
To conclude this review, let me say objectively that ‘Chak De India’ surpasses the expectations that I had begun to have from Yashraj Films of late. A great deal of credit for this gripping film should go to director Shimit Amin, who never lets the technicalities, the cinematic style (or still better the visual beauty) overtake the essence of the story.
At the end of the day, ‘Chak De India’ is a deeply touching film that offers plenty for you to carry home with.
Do yourself a favour, go and see this film. It is a must-watch.