Aloo Chaat

Yet another bollywood movie set in Delhi.  Aloo Chaat is one of the most popular, tangy, spicy chaat snack in Delhi ...... however the movie is the most insipid uninspiring stuff to be dished in the name of a comedy.  TRASH !!! 

Rating : * * * * *

Billu Barber

Irrfan and Shahrukh Khan together - what do you expect - for Irrfan to overshadow the badshah of Bollywood ?  Well I did and that is what was proved in the movie.  Irrfan steals the show even at most times with his rather big bulging eyes and without speaking.  He has always been good at the make believe.  So he acts the perfect village bum Billu barber who tries to be witty at his own peril.  He rubs most people the wrong way by his frank speak.  

And then enters the super-star Sahir Khan (SRK) and his bevy of beautiful co-stars Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra and Kareen Kapoor.  He is arrogant, full of himself and true to Bollywood's star power creates his own story lines.  

The story of whether Billu knows Sahir from their past causes some hilarious moments.  There are  gossips, rumours and a distinct shift of power as all villager woo Billu.  Billu's wife (played by Lara Dutta who looks too hot to be a mother) and her two children also give Billu a hard time as they too want to meet Sahir the Star.  Billu refuses to have any of it and everybody hates him.  But the arrogant star clears some misunderstandings and ensures a happy get together.  

The music is passable with unnecssary songs and dance sequences filled in to accomodate the 3 guest star actresses.  The village atomsphere and the scenic beauty has been captured very beautifully.  However the storyline is weak and predictable.  Amongst the actors Asrani and Om Puri  have usual cameos and all of the Priydarrshan's usual team of actors are present.  Lara Dutta shows her hot figure in a sari however she has to do something about her face which is no longer as charming as it used to be.  SRK is Ok as an arrogant super-star and the role seems to be a perfect one for him but Irrfan is clearly the winner.  

As all SRK films this is just a time pass movie.

Rating : * * * * *  

Delhi 6

Brilliant !!!! Simply brilliant !!!!  Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has done it again ..... he is creating a distinct style of his own.  One in which the issues of modern day India are symbolised through history or mythology and looked at from the eyes of a neutral foreigner.  Rang De Basanti set the trend and Delhi 6 has carried it forward.  

The film explores the life of the lead protagonist Roshan (Abhishek Bachchan) who is a young American born of Indian parents and how his life takes a dramatic turn when he comes to India with her grandmother (Waheeda Rehman).  

In Delhi 6 in the narrow lanes of Chandni Chowk he finds a whole range of human emotions, issues of modern India and the dual face of India's social fabric.  Uncle Baig (Rishi Kapoor), Madan Mohan Sharma (Om Puri), Jaigopal (Pawan Malhotra), Imam Saab (K K Raina), Gobar (Atul Kulkarni), Mangdu (Deepak Dobriyal), lala (Prem Chopra), Jalebi (Divya Dutta) and constable Ranvijay (Vijay Raaj) play small but very powerful cameos in bringing out the inter-play of religion, family honor, superstition and caste in the modern yet conservative India.  People are good at heart but are very gullible; everybody has a good and an evil side.  Cyrus Sahukar (Piddhu and Simi Girebal fame) plays a sleazy photographer who actually becomes one of the central part of the plot and has done a remarkable job. 

And not to forget Bittu Sharma (Sonam Kapoor)......she has given a very powerful performance as a middle class Indian girl who is akin to the pigeon (called Massakali) with the tied feathers or a little goat waiting to be slaughtered.  

The storyline is aptly set in comparison to the story of Ram being shown in the Ramlila.  Raghuvir Yadav's folk singing talent have been very well utilised to create that narrative and provide symbolism.  

The music of A R Rahman is brilliant much better than his Oscar winning Slumdog Millionaire score. 

There are some strong moments in the film.  At one point Waheeda Rehman wants to be in her Delhi home because she wants to die and get mixed with the soil of her homeland.  But later under a lot of distress over communal tensions around her she comments "ab to yahan marne ko bhi dil nahi karta".  Similarly Atul Kulkarni delivers the punch line towards the end "Kalaa bandar to hum sub ke andar hai".  

There is a mad fakir who keeps showing everybody the mirror and there is an English speaking  Sadhu (akhilendra misra) who promises to rid the city of the menace of the kalaa bandar. Rishi Kapoor has a small but touching role of a silent lost lover who still lives life king size. 

The film is cinematically and visually appealing much more so than this year's best film at the Oscars.  Who says that India has arrived because of the success at the Oscars this year; the reality is that Danny Boyle became successful by using Indian talent.  This movie again establishes that modern Indian movie makers are becoming more true to their profession and are making serious cinema which not only entertains but also makes one think.  A toast to the brilliance of one of the best director now we have - Rakeysh Mehra. 

Rating : * * * * *