Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic ***1/2

Story of a rich, determined businessman (Saif Ali Khan) who is ordered to take care of four children he is responsible for depriving their parents in a careless drive. God Himself (Rishi Kapoor) sends help in the form of a mischievous angel (Rani Mukerjee), who cycles down to earth on a rainbow to save the day. The storyline ends when she succeeds in wooing the kids to condone Saif and accept him as their guardian (more appropriately their ‘Bhaiya’).

The movie is set in dexterous integrated effects and is, for sure, an enjoyable family comedy, that has an optimism that trumps the predictability of its story though.

When Saif scampers a much anticipated deal in Los Angeles to defend the children, he becomes more human. Nevertheless, I didn’t like India being referred to as a third world nation! (India has boomed in every aspect – nuclear weapons, space technology, IT field, etc… India is in fact a conglomerate of inherent natural endowments).

In one of the musical numbers set in a museum, the angel (Rani Mukherjee) gives history a life; inculcating a stupendous message that India’s past is overture to its great future. And also, that future will be built on strong families and love forms the basis of any relationship. Impressed!

Background score is very good though reminiscent of a similar touch in Taare Zameen Par !
At no stage I looked at my watch. Tout ensemble, it is a movie for all those with a child inside them. 3 and 1/2 stars !

Dasavatharam ****

The movie opens with a scene from the 12th century depicting the intolerance of Saivites against the Vaishanavites; it focuses on the confrontation between Rangaraja Nambi, an ardent Vaishanavite (played by Kamal) and King Kulothunga Cholan. It then shifts time (year 2004) and location to a lab in the USA where scientists are experimenting a deadly virus that could bring mass destruction, one of the scientists decides to make money out of it, he tries to get scientist Govind (played by Kamal) into this; but Govind refuses, as the movie progresses a small container with this virus is accidentally couriered to Chidambaram in S.India, Govind and Fletcher (a deadly villain played by Kamal) land in India. In their quest to locate the container; several incidents unfold which are sequenced to keep-up the thrill. The only possible way to annul the deadly virus is to immerse it into tons of common salt; incidentally tsunami happens and devours the virus once and for all.

The movie is a standing testimony to brilliant acting, mind-blowing technology, awesome artwork and world-class production values. The scene from the 12th century boasts of high-quality art and cinematography, the scene depicting tsunami leaves you with awe.

Kamal is brilliant as an actor as always, he does an outstanding job in playing the 10 different roles on screen; and has done absolute justice to the all the characters he essays. Comic relief comes in the form of Balrama Naidu whose tamil is heavily accented; the scene where he questions Govind is hilarious. Poovaraagan stands up against the sand mafia, this character could have been used more. Kamal showcases some brilliant acting in the guise of Krishnaveni paati who is retarded. There is also this Japanese karate master character who does a stunt with Fletcher, probably the inclusion of this character was a knack to leverage the popularity that Tamil movies enjoy in Japan. The characters Bush and Kalifulla looked like over made-up dolls. Fletcher is too deadly and unleashes a killing spree which makes it a not-so-good movie to watch with kids.

Kamal's rationalist ideals are evident in the dialogues he has penned; the dialogues provide comic relief and also provoke one's thoughts. I could see a touch of 'Crazy' Mohan in the comic lines he has penned. A sample of it is the conversation between Naidu and Nagesh at the scene of an accident, Naidu enquires Nagesh "enna nadanthuchi?" Nagesh replies "laarikaar idichutaan!" a confused Naidu retorts back "thelivaa sollunga idichadhu laari-ya illa kaar-aa?"

Mallika's pole dance is a wasted number and I felt it was unnecessary and stereo-typical, she accompanies Fletcher to India as a translator-cum-killer and gets killed by Fletcher himself. Asin does a neat role as Krishnaveni's grand-daughter and Govind's love-interest, being an ardent Vishnu devotee she is seen running with a Perumal idol with Govind's company and eventually develops an "idhu" on him.

The movie wraps up with a sycophantic song which doesn't fit well and I think was unnecessary. Hard working people will be anyways get rewarded.

On the whole Dasavatharam is a racy entertainer and I would give it a 4 out of 5.
Some may like it; some may hate it, but sure this movie had many talking and will be etched in the history of tamil cinema.

Jodhaa Akbar *****

Set in the sixteenth century, Jodhaa Akbar is a love story about a marriage of alliance that gave birth to true love between a great Mughal emperor, Akbar, and a Rajput princess, Jodhaa. Little did Akbar [Hrithik Roshan] know that when he married Jodhaa [Aishwarya Rai Bachchan], he would be embarking upon a new journey — the journey of true love.
The daughter of King Bharmal of Amer [Kulbhushan Kharbanda], Jodhaa resented being reduced to a mere political pawn in this marriage of alliance, and Akbar’s biggest challenge now did not merely lie in winning battles, but in winning the love of this defiant princess.

I haven’t watched anything so rich, so magnificent like this in a long, long time on the Hindi screen. It’s not just beautiful, but there’s life as well.

Perhaps this is one of my all time favourites except the lenght of the movie. But once into Jodhaa Akbar, the sequence of events, the drama, the romance, the war… every aspect keeps you mesmerized. There are several instances which makes us awestruck !

• Hrithik taming an elephant


• The two pre-conditions set by Jodhaa, before her marriage to Akbar.


• when Ash is asked to taste the food herself by Ila before she’s about to serve the food to the Emperor and his associates. Once done, Hrithik demanding that he be served the meal from the same platter that Jodhaa had used.


• The sword fight between Hrithik and Ash.


• lovestruck Hrithik's expression with the best track in the background.

A.R. Rahman’s music gels beautifully with the mood of the film. Azeem-o-Shaan Shahenshah and Jashn-e-Bahara are the best tracks in terms of tune. Khwaja Mere Khwaja is outstanding. Rahman’s background score is simply extra-ordinary.

To sum up, Jodhaa Akbar leaves you spellbound. A MUST-watch movie ! Undoubtedly 5 stars !

Iron Man ***

Tony Stark is a billionaire industrialist and genius inventor who is kidnapped and forced to build a devastating weapon. Instead, using his intelligence and ingenuity, Tony builds a high-tech suit of armor and escapes captivity. When he uncovers a nefarious plot with global implications, he dons his powerful armor and vows to protect the world as Iron Man

The movie is amazingly directed and the movie starts with few fundo gadgets being tested in the field of artillery for the US defense department. Some of the scenes are excellent. The movie is well scripted and the plan to escape from the militants is simply superb !

The action is mostly exhilarating. The movie throbs with dramatic energy because the man inside the shiny red robot is a daring choice for an action hero. Downey Jr. has done an incredible role and I think no one else could have done justice to the role. The best thing about the movie is it has less but excellent characters. Gwyneth Paltrow stands around looking amused and flabbergastingly pretty !

On the whole, it is a neatly-scripted story with good choice of characters to play. I rate it 3 stars *** and this is a must-watch movie atleast for its not-the-super-hero flick !

Sarkar Raj ****

Sarkar aka Subhash Nagre (Amitabh Bachchan) takes a backseat as son Shankar Nagre (Abhishek Bachchan) takes hold of the family empire. An NRI industrialist Anita Ranjan (Aishwarya Rai) approaches the Nagre family with a power plant project to be set in the local lands of Maharashtra under Sarkar’s domain. After initial reluctance, Sarkar gives a go ahead to the venture which soon takes shape of a political conspiracy.

As usual Ambitabh has proved his potential. The delicate father-son relationship has been well portrayed and I really need to appreciate Ram Gopla Varma for the his excellent direction ! Although the movie has been a sequel ,to the earlier much better version, it has echoed further into a wonderful movie !

The part where Abishek's wife perishes in an explosion is the best touch. Everyone has done justice to their roles. From the political track the movie shifts to a revenge drama which is like any other movie but that was much needed else it would mean nothing for a father of such potentials. Aishwarya is simply marvelous by looks but has been her usual self.

Music was mediocre.

On the whole, the movie is as good as the ealier part. I atrribute **** to big B's acting and a good director's vision.

The Incredible Hulk **

The movie starts as Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) a fugitive on the run who is living in Brazil, hiding from who he is, and trying to find a cure. Banner is quickly spotted by General Ross (William Hurt) and is on the run again. With no cure in sight Banner returns home to find some answers !

ok..the story is good if we consider it from the comic strip perspective but I feel the previous version was better.It's like the subsequent sequels of Jurassic park that made us yawn ! It has a good start though, but there are several mistakes both logically and literally ! Hulk moves from one country to another with no hurdles his way ! oh I wish i was like him !

The basic element is love again ! Why can't movies be made without this subtle theory ?

One of the great performances of the movie is Tim Roth as Emil Blonsky. An old soldier who's obsession with Hulk's power only grows stronger as the movie goes on and moves to the extent of introducing another green giant ! And yeah, you guessed it right ! The plot ends when both monstrous creatures fight and our hero wins !

On the whole, a movie for kids with super hero fantasies ! I rate it ** for the graphical effects if not for the drama !

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I'm not responsible for any defamation because the country I hail from gives me the constitutional right of freedom to express my views !