Lage Raho Munna Bhai

This kind of movie happens once in a lifetime. Before Lage Raho Munna Bhai there was Munna Bhai MBBS, a comedy about a “goon” who pretends to be a doctor to impress his parents. It was an Indian “Patch Adams.” When I went to see Lage Raho Munna Bhai, I was expecting a second-rate takeoff of the first Munna Bhai instead it was a completely new story. Several of the actri play the same characters such as Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi who play Munna Bhai and Circuit, respectively, and other actri play new characters such as Boman Irani, who played the uptight hospital administrator in Munna Bhai MBBS, plays Lucky in Lage Raho Munna Bhai. I was touched by the fact the Director and Producer choose to bring back many of the secondary characters such as Jimmy Shergill.

In essence, Lage Raho Munna Bhai is about a hoodlum, Murli Prasad Sharma, known as Munna Bhai, who is in love with Jhanvi, a popular radio talk show host, played by Vidya Balan. He listens to her show every morning. When she holds a Mahatma Ghandi quiz for her listeners, Murli wants to win the contest in order to meet her. His sidekick, Circuit, decides to “kidnap” Ghandi experts to help him answer the questions. After winning the contest and meeting Jhanvi, he seeks to impress her by pretending to be a history professor. Then he has only five days to study about Ghandi before he gives a lecture to an elderly group of men abandoned by their children who reside in Jhanvi’s home.

A psychological phenomena moves the story forward and more complications among various stories become entwined. Lucky, a real estate developer, seeks to buy Jhanvi’s home as a wedding gift for, his daughter, Simran’s in-laws. To do this, he bribes a government official to prevent Jhanvi from renewing her lease, so he can grab the house. When Lucky realizes Munna’s love interest is Jhanvi, he treats Munna, Jhanvi and her residents to a vacation in Goa. Jhanvi’s residents provide their own twists to the story.

Munna is unable to express his love for Jhanvi because he has lied to her about himself. The trip is cut short when Jhanvi finds out her belongings are out on the street and her home now belongs to Lucky.

By this time, Munna and Jhanvi have created a radio show about Ghandi where Munna addresses callers’ problems with Ghandisms with a little help from Babu. Now, Munna has a bigger problem. How will he get Jhanvi’s home back?

The remainder of the story deals with Munna’s attempts to persuade Lucky to return Jhanvi’s home. He asks callers to send Lucky flowers in hopes he will “get well.” Jhanvi and her residents camp out on the sidewalk in front of Lucky’s home to protest the loss of their home. After Lucky lies about his daughter’s birth time to her future father-in-law because he is superstitious, Simran played by Diya Mirza learns of her father lies and deceptions. She runs away from the wedding and grabs a taxi ride driven by Victor D’Souza (Jimmy Shergill). Victor intervenes and calls Munna for advice. After the bride returns to the wedding and tells her in-laws the truth about her birth time, the father-in-law rejects her upon hearing the truth, Munna steps in to convince him that her courage and truth is more real than the astrologer’s predictions.

The ending, which resolved all the conflicts, did not conclude as abruptly as many Bollywood movies do; it was a pleasant surprise. This movie is delicious and mischievous.

What makes this movie exceptional besides the fact the story has a fresh approach is that it is a wonderful composition of comedy, drama, romance and inspiration. Both the Director, Rajkumar Hirani, and Producer, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, created a well-crafted movie.

The settings are a kick, like Munna’s hangout in the wash area where Munna and Circuit work out their schemes. Here they imagine Munna’s romance with Jhanvi in colorful, hysterical, funny and sweet visions of wedding ceremonies and dating scenes.

There are countless funny scenes. I still get a kick out of the opening parking lot vignette. Other funny and charming scenes include Munna studying in the library or the birthday party which is a stitch, a riot, over-the-top and the wedding songs in Goa are delightful. Others include where a neighbor spits tobacco juice on his neighbor’s apartment outside wall, or when a pensioner, who has been denied his pension for lack of money to pay a bribe, takes off his clothes to pay the bribe embarrassing the clerk

At times, Munna struggles to live by Ghandi’s philosophy, especially the idea of living truthfully, or turning the other cheek.

Arshad Warsi as Circuit, Munna’s thug sidekick, is great. He’s a natural. Warsi plays Circuit complete with gold necklaces, rings, and jewelry. He welds and twirls a knife and gun as extensions of his hands and is as easy with a threat as breathing.

Sanjay Dutt is a Bollywood bad boy but as Munna he comes across as a heavy with a heart of gold. While I have seen Sanjay Dutt in more extensive dance numbers, his simple yet delightful dance numbers added texture to the story.

The various multi-themed stories and choreography are woven expertly with the main storyline. The song-and-dance routines are what song-and-dance routines should be in a movie. They express desires, fantasies, hopes and joys seamlessly throughout the story. Because many take place “in-place” they fit the story. Even various cell phone ringtones seemed musically integrated into the story.

One actor I admire is Boman Irani. He is versatile. Irani can be charming, hilarious, subtle, menacing and more. He has an amazing ability to inhabit various characters. With just a new slant to his eyes, a small change in facial expression or posture, changes in hairstyles, and of course his various outfits, he is convincing as a scatter-brained school principal, a threatening police officer, a staid administrator, and now as a warm but manipulative real estate developer.

To me, this movie is what Bollywood is all about. The story is exuberant, warm, charming, textured, and comes from the heart.

Director (and Film Editor): Rajkumar Hirani
Producer: Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Vir Chopra, Anil Davda
Music: Shantanu Moitra
Cinematography: C.K. Muraleedharan
Choreography: Ganesh Acharya
Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi, Vidya Balan, Boman Irani, Dilip Pradhavalkar, Diya Mirza, Jimmy Shergill and more.
144 minutes, color, Hindi, September 2006

Still following Bollywood but a Change in Residence has slowed me down

I am here in Utah on a temporary job.

I am far away from my Hindi movie theater. I have not found a movie theater in Utah that plays Hindi movies, yet. But, I just found a wonderful Indian restaurant, The Indian Oven, in Logan.

The restaurant had lovely table settings in blue and red with substantial blue cloth napkins. They had a buffet as well as a full menu. I had Vegetable Coconut Kuma and Ginger and Garllic Naan bread. I suspect the Naan was a Chef's own receipe. My meal was wonderful, all the spices were delightful and surprisingly, they blended well and none overwhelmed another. I always get a sweet Lassi which seems to fill me up but I like the beverage. I took home half the meal and the dessert, Gulab Jamun, which is one of my favorites. But, I was in such a hurry, I forgot to tip the waiter. I will be bringing some friends there soon, so I will catch up with him, then. Anyway, Indian meals are meant to be shared among friends and family with good conversation.

I did get a tip from the owner about a movie theater in Salt Lake City, so hopefully, I will be able to watch Shah Rukh Khan's new movie, Chak De India, which is supposed to release August 10, 2007!!!

Dil Se -- A War Protest Movie

It has only been 58 years since India gained independence from Britain in 1947. There were many bloody struggles in India’s war for independence and millions died during Partition when Muslims and Hindus either traveled to the newly created nation of Pakistan or from Pakistan into India. Kashmir is still in dispute and India has been fighting terrorism since independence as recent subway bombings in Mumbai illustrate.

There are many movies that illustrate the horrors of war in attempts to suggest peaceful alternatives. While war is fought by nations, it is carried out by individuals. Mani Rantam wrote and directed Dil Se as a sensitive portrait of two people with different views of war based on personal experiences.


Dil Se is a story of Amarkanth Varma, an idealist radio journalist, who meets and falls in love with a lonely young woman, Meghna, on a railroad platform. At first, their stories diverge as she catches the next train while Amar has gone to get her some hot tea.


I was enthralled with the movie from the opening credits. The director added small details that not only added texture to the story but later you realize he is also giving the viewer and the characters information that foreshadow the depth and complexities of the emotional conflicts to come. Little touches like in the opening scenes where Amar is dressed in a black shirt and red sports jacket and Meghna is dressed in a red dress but covered with a black shawl, almost as if to say Amar wears his heart on his sleeve and Meghna keeps her heart hidden from view. Another example is when Amar goes to fetch Meghna some tea, he jokes and tells her not to move because he has a bomb in his suitcase and it could explode. Later, this joke seems prophetic.

As part of his job as a radio producer, Amar (Shah Rukh Khan) gathers various man-on-the-street perspectives for a program about the upcoming 50th anniversary celebrations of Indian Independence. He hears from some that they have suffered more since independence and from others that India has prospered since independence. To expand his research, Amar seeks out the leader of a revolutionary movement. The leader’s main complaint is that the smaller outlying states of India were forgotten after the war for independence and many villages have suffered and continue to suffer in a multitude of ways. For Amar, whose father and grandfather served in the Indian army, he struggles to understand the dissents’ evaluation of their current treatment at the hands of the Indian government.

When Amar returns, he runs into Meghna (Manisha Koirala) but she claims she never met him before and they part. As you can imagine, Amar is confused. He is certain she is the girl he met on the train platform. Another day, he spies her making a phone call and he follows her. Again, she rejects him but this time he hitches a ride on the back of the bus she is on and he lands in her village. Here, Amar declares his love for her; again she rejects him claiming to be married. When Amar seeks to apologize to her, she sends several men to convince Amar that his pursuit is futile but in the ensuing fight, Amar learns she is not married and his hope is renewed.

While covering festivities in Lucknow, Amar glimpses Meghna in the crowd. He searches for her and finds her on a bus. As the police go down the aisle asking about identification and travel purposes, Meghna says she is Amar’s wife. Amar is more amused than suspicious by her change in attitude.

The bus travels north to the mountains. After it breaks down, the passengers gather their belongings and walk toward their destinations. Amar follows Meghna. Amar has been open and ardent about his feelings about her. She has continually rebuffed him but she appears to warm up a bit but not without visible internal emotional struggles that leave Amar and the viewer puzzled.

Late into the night, Meghna leaves while Amar is sleeping. She leaves a mysterious message in the sand. Amar returns to the city feeling he has lost her. He agrees to marry Preeti, a woman of his family’s choosing. Preeti (Preity Zinta) is a bouncing, cheerful girl. They find that they both have loved and lost, but it does not take her long to realize that Amar’s thoughts are elsewhere.

Amidst their wedding preparations, Meghna appears at Amar’s house with a girlfriend asking for temporary shelter and a job at All India Radio where Amar works. He agrees. Watching the emotional struggles play across their faces as Amar and Meghna participate in the wedding festivities pictures two confused, unhappy, young people. Both Shah Rukh Khan and Manisha capture the pain, confusion, and regret of their lost love just as Preity expresses the joys and hopes for her future.

Soon the festivities are disrupted when Amar discovers Meghna’s true purpose for coming to the city and working at All India Radio. Because he is still loves her, he thinks he can stop her. It is chaos from here on. Amar tries to piece together information of Meghna’s whereabouts before the police find her. He locates her near the parade route. When he confronts her about her treachery, he learns about her tragedies. He offers to give up everything for her and begs her to run away with him. She wants to go with him. She wants those dreams of love and family, but she also wants justice for her people. She refuses. He attempts to physically stop her but police intervene. Later, the police release him but thugs lay in wait and beat Amar up. When he returns home, Preeti confronts him as she bandages his wounds. She asks, “Should Meghna’s name be on these wedding invitations rather than mine?” He evades her questions. He is intent on stopping Meghna. The police raid the home and he dragged off to be questioned and drugged to elicit information but he escapes.

The action in these scenes is fast-paced and the emotions of all involved are heightened and intense. Amar still wants to save Meghna and she is tempted but his love can not offer her the solace she seeks. Amar makes the ultimate offer. He loves her and has accepted her pain.

For me, this is a well-crafted movie. Shah Rukh Khan’s and Manish Koirala’s performances are among the best I have seen. The choreography is incredible and inspiring.

I may have read somewhere that Amar’s love represents India’s pain over the loss of the territory of Pakistan, the horrible death and cruelty inflicted on so many Indians, and its longing to make amends. Meghna’s pain, desire for justice and love represents the desire of Pakistan to heal its rift with India because while war was initiated by governments, it was individuals who were affected.



1998, Color, Hindi, 163 minutes
Director: Mani Ratnam
Story/Screenplay: Mani Ratnam
Producer: Shekhar Kapoor, Ram Gopal Varma, Mani Ratnam
Cinematography: Santosh Sivan
Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Manisha Koirala, Preity Zinta and more.
Music: A.R. Rahman
Lyrics: Gulzar
Singers: Lata Mangeshkar, M.G. Sreekumar, Kavitha Krishnamoorthy, Sonu Nigam, Mahalakshmi, Udit Narayan, A.R. Rahman, Anupama, Anuradha, Sapna Awasthi, Sukwinder Singh

Don and The Departed: A Comparison

Before I begin this comparison, an explanation is needed.

It has happened. It probably happened a few Bollywood movies ago. The way I view Bollywood movies has changed. The initial intrigue and pleasure at finding a new form of filmmaking is wearing off. I have begun to expect more. The same process happened with Hollywood movies many years ago. When I read Bollywood critics lamenting about predictable plots, poor acting, contrived stories, and excessive violence and sexuality, they echo my sentiments about Hollywood movies.

Both Hollywood and Bollywood followed parallel paths in movie making after the Lumiere brothers toured Bombay, London and New York making presentations of moving pictures without sound around 1896 (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auguste_and_Louis_Lumière). Early moving pictures were in black and white or sepia. Color came later. Technical developments continue to improve the quality of filmmaking. India’s first feature film was Raja Harishchanra, released May 3, 1913 in Mumbai. Then came talkies. Alam Ara was released March 14, 1931. (Source: The Bollywood Saga, 2002).

Since I am not paid to write movies reviews, when I buy a movie ticket, I have a vested interest in the movie. The level of my satisfaction seems linked to my expectations whether the movie will be good or bad. Also, if I am not drawn into the story usually by caring about the outcome through finding sympathy with one or more characters, I am unable to suspend disbelief to accept various ploys in the storyline.

I balk at writing a review for a movie I did not like personally for whatever reason. After seeing Don, a Bollywood gangster movie featuring several top Bollywood stars, I thought a comparison between Don and The Departed, a Hollywood gangster movie featuring several top Hollywood stars, would be interesting.

These movies share many similarities. Both are “gangster” movies. In Hollywood, The Godfather is considered the gold standard for gangster movies. In Bollywood, several movies such as Company, Sarkar, or Satya could compete for that label. In these two movies, each has a plot that revolves around an undercover agent embedded in a major criminal network. Each has a multi-star cast, a well-known director, and excellent technical crews. Both were set in well-known locales, Malaysia and Boston. Neither had a significant female character. Both had large budgets. Both display a preponderance of violence, intimidation, and amoral behavior glorified as entertainment.

Don – the Chase

This review should have been written from the viewpoint of a young male for the audience was full of young males who whooped when Priyanka Chopra was on the screen. There are many ways to enjoy a movie. Maybe it is the actors, or the music, or the choreography, or the story, or the cinematography. Usually, it is some combination of these elements. But, I found no magical combination in Don.


The murder of a drug gang associate initiates a series of deceptions where rival gangs fight to gain control over the Malaysian drug trade while law enforcement officers seek to capture the leader of one rival gang, “Don,” in order to uncover the top drug trafficker. (Image source: http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/Aeon/News/2006/10/22/images/200610211516497.jpg).

Civilians intervene in the story. The sister of the murdered associate, Kamini, played by Kareena Kapoor, and the associate’s fiancée, Roma, played by Priyanka Chopra, seek revenge. One attempts to seduce “Don,” the other infiltrates the gang to assist in “Don’s” capture.

Sadly, criminals and law enforcement officers take turns being stupid in order to move the story forward. Characters from both camps have access to a wealth of expensive surveillance equipment yet get caught, escape, or ‘lose” evidence easily.

The crux of the story is whether a “Don” look-alike planted into the Don’s organization can uncover the top drug trafficker before the look-a-like is discovered.

Shah Rukh Khan (SRK), who plays dual roles as the “Don” and Vijay, the “Don” look-a-like, gave an uneven performance. Each scene is more of a vignette than a string of scenes that tell a story, so the moods of SRK’s characters are inconsistent from vignette to vignette. Rather than building to episodic mini-climaxes, the scenes fall flat. So, fear of capture or exposure is never fully developed. DCP DeSilva’s character (Boman Irani) is the thread that holds the story together and whose mood sets the tone from vignette to vignette.

The clothing, settings, and dances were stale and there was no chemistry in the various interactions among the maze of characters.

While the males loved Priyanka Chopra, who is a pretty woman and a lovely person, she has a limited range of expressions. I detected two expressions in her repertoire, a little pout when she is sad/angry/stoic and a little smile when she is happy/sexy/joyful. She is stiff in every scene. Remember, this is a movie not a beauty pageant; these are two different visual formats. But, it dawned on me, in simple terms, maybe males enjoy seeing car chases, explosions, fights, undulating half-dressed women over and over again, regardless of whether the acting is good or the story is well told, and females enjoy watching romantic scenes, harmonious familial interaction, stories where good triumphs over evil over and over again, regardless of whether the acting is good or the story is well told.

The most important element in telling a story is to get the moviegoer to care about the characters, then they care about the outcome. But, possibly, from a male’s perspective, what is important is the absence of feelings other than a greed for power and money. While the ending was a bit of surprise, it had no emotional impact.

Director: Farhan Akhtar, Producer: Ritesh Sidhwani. Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Arjun Rampal, Kareena Kapoor, Isha Koppikar, Boman Irani and more.
Color, Hindi, 168 minutes, available on DVD at www.erosentertainment.com


The Departed

An early scene tells the viewer what the movie is about – Irish Catholic criminal gangs war with Irish Catholic police with lots of graphic murders and violence in Boston.

The multi-star cast features Matt Damon as Colin Sullivan, a former choir boy, who becomes a police officer. Because Colin feels indebted to local gangster, Frank Costello, he also serves as a plant for Costello. Damon’s acting does not vary from his previous Bourne roles. He never convinced me of his mixed loyalties.

Nicholson plays Costello as a sleazy, aging, drooling, hysterical warlock. Portraying the aging gangster in such a sick manner should be a disincentive to future gangster-wannabes.

Leonardo DeCaprio plays William Costigan, a Southie from a hopeless family, who also becomes a police officer but is intimidated by higher ups to become a plant inside the Costello organization. DeCaprio works hard to lose his pretty boy looks and is quite the grim, intense, brooding young man. (Image source: http://www.themovieblog.com/archives/Departed-Poster.jpg)

The story follows William from bars to brawls to back streets to secret warehouse meetings. The story also follows Colin from office to home and back with an unrelenting sameness. The moviegoer knows from the start that William and Colin are plants unknown to each other.

Other co-workers played by Alec Baldwin, David O’Hara, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, and a host of others scream at each other all the time exhibiting a host of prejudices and immature behavior. It is a wonder they manage to accomplish anything significant given the lack of cooperation and suspicion.

How many curse words does it take to convince the moviegoer that these are mean bad-ass dudes or should I say duds since the story was laced with concern over penal function?

A mental health professional played by Vera Farmiga serves as a focal point in the lives of Colin and William. The role was meant to add tension but her role is insignificant. When Colin quotes Freud to her saying “The Irish are impervious to psychoanalysis,” he tells her, “and you have a client list full of mic cops,” that sums up the futility of her position in the movie. (Image source: http://www.scorsesefilms.com/photos/images/matt-damon-departed-uniform04.jpg)

The dialogue is a string of crude jokes mixed with cursing and screaming where everyone thinks everyone else is the plant. It is almost funny. The actors looked like they enjoyed making the movie. They spent the whole movie cussing, fighting, and killing each other. They must have had great fun with the multitude of bursting blood capsules every time someone was shot. (Image source: http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp- dyn/content/photo/2006/10/05/PH2006100501860.jpg)

No character evolved. Again, the cops and the criminals have to be stupid in order to move the story forward and the use of cell phones is central to the story. The ending was contrived.

So was the point of these movies that violence exists and there is nothing anyone can do about it? Sadly, the form, style, length, and storyline of these two movies are so similar that the only difference is that one is in English and one is in Hindi.

In the end, maybe some of the criticisms I have for these “rooster-flicks” are shared by men who can not find anything to like about “chick-flicks.”

Director: Martin Scorsese, Producer: Brad Grey and Michael Aguilar. Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Vera Farmiga and more.
Color, English, 151 minutes, available in DVD at www.amazon.com

What Happened to Farah Khan's Happy New Year?

Did I miss something? First, there's the big build up about casting and shooting, then nothing.