Gangster: Movie Review

It is easy to review a movie, which I liked or hated. (It’ll be tough if I liked it too much). The real tough thing is when I don’t feel either way! Don’t get me wrong. Gangster is a nice movie. I’ll recommend it only for the sake of Shiney Ahuja and some great music. Of course you must have heard a lot about Gangster from the fabulous reviews it is getting.

Aakash (Emraan) loves the georgeous booze-addict Simraan (Kangana). Behind her emotional wreckage is the story of a gangster Daya (Shiney). The Don whom the whole Indian Police is hunting. He meets the bar-dancer Simraan and falls hopelessly in love. The tough criminal starts to love life, an unwanted complication for a gangster. As is the fate, he is always fleeing from the encounter specialists of India. While he is ‘taking care of’ someone in Dubai Simraan is kept safe in Korea where she meets Aakash. The caring Aakash slowly gets into her lonely heart. Thus begins the deception……

It has the Bhatt formula alright – crime, love, deception…….Lust is suspiciously absent, unless you count the song Tu Hi Meri Shab Hai…… Though it’s a love making situation, it is soft and romantic….Open space…..picture perfect landscapes…..maple leaves falling all around the couple….You get the drift.

One reason that Gangster didn’t move me much is the dialogues. Most of them are from Emraan. Then some from Ahuja. Dialogues like I’ll die without you doesn’t hold much appeal to me, though there may not be any better words to describe the feelings. But, for Ahuja’s character, words betray the deep emotions. He could have stayed sans any dialogues and have, may be, a stronger impact on us.

Anurag Basu’s direction is fine. Story and screenplay from the Bhatt-duo is all right. Gangster has a rather soft look than the slick and polished effect I expect from underworld-movies. But this is a love story after all.

Emraan Hashmi’s acting is strictly average. Wearing spectacles doesn’t make him look any less stupid (should have asked me!). Kangana Ranaut is gorgeous, graceful and non-plasticy (what a fresh change!). She has got promising acting skills and played the part of Simraan with élan. But I feel that her character was badly etched. We are supposed feel sorry for her, right?

Now, this space is inadequate to praise Shiney Ahuja. He doesn’t have any dialogues. But he says it all with his eyes and body. I’ve always thought that good actors are those who can cry without being awkward. But, when Ahuja cries it’s awkward and out of character. Yet by that exact awkwardness it is soul-wrenching. One man – Mr. Ahuja. One word – Fantabulous!

The other delicious part of this movie – songs.

Yaa Aaliii…Raham aali……You haven’t heard this song yet? Where the hell are you living yaar? When I first heard this song, I thought it had that Emraan Hashmi style. (Don’t know how to describe it). But once I’ve been through it in the theatre, there is no stopping Shiney Ahuja's intense look coming to my mind whenever I hear it. This man has got some real charisma!


Then there is the ultimate song of my choice, which starts Bheegi Bheegi………

Is it the words or the tune! Or is it the emotionally charged singing from the Bangladeshi singer James! Or is it just the Ahuja effect!

'Na jaane koi…… kaisi hai ye zindagaani……
Hamari adhoori kahani……’

If you have ever loved, at some point of time you have felt like this. A love that was never meant to be….

Categories: Gangster, Bollywood, Movie, Review, Kangana, Shiney Ahuja, Movie Review

Mistress of Spices: Movie Review

I went to watch Mistress of spices because, will you believe this, Bangalore has become too hot and we needed to be somewhere cool. What better place than PVR ! Aishwarya Rai is an actress (really?!!) I love to hate. (Okay….I loved her in the ad for Nakshatra jewellery). So there were no expectations…but, I still hoped that it would be tolerable.

Here goes the story…..Tilo, as a child, had some magical abilities due to which she was abducted by some bandits. But she somehow escapes and is found in a beach by an old lady and her disciples who take care of her. The old lady teaches her disciples the magical powers of spices and how to use them to help people. After they have learned everything they are sent to far away lands where they will run spice shops and help the local people.

Tilo ends up running Spice Bazaar in San Francisco. She runs the shop and lives by the rules that her teacher had told her to abide by. She should not step out her shop. She should not use spices for her own personal use. She should not touch the skin of anyone else.

Thus goes her life….through which passes a few people with their problems. All this while she is adamant on teaching us the qualities of spices. For example, did you know that blue peppers taken with black jeera would cure you of the obsession of making miserable movies?

Then the ultimate problem comes in the form of an attractive architect Doug. Tilo falls in love and breaks all the divine rules one by one.

Oh! Okay! Even I don’t want to recount this miserably tedious movie.

Plus points: Santhosh Sivan’s cinematography and an instrumental rendition of one of my fav songs aap ke nazron ne samjha pyaar ke kaabil…..


Negatives: Aishwarya Rai and, if you need something more, Dylan McDermott. His acting was as wooden as Aishwarya’s. And ooh yeah…what a chemistry! When they appear together the temperature dropped below zero. You wouldn’t believe that this man is the same one as in The Tenants (I didn’t). May be Aishwarya has that effect on her co-actors.

Don’t even ask me about the director (Paul Berges)….And whoever wrote those dialogues….strangling would be too good for them.



Final warning to the person who decided to make this movie:


Kutte....Kameene.....Mein there khooon pee jaungaaaaa!






Categories: Mistress of Spices, Movie, Review, Aishwarya Rai