Reviews

This is not Mistress of Spices, or Bride and Prejudice, or The Namesake, or Life of Pi. A lot of it makes no sense to me. Ethnic eateries do not seek out small towns in rural areas. They gravitate to where the most worldly people live. So, the base premise is faulty. And the vignettes are forced as a result. The sloppy mixing of languages caused me to be uncomfortable. In English speaking countries, Indians have no trouble since they always learn English in school. Putting it in France forces rural French to speak English, and that simply sounds a false note. If it were set in Norway where school children do take English, it would have been more interesting and more logical. And I also question that Helen Mirren's role was given to an English actress. As if there are NO French ones capable of filling the role.

Honestly, the thing that vexed me most was the brevity of Juhi Chawla's role. That could have been given to any minor actress from England or India. Juhi deserved a full role like Om Puri. I went to the movie in large part from seeing Juhi in the cast. Feel like the ticket price was taken under false pretenses. This won't, of course, matter to those with little knowledge of Hindi movies, people who just want cute scenes of Indians getting by in alien places. But for me, it is a major deal.

The biggest plus in this movie is the way Nana Patekar carries the movie on his shoulders. He is, without question, an elite artist in Indian-language movies. He comes as close as anyone can to perfection on every outing. I think the world is shockingly ignorant of this gem of India. The people it acknowledges are, almost totally, far beneath his stature.

There was an imbalance in the movie. Varma seemed to revel in scenes of vulnerable people being shot. I hope this isn't some sick obsession of his. I really did like Satya and Company. There was brutal violence in them, but way short of the first part of this movie. Focusing on the fearful eyes of small children takes it a bit too far for me.

On the other hand, the whole NSG part of the story was brushed aside with a single line. I wanted to see how the movie would handle that. Varma decided it wasn't worth the time or expense.

The part of the movie focusing on Kasab during his imprisonment was worth dealing with. We have no idea if any of the action happened in real life, but it did send a worthwhile message. It made me want to find out what the final disposition of the terrorist bodies was. I can't see a "respectful burial" for people who had no religion but spilling blood of innocents.

Another epilogue is the fate of the handlers back in Pakistan. If ISI could sneak people this easily into Mumbai, could RAW repay the gesture? Look what Navy Seals did with Osama Bin Laden.

But back to the very best quality. Nana. He deserves the highest artistic honor India can give him. I've seen other actors who've gotten it, and very few deserve it more.

I've had a positive opinion of Ang Lee in the past. But having seen this movie, I think his stature and the state of the financial world is ruining him. The best movie of his I've seen was Eat, Drink, Man,Woman. I found that truly original and accessible. This movie seems more influenced by things like Thor and The Avengers. Wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too much use of special effects. Plus, the storyline is way too much like The Namesake. Both movies have Irrfan Khan telling a story, including an explanation of the name. Gogol or Pi. Tabu was the main female character in both. Both protagonists end up in North America. Mira Nair told the story of The Namesake in the same way that Ang Lee told the story of Eat, Drink, Man, Woman, very personally and with some subtlety. I really prefer Mira Nair to tell Indian stories. I even prefer Danny Boyle. Ang Lee is, at best, third. He approaches it with the awkwardness of a foreigner.

Slumdog Millionaire and The Namesake didn't burst like sensations on the movie scene. But once word of mouth got around, they ran for months and months. I am skeptical that Life of Pi has that kind of legs.

Preceding reviews have probably hashed over details, so I won't retrace those steps. I only say these were stretching roles for Farhan and Deepika, good roles, roles they did well.

I can't claim to have seen too many movies about mental illness in my years. Equus, I Didn't Promise You A Rose Garden, Looking for Mr Goodbar, Woh Lamhe are a few. Honestly, I don't think any were done better than this movie. They played it like a thriller, but the mystery turned out to be mundane. People finding success lethal is a familiar story. A couple of tricks in the plot were a little wobbly, I won't specify what they are. But the final explanation wasn't terribly improbable. Fact is that many wrongs have been done unknown to the person who did them.

I forgot that Shefali Shaw was in the cast, so when they first show her, my reaction was "Juhi!" She absolutely looked like Juhi in 13 Dewarein. But for many movies now, I've really appreciated Shefali, so it wasn't too disappointing that it wasn't Juhi.

So anyway, I rank it 8 of 10. It was ambitious and the principals showed themselves well. So wonderful to see Deepika in such unlikely roles.

It is interesting that in 2002, Nandita made two movies where her character joins a rebel group. The other is Mani Ratnam's Kannathil Muthamittal where she joins the Tamil rebellion (mostly to find her husband who has disappeared). I wondered how this coincidence could have happened. Anyway, I almost totally agree with the preceding review. But until I live somewhere, I'm not going to be so bold as to infer that the movie is overstating the behavior of police or army. After all, India passed a law that exempts police and army from normal restraints when fighting in a zone of active rebellion. I think it would be absurd to guess that they behaved perfectly. Look at every other war. Looked at Wounded Knee in America. This is what soldiers do when fighting against rebels. Never seems to occur to them that justice is the best medicine against rebellions. So I wholeheartedly endorse this movie.

I've eagerly awaited this movie. The prerelease publicity has been pretty good. The video I saw of John and Junior polkaing around the room wasn't that effective, but the video of Priyanka in the golden bathing suit said "must see" to me. And then I learned that Shilpa Shetty was doing an item number and, for me, the deal was sealed. Frankly, the chance to see J&J pretending to be gay didn't pique my curiosity at all.

When I was in the theater, the crowd was not large, but they were laughing practically nonstop. It isn't every Hindi comedy that can achieve that. My sense was that they were startled at the things J&J were willing to do to get a laugh. The screenplay really pushed the two to extremes. And some of the jokes were kind of out there.

In fact, I'd say everyone in the cast overacted, except Bobby Deol. In my opinion, Bobby is such a stiff customer that before he can overact, he first has to act, and I'm still waiting to see that.

Strangely, the cast member who appealed to me most was Boman Irani. When he appeared as the editor-in-chief of Verve, it actually was a surprise to me. I would rate this movie lower without Boman. This guy is near the top of my supporting-performer list. He's been the only good thing in several movies I've seen in the past.

I think the director created anti-climaxes. E.g, you parade around Junior and John in practically nothing, then somewhere in the middle, Bobby Deol shows up. As male cast members go, that is what I would consider a huge anticlimax. He's older, he has less acting talent, etc, etc. He would have been more effective introduced first. As a second example, you put Shilpa in a dance number in the opening credits. Then you introduce the heroine. How can anyone truly appreciate her physique or dancing when they've already seen Shilpa. I'd love to have that shot of Shilpa reclining on the motorcycle as my wallpaper. I hope it shows up somewhere. Truth is that the last number of the movie should have been in the opening credits and Shilpa should have been in the closing credits as an added goody.

The movie is entertaining, I don't want to take that away. Even though Khirron Kher was "meri filmy maa" for a second straight movie, she did add something just as Boman did. But I just don't think the way the movie got assembled was optimal. That's why I can only rate it 7 of 10. To me it is the least appealing Dharma creation I have seen. Kind of a shame, considering the Yashraj decline, to see Dharma also putting out less-appealing movies.

From the way this movie began, I had no idea where it was heading. There was a certain silliness in the opening, but its really a bait and switch situation. In fact, for some time, you are really baffled by what is going on. Ajay is telling a story, and from the way the story is visualized, you have a lot of reason to assume he is telling his own story, even though he doesn't present it that way. Until you get through most of the way into the story, you have no choice but to follow the story as if it is a parable or something.

Then comes the big crunch, the rainy scene where the whole mood completely changes. But still the story-teller keeps his hole card out of sight.

When the true nature of what is going on becomes evident, you realize the story is one of the most frightening anyone can imagine, and only then do you really appreciate the quality of the acting.

So, I think I've seen Ajay Devgan's best movies. And I'm pretty sure I've seen Kajol at her best. And I've liked every movie since their marriage, whether comical or serious, where they played the lead roles. But I'm pretty convinced this is, at least, Ajay's best. And somewhere near Kajol's best. I hope one or both gets at least a nomination in next year's award round.

Well, I did the long trip to see this because the publicity made Deepika look so good. It was no exaggeration, she looked stunning. In time I'll get used to that. I also wanted to see Ranbir have another chance with better stuff to work with. This movie WAS better put together than Sawaariya and Ranbir is capable of impressing me when he is given a decent chance. I had forgotten I had ANOTHER personal draw in this movie, and that is Kunal Kapoor. The first girl that Raj (Ranbir) meets is Mahi, a Punjabi girl whose marriage has been fixed by her family. Kunal is the groom they chose. Later in the movie, Raj gets to meet Mahi's husband, and that is Kunal's part. Of the two, I'm convinced that Kunal is the better actor. He is usually chosen for a certain kind of part, the kind he got in Meenaxi. Here he is a husband who has passionately loved his wife from long before they married but finds her coldly dutiful, something that is Raj's doing. The talks the two guys have were a high point for me.

Contrary to what I'd been led to believe, this movie has good music and dance. I think my favorite was Raj at the wedding where he sings and dances Punjabi-style. But the two songs when he is with Mahi and later with Gayatri were almost as enjoyable.

The Times of India rated this 4 of 5, and I have to say I agree with that rating. The dialogue is above par, there were only a few minor flaws in the screenplay, things that I think might have been improved (especially in the second half where Raj becomes Rhadika's personal assistant). And doggone it, Kunal was 11 out of 10 for me and Deepika 12 out of 10. This rates as one of the best three 2008 releases I've seen.

I give all credit to Scarlett and Natalie. What a great combination they made, two of the best of their generation. It doesn't seem like a very common thing to let two actresses of their age carry a film, so I also offer a solute to the director for the cast. I also happen to like Kristin Scott-Thomas, though I'm not so impressed with the roles she gets to do. I think she was marvelous as the mother. I'm not so certain about Eric Bana as Henry VIII. Henry was an imposing figure in his era, and I'm not sure Bana has the charisma to pull it off (I liked him better as Hector, though even there I didn't get the heroic stature that I thought a semi-mythical figure ought to have). I wonder how Stellan Skarsgard might have been as Henry. Ah well.

Truth is that now that I've seen this movie, I think I do want to see Anne of a Thousand Days. My reading of Anne's history is that she wasn't sent to France for misbehavior, she went there because she wanted to and stayed longer. So maybe I'll have to go back and look at the story again. If history had gone the way this movie did, I'd have been tempted to think the royal French court deliberately taught Anne so that she'd sow dissension at home since the English and French courts had a long history of jousting for preeminence in the European power scene. If Anne had to "take it in the neck" from such power politics, I'm sure France wouldn't mind that at all, would think it served her father right for his own use of girls to "advance" his family.

Anyway, I got it for Scarlett, who has the same effect on me she had on Henry. And she showed me once again how amazing she is, even fully clothed!

Finally, after many months, I climbed on a bus and went to see a movie in its first release weekend. A number of things drew me to see it: Jab We Met was a good movie, so I wanted to see if Shahid was continuing his momentum. Wanted to see how Shahid and Vidya worked together. And was drawn by stories I read about Juhi's role.

Well, Juhi was just great. Boman Irani had a cameo role and was appealing. Om Puri did his role flawlessly. Shahid and Vidya do make a dandy couple, maybe not QUITE Shahid and Amrita, but very good.

My problems were really with the screenplay. It was very uneven to me. In a few moments I thought it very good. But in a lot of moments I thought it was not well written. They were trying for zany comedy and didn't quite make it.

So its hard to give it a rating. I felt the cast tried very hard to make an inferior screenplay great. But I just didn't come away feeling the way I did after other recent movies like Jab We Met. So 6/10.

I saw at the beginning that it was a Mukta Arts movie. Given the history of the banner, that could lead me to expect a lot. Look at the sweet part Anil Kapoor got in Taal. And here's Anil again, with Shefali Shah this time. I always look forward to seeing her.

Short answer is that this movie isn't that good. The music is no more than average. The script is very awkward a good deal of the time. The plot asks a lot from your credulity. Just one blatant example is when they want to get the protagonist close to the Urdu professor, they fake a terrorist attack and then have him rescue the professor's cute young daughter. For that plan to work, the kid has to wander away from her parents. Since the kid isn't IN on the plan, they seem awfully lucky that she somehow gets separated on cue.

Anurag Sinha, who plays the terrorist, is certainly a kid with some potential, but how great it is doesn't show in this movie. Compare him with J. D. Chakravarthy in Satya and it becomes obvious what I mean. Satya had the same kind of protagonist, but the director did ten times as much with the same sort of personality.

Also, to me this is a different angle on the Dil Se story, but having Dil Se makes this movie look like a comedown.

It might be worth one look, but no more.

I have to admit that I had geared my expectations low because of the three main roles being cast with ex-models. But I just had to see Sheetal Menon do her debut role.

Bottom line is that I came away with a higher opinion of the movie than I thought I would have. I think Sheetal, though not the same type of personality as Kangana Ranaut, still has her own natural style. I never felt she was struggling to find her expression. The critical juncture is when she recognizes Inder. If she was going to break the spell, it would have been there. But it didn't happen.

I liked the locations. Like Jab We Met, Bhram was partly shot in Kangana's native state, Himachal Pradesh. And the results were equally good.

I liked the screenplay which really created a fog of mystery for the characters to feel their way through.

I liked the musical score. Both songs and background fit the mood of the movie.

I really also liked the actress who played Dev's wife. I don't know her experience level, but there was a moment when I just suddenly had the thought "I like this actress".

Milind was better than Dino. His part was well-written, and he can handle a well-written part. Dino is harder for me to swallow. He often seems miscast to me. But he was good enough to blend into the team and not drag it down.

So, after Gangster, I couldn't wait for Kangana's next. And I'm equally curious about Sheetal.

I'm making no pretense about this movie. The fact that Akshay keeps racking up the hits shows me there are an awful lot of people who are eager to spend their money for pure escape. So this movie is an honest transaction with no claims to art. For the millions who want what it offers, they can go without fear they will regret it. To me, the thing I liked best was the female cast. It is rare for a movie to bring together such an eyeful. I was sold by the trailers that showed Malaika, Katrina, and Mallika. And the movie delivered.

One comparison I'll make is with Kyon Ki and Garam Masala. When I watched those movie there were many moments when I was stopped by "what in the world were they thinking?" By contrast, I didn't really have those moments in Welcome. Also, Anil, Nana, and Feroze really added to the comedy. All three of them are solid performers. In fact, I'd say Malaika, Katrina, Mallika, Anil, Nana, and Feroze were the best things I found in the movie. No wonder it rang up such high sales.

I'm amazed that this is a new movie and yet there are so many comments already. It is quite clear that this is going to be a most-remembered movie for this year. For me, it was pretty much everything I hoped it would be. I have a minor complaint about how the action director (I assume there was one) handled the sword fight between Jodhaa and Akbar. Personally, I think that was invented history, but its the kind of invented history that gives me value for my money. But I saw Ash in The Last Legion, and the fighting in that movie was fast and crisp, much better than here.

Other than that, I have only praise for the movie. As others have said, Ash and Hrithik were sublime, the costumes, locations and sets were magnificent. The plotting and counterplotting were Byzantine. The battle scenes were just what I want, especially the charge of the war elephants. More movies should have massed war elephants (I recently saw Alexander with a great elephantine battle scene where Alexander is wounded by an arrow shot from an elephant).

I applaud Director Gowariker and all his technical assistants. I'm sure this movie will get many nominations and perhaps a few Bests next year.

Whoever said this was the same as Identity must have slept through Identity. All the characters in Identity are a figment in the crazed mind of the one real character. Khamosh Kauff Ki Raat is NOT like that. If anything, its less far out. I don't know that this is the best movie that any of these actors made, but I think that can be established without dragging out that tired weary criticism of metooism. I think the main thing to do is compare it to Identity. I'd say both movies are equally good or equally bad (or even equally mediocre). But Bollywood fans should just drop the copycat critique. It is not film criticism at all. If you think a movie is bad, you should at least do your homework and state in detail what made it that way. Don't take the lazy way out by calling it a copycat movie.

I don't want to beat a dead horse, so I'll just say I can't imagine why Oliver Stone made this movie. In the past, I've fancied I had some clue about his motives, but this one escapes me. Is it yet another journey into the psyche of the power-drunk? Whatever, it didn't work. If he wanted a political expose, he should have skipped the battles. But I'd have preferred that he skipped the philosophical discussions. After all, no one knows that there's any facts at all in that part. But if he'd shown how Greeks could defeat military forces many times their size, that would have been interesting. A lot of the realms Alexander conquered were degenerate and ready to topple. Stone could have shown that. But I think he was, not for the first time, self-indulgent. This is the movie he wanted to make and the world be damned. All I can say is "not much fun to watch". I'm seeing this movie after a series of excursions in ancient military history like 300 and Troy. All the proceeding were way more entertaining than this movie.

I'm starting this in a sarcastic mood. Why? Because there are so many dismissive reviews here; and yet if you look at the QUANTITY of reviews, you can see Karan hit a raw nerve. Another case where the real message is the one people fail to communicate. I have a hunch if Karan had the time to look at this part of IMDb, he'd be quite pleased no matter what people conclude about his movie. Ingmar Bergman said any reaction from an audience is better than no reaction. He wanted people walking out FEELING something. I have to believe that Karan, since his profession is the same, probably has the same priorities. Be supportive or be caustic, but BE!! Anyway, I'll admit to being more positive than a lot of people. I'm really surprised at the number of people who can't figure anything out about the characters. I thought I got a good angle on all of them.

Dev is angry because just when his career seemed to be taking a positive turn, back luck gave him an injury that forced him to reinvent his life. And at that precise moment, he also found he had no support system. Why? Because his wife considers her career progress more important than her marriage. If she'd been willing to consider them EQUALLY important, it might have meant something to Dev, but they weren't. That's why I consider her slap later on hypocritical. She was so disconnected to the realities at home she couldn't even hear the train coming down the tracks till it smacked into her.

Maya: Here's someone whose luck ran out before her life even started. She was given a charity home, and she played at being a good little girl. But when she woke up one day to find herself espoused to her foster brother, symbolic incest, suddenly she realized that life was throwing her another googly. She couldn't complain in good conscience to her distracted foster father, Sam. But I figured from the start that she wasn't going to be comfortable in an intimate relationship with Rishi.

Rishi, on the other hand, picked up values from his father. Women were entertainment, not human beings. So, Maya's dilemma was invisible to someone like Rishi. She tolerates his pawing, but because she's not in the relationship, she seems frozen to him. His rationalization is that he is a warm, loving husband, in the traditional male mode. Trouble is that what he gives her for love is not what SHE wants, and Rishi is too immature to admit it. Women cry for Sam's attention, and Rishi wishes for the same power to turn women on. I saw very little real communication between father and son, so Rishi can't possibly know he's failing. The is a very real disconnect between Rishi's self-image and Rishi's reality. His later temper tantrum comes when the reality of his situation becomes inescapable.

Why do Dev and Maya get together. I'd say simply that both want a genuine connection and jump when an opportunity presents itself. I'm not saying its a great idea. I'm just saying Karan is keeping it real at this point. I think that was his aim in the movie, and he lost some of his audience at this point because a lot of people simply don't deal with reality when it is presented. They want to sermonize, so they arrange their rational framework to enable the sermon they want to give. Karan doesn't play ball, so Karan gets a tongue-lashing.

In the end, reality catches up with Sam. When he can no longer play at life, things come clear to him and he tells Maya to divorce Rishi and give him a chance for real happiness in life. Since Sam is the AUTHOR of these troubles, it is an act of penitence when he gives support to the person he imprisoned as she unlocks the door to her cell.

The fact is that even Rishi later realizes that the divorce was the best thing that ever happened to him. With his father and his wife gone, he gets a chance to face life as it really is and grow up. That is his final admission to Maya: "I was immature". It is amazing how many people just blew that line off. Nobody ever seems to have taken that fact and restructured their views of the plot accordingly. But it was proof to me that I was reading the characters right. Karan's message is that people unthinkingly ruin other people's lives by doing what THEY think is "the best for them". Sam could have really tried to find out how Maya was feeling, gotten the revelation Maya gave to Dev, and steered the entire group away from a lot of misery. But it took the nearness of death to focus Sam's mind.

In the end, nearly everything worked out for the best. No one was really unhappy with their new state of affairs, and I think that was what Karan wanted people to see. Preserving the status quo, even if it takes the loss of whole lives to despair, is wrong.

Aaja Nachle is Madhuri Dixit's case for still being the best out there. And I'm signed, sealed, and delivered. No one delivers the emotional expression through the entire spectrum the way she does. I just sat there in awe watching her. I guess my standards have slid a bit since she left. But she makes all the competition seem like runners-up to me.

I can now say that I think the movie should sweep a lot of awards: It deserves Best Screenplay, Best Musical Director, Best Cinematography, Best Choreography, and Best Supporting Actor and Actress (Kunal and Konkona, of course). If there was an award for a woman carrying the lead all by herself, there's no question Madhuri Dixit would deserve it. There have only been a few (Nargis, Hema, Shabana) who've been in that elite group. Madhuri belongs there too.

There is SO much music and dance in this movie, it is hard to pick a favorite. But as soon as I saw the dancers in red with their hair flying, doing the song about Ishq during the Laila-Majnu play, I knew that I had seen this year's favorite for me. I like them all, especially the traditional one for Aaja Nachle. But the staging, lighting and choreography for this Ishq dance were so DRAMATIC that it stands out.

I loved the subplots, like the "most boring man" and his wife. The quarreling of Imran and Anokhi. The conflict between the Raja and Dia (Akshaye, a favorite of mine, really gave this movie a nice bit of electricity). And, of course, when they told the story of Laila and Majnu as kids, with her feeling every pain he had and the world tearing them apart, my heart went awwwwwwwwwwwww (not mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm this time).

Oh, did I mention Best Costume. Madhuri was dressed so nicely! That last one when the play concluded was just gorgeous. I can see that this play would win the hearts of townspeople in a small village.

Anyway, EVERYONE should see this movie. I did a 50 mile round trip and this time I don't even regret it. Out of all the movies I've seen this year, this one truly made driving worthwhile.

9 out of possible 10

To be honest, I was rather disappointed by this movie. There were some good points. A lot of Monty Sharma's music I liked (I'm a sucker for lush background music), though the songs didn't make much of an impression on me. And I can't wait for Sonam Kapoor to make some other movie. I come away from this movie feeling like I did at Fanaa. The best thing about Fanaa was Kajol and the best thing about Saawariya was Sonam Kapoor. I was glad they both got a part and showed up on the screen, but the movie they made was way less than they were. Sonam is remarkable. Sometimes I think she looks like Tabu, other times like Juhi Chawla, and her eyes are SO soulful. But she also has a laugh like breaking glass. I hope that changes.

The cinematography is pure Bhansali, though I couldn't quite get the set that resembled nothing Indian that I've ever seen. He borrowed from Russian literature and the set more properly reflected a Russian city (complete with snow) than an Indian one.

Even the veteran actors in this movie didn't seem up to par. I've seen Zohra Sehgal do some wonderful parts, but here everything rang false. And I hope if SLB wants Rani in every movie, he manages to give her parts that polish her image which this one didn't.

The movie was a 40 mile round trip for me that I now wish I hadn't made. 6/10 (I'm feeling generous)

This is a story of a blended family. Anupam is Raj, the father;Dee is Jamie, the mother; Kristin is Maya, Jamie's daughter; and then there is Amita and Sunkrish, who play Niki and Brijesh, the children of Raj and his first wife who is dead. Somehow they've managed to make a family life, except Maya calls Raj by his name, not Dad like Niki and Brijesh. Raj runs the Bollywood Cafe, which is in LA. Jamie has a dance studio with a small class of students, including Maya, learning Kathak. And each night at suppertime, they all sit down together like a real family.

But the family harbors a secret that is like a bomb with a fuse that is slowly burning down. Raj is a afraid that when the fuse reaches its end, his family will blow to bits, and his life will be worthless without the family around him.

This is not the great stuff like The Namesake. But it has more depth than American Desi or Dude, Where's The Party. Some scenes are obviously put in to keep the younger crowd from falling asleep. Those scenes were places I had to grit my teeth and wait through.

Other places I really liked. Such as the several scenes about Kathak dance. Hardly ever does Kathak dance get minutes in a movie. So I was appreciative of the fact that in this movie, I got to see some. I'm assuming one or two of the actresses in the dance studio were actual proficient dancers inserted to create credibility.

The second thing I appreciated was Sunkrish Bala. I think I like him better than Kal Penn. There was less of the sense of apology for playing the type of role he was playing. More reality to him. He played it straight with no comedy at all. Its nice to see an NRI kid who isn't a clown. Amita Balla, who played the sister was really cute. I liked her. She had nice eyes, I thought.

Kristin Erickson, of course, probably had the hardest part. She had to pretend to be a mixed kid. I'm sure it took a lot of work to achieve some credibility, and I think she did it well.

The part of Raj is a really gray part. Raj is a GOOD man, but also a human who can make major errors of judgment. What is good about him is that he doesn't run from the responsibility for his errors, and also he is totally ready for the burdens of parenthood. As he says at one point, his family is what gives his life a point. He will do whatever he must do for his children.

Anyway, though sometimes I felt awkward about the screenplay, still this movie has more subtlety than the average. Varun Khanna, who wrote and directed the movie, deserves some credit about executing a story that is full of pitfalls.

The best line of the movie: Raj runs a restaurant. His two cooks are both immigrants, one from India, one from Mexico. When the Indian cook bursts into Punjabi, the Mexican cooks says "You're in America now! Speak Spanish!"

I really don't want to say TOO much about this movie because a lot depends upon plot twists. If this movie had an English title, it should be "The Accidental Bigamist". Its the story of a police inspector who, due to circumstances beyond his control, becomes the husband of two women. When he realizes it, he panics about what will happen when the two women find out the situation, so for a while he tries to be two different guys, while two of his enemies plot to expose him.

I got this movie for Tabu and Nagarjuna. I read that they are old buddies from years ago in Hyderabad, so I started wondering what kind of movie they'd make together. Well, this movie they made is TOTALLY un-Tabu. This character is so much unlike what I've seen her play that its a total stitch. She is such a great comedian. I guess I should have known that from Hera Pheri, but this one seals it. One of the best parts of the movie is when she, as a police inspector, opens the movie with the typical Telugu action scene, kicking the crap out of a gang of bad guys. I saw that and said "Awright, Tabu!" I'm getting to like these action scenes with actresses like Shilpa, Tabu, and Shreya Reddy more and more. Next up, Sushmita! Anyway, Nag is Vikrant, Tabu is Archana, both are inspectors in Hyderabad and rivals. But underneath it all, Vikrant is determined that he will marry NO ONE but Archana, which delights his father so much he decides to stopping getting drunk.

And beyond that I'll say nothing except I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, including seeing Tabu doing Telugu-style dance for the first time ever. Among other things, the movie is totally self-conscious and characters make comments on the progress of the plot all the time, which is another funny part.

Anyway, for me a BIG 9 of 10.