Agyaat Movie Review (Overall Bullshit)

Star cast: Nitin Reddy, Priyanka Kothari, Gautam Rode, Ishrat Ali, Howard Rosemeyer, Joy Fernandes and Ravi Kale

Director: Ram Gopal Varma

Rating: 1.5/5 (flop)

Overall Rating: Bullshit (Agyaat 2 ? WTF ending was)

Irrespective of the fact that his last few films haven’t really been great experiences, one still enters a Ram Gopal Varma movie with certain expectations in mind. But Ramu nowadays it seems is hell bent on scaring even his most loyal fans away. Agyaat turns out to be one such experience wherein you go in expecting a thrill ride but come out absolutely unmoved rather irritated.

Agyaat tells the story of a film crew arriving in a dense forest to shoot their film. The team comprises of a tantrum throwing hero Sharman (Gautam), the heroine he badly lusts for – Aasha (Kothari), a South Indian producer Moorty (Ishrat Ali), an eccentric director JJ (Howard), a submissive spot boy Laxman (Ishtiyak Khan), the philosophical cameraman Shakky (Kali Prasad), a forever frustrated action director Rakka (Kale), Assistant Director Sujal (Nitin) and the simple script supervisor girl Sameera (Rasika Duggal) who has a secret crush on Sujal. While Sameera pines for Sujal, he dreams of attaining the film’s leading lady Aasha. Circumstances lead to a two day shoot break. Setu (Joy) the local jungle guide then suggests a small camping trip in the jungle. During night when everyone is enjoying the bonfire, following a strange sound Setu goes on to find out more about it but doesn’t return. When the crew members go on to find him they find his dead body. Petrified, they all try to run out the jungle but their car meets with an accident. Now trapped in the unknown terrain as they try to find their way out more crew members start dying under mysterious circumstances.

With hardly any known faces amongst his cast members, Ramu manages to hold your attention to some extent by his gimmicky shot taking and effective use of background music. Agreed in a thriller with a short running time of under two hours there is less time for character development but what about the screenplay Sir? Also, the placing of the annoying item song in the opening credit titles serves no purpose. Most of the actors too are a huge let down in the sense that they simply end up grating on your nerves and in fact you feel relieved that they have been bumped off

Agyaat through its promos and Ramu’s interviews appeared to be his ode to films like Predator, Blair Witch Project etc but in reality it appears an insult to them. At the end by literally keeping the mysterious killer ‘Agyaat’ (unknown) he seems to have already made a preparation for a sequel.

Telugu star Nitin Reddy making his Bollywood debut is earnest. Priyanka Kothari shows a bit of improvement in her acting. Gautam Rode fits the part. Amongst the rest cast, none really impress.

Agyaat is a disappointment. Enter this jungle at your own risk. Then don’t complain we didn’t warn you.

Love Aaj Kal Bollywood Movie Review

Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Rishi Kapoor, Rahul Khanna

Director: Imtiaz Ali

Rating: 1.9/5 (flop)

One of the reasons Saif Ali Khan has given for turning a producer is that he wants to own the work he’s doing. His first venture in this new role is work he should be proud of owning.

The star of “Love Aaj Kal”, however, is director Imtiaz Ali. His 14-reel-long storytelling is exhilarating, for the romantics for sure.

So many movies have been made on the topic of love that it has become difficult to come up with a fresh take on the subject, at least in Bollywood which is facing a shortage of good scripts.

But Imtiaz Ali, who is also... the film’s writer, presents a ‘new angle’ of romance, and ‘discusses’ it deftly, often with the help of witty one-liners and heart-warming moments.

His script seamlessly moves across continents and decades, and the lead characters, both aaj and kal, occupy spaces that are created to reflect what love was and is in the respective eras. It’s all about New Age versus age-old relationships and the timelessness of love.

So we have Jai (Saif) and Meera (Deepika Padukone), a modern-day London-based couple, who are dating each other but without any strings attached. In fact, they are practical enough to break up when career goals separate them.

Meanwhile, an old Sikh restaurateur Veer Singh (Rishi Kapoor), whom Jai casually befriends, narrates to him his own love story to make a point about how matters of the heart were dealt with differently in his times.

As a handsome young man in ‘Dilli’ many years ago, Veer (Saif playing the young Veer too) silently and relentless pursued Harleen Kaur, a pretty neighbourhood girl.

Both the stories unfold simultaneously on screen, one shot in sepia and the other in all the colours of modern living. The inter-cuts are interestingly done, with the two same situations compared, then and now, on several occasions. Ultimately, both stories come to a matching end.

No matter when and where you may be, the essence of love remains the same even though its form changes, we are told.

Though easy to summarise, the script of “Love Aaj Kal” is clearly not an easy one to write, but commendably, Imitiaz Ali makes it seem fairly simple. His narration is invigorating, and with a running time of about 2 hours, the film’s pace doesn’t drop, with even the songs taking the story forward.

The only fault can be pinned to the film’s somewhat abrupt beginning, and more so to the song in the end credits, which gives the movie a ‘filmy’ touch, while it had seemed so real right through. By putting Veer and Harleen in the present times and alongside Jai and Meera in a disco setting, the director adulterates the aura of the ‘kal’ couple, whom you want to remember the way they were shown in the movie. Placed similarly, “Mauja Mauja” worked in Ali’s “Jab We Met”, but “Ahun Ahun” doesn’t work here, it just messes up the continuity of narration.

However, this doesn’t take away much from Saif’s labour of love. He has put his heart and soul into the promotion of “Love Aaj Kal” these last few weeks and the same effort has gone into his roles in the film. We have seem him in many movies as the modern, witty and confused protagonist, so as Jai he’s on familiar territory and does well, just like always. But it’s the character of Veer that really challenges him as an actor, and Saif rises to the challenge with élan. Shunning his uber-cool persona, he gets into the skin of bicycle-riding-tiffin-in-hand Veer with conviction, and gives an endearing performance.

If it hadn’t been for his portrayal of Veer, Saif would have been upstaged in his home production by Deepika, who turns in a stunning performance, her career’s best. For once, her acting deserves more praise that her looks, which are stunning too. While casting for the film, Imtiaz Ali was apparently convinced that only Deepika could play Meera, and he was so right!

The identity of the actress who plays Harleen Kaur has been kept under wraps, though an ‘introducing Rinku Singh” was spotted in the end credits. Whoever she may be, Harleen looks ethereal and does well as the demure girl-next-door who makes Veer fall in love, that one and only time.

Technically, “Love Aaj Kal” is refreshing as well. The visuals are aesthetic and pleasing, with good-looking people and even more pretty locations upping its appeal. The editing is crisp and the screenplay, brisk. The movie’s soundtrack is already dotting the charts.

What more does the aam janta, or Mango people as Jai calls them, need? Go on, fall in love with this one.