OMG - Oh My God!

Kanji Lalji Mehta is an atheist who owns an antique store in Mumbai. When an earthquake hits the city, it leaves his store in shambles and.the "Act of God" clauses leaves his insurance claim in the dust. Mr. Mehta then decides to file a law suite against God which causes an uproar in the city and drags a few prominent God men and woman in to the court. A satirical comedy that makes fun of the state of religion in India and one that could touched the genius scale if it had been given the 90s Srinivasan treatment 

Rating: * +

Poster licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia.

No Smoking

K (John Abraham) is a chain smoking business tycoon with a  penchant to be an asshole. However it is not the asshole bit that bothers his wife (Ayesha Takia) but his nicotine habit. So when she lays down the gauntlet for him to quit, he finds himself in the abode of Baba Bangali (Paresh Rawal). The Baba apparently has a foolproof method to make one quit and never go back. The plot so far seems engaging but Anurag Kashyap decides to get bit too clever for his own good and the film literally meanders down a hell hole!

Rating: * +

Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!

The future of Hindi cinema seems safe in the hands of Abhay Deol, who dons the mantle of the notorious con man Lucky Singh who terrorized the affluent all over India. The audacity of some of his heists had me wondering if this was indeed based on a true story or if Dibaker da had toked on one too many. However a quick google search proved me wrong and led me to this article at one of my favorite film websites, Passion for Cinema. Lucky was apparently more than notorious and his panache is effortlessly brought to life by Mr. Deol. Neetu Chandra plays his love interest and is not only easy on the eyes but also does a decent job of the limited role she is given. However the man who takes the cake is Paresh Rawal as he seamlessly shifts gears between a father, don and businessman. All in all this turns out to be one of the best Indian heist movies made to date.

Rating: * * *

Mumbai Meri Jaan

July 11th, 2006 saw seven bombs explode in the space of 11 minutes on various suburban trains in Mumbai. July 12th saw the common man in Mumbai look at life in his city through different lenses.  It is this chilling aftermath and the ensuing media mongering that this film focuses on.

When the aam junta are played by folk like Irrfan Khan and Madhavan the effect is telling. Irrfan says little in his role of a Tamilian living in Mumbai but like always he doesn't need to. As angry young man, Kay Kay Menon makes a comeback to acting in this film as he grabs the screen like he did in Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi. But the man who dominates the film is a very svelte Paresh Rawal in a soon to retire policeman's guise. The only weak link is Soha Ali Khan trying desperately to cut a sorry pensive figure. Nishikant Kamat is the man holding the threads of the film and for a refreshing change none of the threads meet or interesect. A film that truly reflects life...

Rating: * * * *

Cheeni Kum

Buddhadev (Amitabh Bachchan) is an arrogant and garrulous chef at a London restaurant. For the viewer, his nasty temperament is made even worse by an annoying ponytail. Nina (Tabu) sees beyond Buddha's idiosyncrasies and dances her way into his heart over a plate of zafrani pulao. The 30 year old age difference is not a problem for them but is a giant issue for her dad (Paresh Rawal).

Tabu is ravishing in the film. To top it off her character is one that is not often seen in Indian cinema... a single independent woman in her early thirties who is comfortable with her life. The love between two people with a huge age gap is also one that most Indian audiences are not comfortable with. So the ingredients for a spicy movie are all in place but if only the script had been massaged a bit more and AB's part was given to Om Puri...

Rating: * +