Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai: Film Review

On the cusp of the release of Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai Again/Dobara, I figured I would watch the first Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, a seventies era film.This movie is rumored to be loosely based on real-life gangsters,  Haji Mastan and Dawood Ibrahim.What drew me to this movie was: Emraan Hashmi, Kangna Raunat and the soundtrack. After the disaster that was Himmatwala this year, I didn't really want to see Ajay Devgan's face again, but I reluctantly dug into the past and pulled this movie out.

 Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai begins with a cop, Agnel Wilson (Randeep Hooda) who tries to kill himself by driving his car into a river. When he is taken in by his commanding officer for questioning he narrates our movie to us. It begins with a young orphan,Sultan Mirza, (later played by Ajay Devgan) who shovels coal for just a few rupees a day. Pretty soon he begins to smuggle for rich men, and then bham, he is now the biggest underworld don.

Our little gangster has a crush

Sultan is a benevolent don. He divides Mumbai into four regions, refraining from giving one person total power. He also does not smuggle contraband, so therefore he is looked at as having higher integrity than the others like him. Our big bad white suit wearing gangster Sultan, however has a childlike crush on leading actress Rehana (Kangna Raunat). He does ridiculous, but amusing things to get her attention. He buys a guava for 400 rupees and presents it to her, he waits for her for 18 days at her favorite restaurant, and he even eats bitter gourd for her. What a guy! So they eventually fall in love, hence Rahat's Tum Jo Aaye Zindagi Mein. Their love story is the cutest part of the movie, but its fades away so quickly as Agnel closes in and our second star, Shoaib Khan (Emraan Hashmi) surfaces.

So we see our Dawood Ibrahim, Shoaib, as a bratty child in the beginning, starkly contrasting Sultan's demeanor at a child. He is a defiant, hot-blooded young thing who likes to steal change out of pay phones with his chubby accomplice. He threatens the man who reports him and takes him to his police officer father. When Shoaib grows up he is an even more disgusting person. He harasses customers at the store where love interest, Mumtaz (Prachi Desai) works and commits with robberies.

I think you should dress up like Dimple Kapadia from Bobby. Do it.

 His police officer dad for some ridiculous reason asks Sultan to take take Shoaib under his wing. This when the trouble starts in Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai. Shoaib's character is barely endearing besides the scene where he buys Mumtaz liquor and a snack mix with his first paycheck, claiming that this is what he does with his friends, and he doesn't know what to do for girls. So, basically Shoaib being the disgusting person he is, tries to overthrow Sultan to take over power.

The events in the Once Upon a Time in Mumbai pan out realistically and the acting is top notch. The women unfortunately aren't essential to the plot, but they did add some romance and release of tension. Ajay Devgan is easily the most likable character. It is almost as if he was tailor made for this role. The best part about Sultan's character is that he was flawed, but still lovable. Hashmi's character, on the other hand, was so easy to hate and so hard to love. So in the end, the music was fabulous, the plot moved quickly, and the acting was great. The downside was that all police mama drama gets a little boring sometimes, but give it a chance, you won't regret Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai, like I regretted Himmatwala.

BB

Lootera: Music Review

Music Director: Amit Trivedi

Starring: Ranveer Singh & Sonakshi Sinha

So our creative composer Amit Trivedi has released another soundtrack for the Bollywood drama Lootera. So this being a Bengali period movie, we can expect the film to be laden in beautiful classical numbers, reflecting the fifties. It also has to look believable coming from our young stars, Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi Sinha's mouths. The music has simplistic, light melodies so this is not our typical Trivedi outing. However, Lootera's music does leave a couple solid numbers behind.

So we begin with Sawar Loon sung by Monali Thakur. This syrupy sweet song is song in a Shreya-style manner and definitely ties in with the fifties feel. There is both classical Indian fifties and classical American fifties blended well together. It sounds very youthful, especially with the bell tinkling sounds in the background. It will definitely work well with Sinha's age. 4/5

Then there is Ankhahee. The piano in this song's backdrop are extremely beautiful when paired with Amitabh Bhattacharya's controlled, soulful voice. He doesn't hit high notes in the song, and keeps it nice a slow. Intermittently there are interludes of gorgeous instrumentals.4/5

Our traditional Bangla number of Lootera is Monta Re is just lovely. It fits with the soundtrack so well but offers something different. This song can be easily seen behind action with the characters, or by a gathering group of people sitting together. There is a light beat in the background, one of them being bells. 4/5

Next in Lootera we have yet another song from Amitabh Bhattacharya called Shikayaten. This is soft rock song with flutes. I could see this in Three Idiots for some reason. Bhattacharya's voice sounds good in this song, but it just sounds a little strained as he attempts to climb to higher notes. The instrumentals and vocals in this song are certainly not light enough for the kind of mood that the movie has established. This song perhaps could be used when Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi Sinha are going through some problem. Not my favorite. 3/5

Amit Trivedi comes into the vocal spotlight in Zinda. This song has a rough, rock edge to it. His voice is slow, but it overtaken by strong dramatic instrumentals. In this Lootera song there  total mismatch between vocals and instrumentals. Stands out from the rest of the album in a bad way. 2/5

Just another awkward walk through the forest

Lastly, we have Shilpa Rao and Amitabh Bhattacharya in Manmarziyan. This is mostly Shilpa song's, but Bhattacharya voice slips in between with a haunting quality. The melody on this is light, complete with the sound of bells (ghungroos) that we have been hearing throughout the soundtrack. This song lets Shilpa's strong, deep vocals shine through. However, the slowness of the song could make the listener loose patience. 3.5/5

Lootera is a pretty good soundtrack, but as said earlier is an unusual outing for Trivedi. Most of it is fifties traditional minimalism and its quite beautiful. I would love to see how this all will play out on screen.

My Picks: Ankahee, Monta Re, Sawar Loon

Remember requests are taken! Send a comment out and tell me which Bollywood soundtrack you want to hear about!

Check out my other music reviews:
Issaq: http://bollywoodbegum.blogspot.com/2013/06/bollywood-music-review-issaq_21.html
Ghanchakkar: http://bollywoodbegum.blogspot.com/2013/06/bollywood-music-reviewsghanchakkar.html
Raanjhanaa: http://bollywoodbegum.blogspot.com/2013/06/bollywood-music-reviews-raanjhanaa.html
Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani: http://bollywoodbegum.blogspot.com/2013/06/bollywood-music-review-yeh-jawani-hai.html

Comments Are Always Welcome!

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Raanjhanaa: Music Review

Music Director: A.R Rahman

Starring: Sonam Kapoor & Dhanush

So if you didn't know, A.R Rahman is back in Bollywood with a new soundtrack. It's Raanjhanaa from the makers of Tanu Weds Manu. A.R didn't really leave us with much memorable tracks in Jab Tak Hai Jaan, so I'm hoping this time he fares better.

So Raanjhanaa stars Sonam Kapoor with the Tamil actor, Dhanush. Unfortunately, Abhay Deol makes an extended appearance in the film as well (not a fan). The movie is slated to be released on June 21st. So far the trailers for Raanjhanaa look good, though I am still unsure what the movie is all about. Anyway, lets get down to the music.

Our first song is Raanjhanaa by Shiraz Uppal and Jaswinder Singh- You may remember Uppal from "Roya Re" from Dhoka. It's great to see him back, especially in combination with Jaswinder Singh. It is a very triumphant traditional, feel good song. However, is the title song in the movie, so it does title songs, attachment have like "Jab Tak Hai Jaan" from Jab Tak Hai Jaan. 3.5/5

Next we have Banarasiya sung by mainly Shreya Ghoshal, with contributions from two other female vocalists: Anwesha Gupta, Meenal Jain. This is the sole female folk song with Shreya at the heart. Her voice is sweet and soulful through the highs and lows. The flute and drum instrumentals are beautifully done draw you in. However, the song doesn't have a hook till these instrumentals. 3.5/5

Our main Sufi song of the album is Piya Milenge by Sukhwinder Singh, Sufi Ensemble. A.R combined with Sukhwinder is always a magical combination. Surely everyone recalls Chaiya Chaiya.  Sufi pieces are beautifully laced through this song, while Sukhwinder focuses more with instrumentals for a slight rock feel. 4/5

Ay Sakhi features three female voices taking equivalent parts: Madhushree, Chinmanyi, Vaishali Samant.  This song consists group of women singing and talking with each other. It's not enjoyable to listen to in leisure, but it will probably make sense so where in the movie. I deleted this one. 2/5

Our romantic duet of Raanjhanaa,  Nazar Lagi sung by Rashid Ali, Neeti Mohan, Nakash Aziz. This is one of my favorites on this album. It is a laid back melody complete with slow guitar. I haven't heard Mohan's before, but her voice goes well with Ali's. Every Rahman soundtrack needs a number that really slow and dripping in love, this is it. 5/5

Rabbi Shergill is back in Tun Mun Shudi. The contemporary cool guy solo song, basically is the male counterpart of Banarasiya. It is uplifting and has interesting multilayers of vocals and instrumentals. 4/5

Our slowest number of Raanjhanaa is Aise Na Dekho is sung and composed by A.R Rahman himself. It comes as no surprise that this song sounds sounds good. In the background we have slow jazz beat, but at the same time the songs stays close to the traditional sounds with the instrumentals and the whistling. It almost sounds like an unplugged version. This one an old school charm. 4/5

Rahman loves his instrumental numbers. The Land of Shiva is able to measure up to his past ones. I've always been a huge fan of Rahman's instrumentals. "Ishq Dance" from Jab Tak Hai Jaan and "Liquid Dance" from Slumdog Millionaire were amazing. This one is great. Its suspenseful, with a lot of bell ringing and horn blowing. Its almost as if you were trapped in a chaotic mandir. 4.5/5

Another romantic number Tum Tak by Javed Ali, Keerthi Sagathia, Pooja Vadiyanath excels. Traditional instrumental all the way through, as well as lots of traditional singing techniques. The female voice works well with Javed Ali's in this instance, to give this romantic number a fun, playful feel. There are a lot of hooks and variety to this song. Every time I listen to it I notice something new. 4.5/5

Overall Raanjhanaa is a great soundtrack that gets better as we go through the tracks. Compared to the Bollywood music releasing these days, this is a gold. Good job Rahman!

My Picks: Nazar Lagi, Tum Tak, Tun Mun Shudi, Piya Milenge

Check Out my Other Reviews:

Issaq: http://bollywoodbegum.blogspot.com/2013/06/bollywood-music-review-issaq_21.html
Ghanchakkar: http://bollywoodbegum.blogspot.com/2013/06/bollywood-music-reviewsghanchakkar.html
Lootera:http://bollywoodbegum.blogspot.com/2013/06/bollywood-music-review-lootera.html
Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani: http://bollywoodbegum.blogspot.com/2013/06/bollywood-music-review-yeh-jawani-hai.html

Comments Welcome!
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Ghanchakkar: Music Review

Music Director: Amit Trivedi

Starring: Emraan Hashmi & Vidya Balan

Every time a new Emraan Hashmi album is released I am one of the first people to get it. Like others, I believe that no matter who composes the soundtrack or directs the movie, anything with Emraan Hashmi will have good music. My evidence is based upon  non-Bhatt banner films like Dil Diya Hai and The Dirty Picture. Let's get started with Ghanchakkar.

Its a comedy staring Vidya Balan and Emraan Hashmi. It's their second time on the silver screen, after The Dirty Picture. Our director this time is Raj Kumar Gupta, who made Aamir and No One Killed Jessica. The music composer is for Ghanchakkar is Amit Trivedi, who has brought us unique arrangements in the past from  films like Dev.D, Ishaqzaade, and Aiyyaa.

Staying true to it's tittle, the soundtrack of Ghanchakkar is crazily good. The arrangements and combinations are totally out of this world, and its surprising that all of these different elements work so pleasantly together on the ear. We have a mixture of mainly old school disco, electronica, and traditional sounds.

The first track on the album is Lazy Lad sung by Richa Sharma. This song has an interesting blend of  upbeat traditional and county sounds, like the banjo in combination with the dhol. Like the other tracks in Ghanchakkar, Lazy lad is very desi with a lot of clever English words thrown in the middle. It's a fun song where an annoyed wife nags her husband in a million clever ways.

Next is our qawwali track, Allah Meherbaan, by Divya Kumar. This probably the best song on this soundtrack. The qawwali style fuses really well with the electronica sounds, it also sounds like a deliciously good remix of a old school qawwali. The background beat carries the song so well, and catches the listener's ears from the first second.

"You kinda look like that guy from The Dirty Picture" 

Our third track is Ghanchakkar's title song, Ghanchakkar Babu sung by Amit Trivedi himself. The song lyrically and musically makes no sense, but that's what makes it so entralling. It works. It Trivedi's voice captivates the listener immediately. This hilarious song has an old school disco beat that you would hear in seventies Bollywood, complete with trumpets. The only hang up I have about this song is the intermittent female voice saying "Yeah Yeah Yeah" among other things. I really felt the song could do without. Next we have Ghanchakkar Babu the remix. This is just a sped up version with an additional beat. Unless you want to party with this, stick to the original version.

Allah Meherbaan Still

The last track Jolu Ram by Altaf Raj. This piece has a classical, as well as disco arrangement  and delightfully sounds as if it was crooned by a drunken man. We have interludes of the man speaking reminiscent of the popular song, Kolveri Di. The song like Lazy Lad and the others are dotted with English pieces which further enhance the songs. We have all kinds of fun words like dal makhani, digestion, and frustration thrown into Jolu Ram.

Ghanchakkar is definitely a quirky ride.  It is exactly the type of music you would should be in every Bollywood comedy. Not only is it hilarious, it is pleasant to listen to. So much of this soundtrack will have you smiling. There is not a bad song in this album. I really wish there was more on this album. Four tracks and a remix are too little. Once again, Emraan Hashmi doesn't fail to disappoint. Good job Trivedi. Remember to not forget this one!

My Picks: Allah Meherbaan, Lazy Lad, Ghanchakkar Babu, Jolu Ram

Love
BB

Jab Tak Hai Jaan: Film Review

Director: Yash Chopra

Starring: Shahrukh Khan, Anushka Sharma, Katrina Kaif

So I finally got around to watching Jab Tak Hai Jaan. I know, I'm really really late...NetFlix just added it to their streaming collection, so if you haven't seen it, you should.

Katrina Kaif and Shahrukh Khan in the song "Saans" from JTHJ

Unfortunately this is the last film that Yash Chopra directed before his death last year. Jab Tak Hai Jaan has magic in parts and is aesthetically gorgeous, just look at the picture of Shahrukh Khan and Katrina Kaif above.

I wish more seasoned actresses were featured in this film. We have the young Anushka Sharma (Akira) who plays the role of a struggling reporter trying to do a story on Shahrukh Khan (Samar). Much like her debut film, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Anuksha Sharma still looks too young for Shahrukh Khan. In Jab Tak Hai Jaan, she comes across as an infatuated, immature teenager. Her character matures slightly in the middle, but its not good enough. Anuskha plays the same bubbly, over the top character that we have seen play in other films, like Ladies V/S Ricky Bahl and Band Baaja Baraat. She is a vital character to push the plot, but I don't buy her chemistry with to Shahrukh Khan for a second.

Does this not look like a father and daughter picture? 

So, when Indian Army bomb diffuser Samar lends Akira his jacket, she coincidentally discovers a diary in his pocket telling the story about Samar's lost love, Katrina Kaif (Meera). The love story between Meera and Samar is illustrated to us in a flashback, after Akira dashes a few curses out and speaks about her one night stand.

The love story between Meera and Samar is cutest thing in the movie, and you can see definite chemistry between Kaif and Khan. Shahrukh Khan is charming as Samar, but it is like all the other roles we have seen him in. After he looses his love he acts like his bitter character from Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, and when he is in love he acts like his character from Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gham.

Angry Samar versus Romantic Samar

The flashbacks between Meera and Samar are the best parts of the movie. Meera plays a woman who is already in engaged, so it is interesting how the love story plays out. The parts with Akira and Samar don't really catch the attention much. The movie is definitely longer than it should be, especially when the medical drama parts are added into the mix. 

 Jab Tak Hai Jaan  is not the typical love triangle, because it is so obvious who Samar should end up with in the end. Little pieces of  story line aren't believable. How could a snow shoveler/ waiter, suddenly become the top bomb diffuser in the Indian Army.

Shahrukh calmly walking away from a bomb or JTHJ

Why would he agree to take Akira who is bordering on crazy with him on such an important mission? Why does the church Meera goes to always empty? And of course that whole underground dance scene.

The background score is all right. It is not a stellar as you would expect it to be, coming from A.R Rahman. We have Saans and Heer being the best. Jiya Re is also good if you want an upbeat number. A couple of  Yash's enchanting scenes and beautiful cinematography is all you should expect from Jab Tak Hai Jaan. Hopefully Shahrukh Khan's next film is better. 

Much Love,
BB