[Movie] Hasee Toh Phasee

The movie opens with a bunch of people screaming and trying to open a door in a Chawl in mumbai, and a man comes up the staircase and is told it is his daughter who did the prank. He calls her aside, doesnt chide or scold her but tells her to open the door and finish what she started and they high 5. On the other hand there is another family, the dad is a cop and his 2nd son Nikhil [Siddharth Malhotra] is a naughty kid- who they lock in a room and go to watch a movie, but he doesnt stay locked in, he is out and watching the movie from the other side of the screen in no time.

Producers: Vikas Bahl, Hiroo Johar, Anurag Kashyap, Karan Johar

Production companies: Dharma Productions, Phantom Productions

Cast: Parineeti Chopra,Sidharth Malhotra,Adah Sharma

Hasee Toh Phasee is quite the entertainer, it was such a feel good movie that we walked out of the theater smiling, recollecting the quirky moments.  Coming back to the movie, the 1st time Nikhil and Meetha [Parineeti Chopra] meet is when Nikhil is passing by a house when he spots a tomboyish girl trying to escape through the barbed wires. He helps her escape and as she is fleeing the place, she says "Socho, mein idea hoti aur tum technology, humari patang kya mast udti na?”   

Now, the main plot of the movie is not a new one, it is about a guy and girl all set to get married, when the guy falls in love with another girl in the process only to go after her on his wedding day. But the way it has been taken, the approach, the characters - that is what sets this movie apart.  

Meetha is a daddy's girl [daddy's role played by Manoj Joshi], a girl who runs away because she dint get what she wanted from her dad. Her uncle is constantly yelling at her [she has short hair, wears T-shirt and trousers, is spoilt, too independent, etc etc]. She hails from a traditional Gujarati family that doesnt understand her, nor do they encourage her brilliance.  She disappears on the eve of her oldest sister's marriage only to reappear after 7 years for her 2nd sister's wedding. Infact, Karishma (Adah Sharma), her sister invites her for the wedding  but introduces her as a guest to Nikhil. It is only later that he discovers the relation, the background and Meetha as a person. 

The story is all about Nikhil and Karishma's wedding, the families preparing for it, Nikhil perpetually in need o money, Karishma constantly angry with him, and the rest of the family adding to the chaos in their own little way. Nikhil and Karishma have had a crazy relationship, she has threatened to break it off numerous times, but he holds on to the relationship saying "I know her, I love her, who is to say the next girl will be the perfect one?" 

Meetha is an oddball, she has the wildest twitches and habits, she speaks a million words a second, she drinks gallons of water and popped a dozen pills periodically. Nikhil ends up picking her up, finding her accomodation, retrieving her from the dump and putting her up at his house, driving her around, and various other adventures. During these times he learns about her, realises she is not a bad cookie, but just a misunderstood cookie. And as they discover each other, romance blossoms. On the evening of a family gathering, Meetha tags along with Nikhil for she wants to meet her dad [ hasnt seen him in 7yrs] but is told he is angry and might have another heart attack, and so he whisks her away. But then the car breaks down, and she instantly solves the issue. That evening, she shares her entire life story with Nikhil, showing off the ball that bounces like crazy, that could one day provide power for an entire apartment complex. 

Her stares, quirks, sharp dialogues, her twinkling eyes, sudden bursts of chinese, tooth paste eating, chocolate stealing habits are just amazing. Infact, she is the highlight of the movie and Parineeti has acted brilliantly, essaying the role to the dot.  Nikhil is so drawn to her that by the end of the movie he is all set to help her find the money she needs even though it is not the acceptable path. And as expected, the movie does end with a happy ending. 

It is a must watch for anyone who needs a good laugh, or wants to hold on to the belief that love does exist. Such a rib tickling, sweet, endearing, feel good, warm fuzzy movie that was.  And then ofcourse, Siddharth looks good, so does Parineeti [there is also certain cuteness in her]

Overal rating - 4.5/5 [ the .5 less because some scenes I felt were unnecessary, just as some characters were...]

{music} Agam - Classical & Rock meet

Oct 5th was the date

Karamaj arangam was the venue

What was happening? AGAM was coming to perform for a charity cause!

We were excited

I was going to be attending a concert after ages, the last one being Bryan Adams in Blore!! 

Agam is a Bangalore-based band who are into Contemporary Carnatic with a dash of rock blended into their performances. Formed in the year 2003, the band is made up of 

• Harish Sivaramakrishnan (MAIN vocals & violin), 
• Ganesh Ram Nagarajan (drums & vocals), 
• Swamy Seetharaman (keyboards, also the lyricist), 
• Praveen Kumar (lead guitar),
• Vignesh Lakshminarayanan (bass guitar & vocals), 
• Sivakumar Nagarajan (ethnic percussions), 
• Jagadish Natarajan (rhythm guitar). The only change in the band has been that Jagadish’s replaced Suraj Satheesh as the rhythm guitarist last year.

The very 1st time I heard these guys was on Coke studio and then came Madras Market performance. Subsequently I did listen to quite a few of their pieces thanks to YouTube and then went ahead and purchased their album - The Inner Self awakens.. From thereon, there has been no turning back! Infact, I also fell in love with their version of Aromale and Dil se re as well.. 

[image courtesy: google]

Ok, now that you know who Agam is, let us get back to the concert.. On Saturday, friends came over picked me up around 6pm and we reached the venue at 6.10 pm. The place looked pretty deserted, we had a small doubt if the concert was indeed happening that particular evening. There were no banners, no posters, nothing. It was complete silence. I was back in Kamaraj Arangam after nearly 15yrs!! 

Walked into the hall, collected our tickets and waited around for the hall to open. In the background, we could hear the band doing sound checks and last minute practice. We were happy listening to them from the distance. And then, around 6.30, the doors opened and we found seats, making sure the cameras were not in our path. 

[Image courtesy: youtube]

Soon people started filing in, but it wasn't as much as we expected. We were quite upset and sad to see the hall sparsely full, but then we decided to focus on the band and enjoy the music. The show started around 7.45 and it was absolutely mind blowing.

The instruments came to life and then Harish started singing, and that was it...What a voice he had and then for another song he also played the violin... Let us not forget the amazing guys on guitar and drums and the piano. We were lost to the world. We enjoyed every piece, every second of the evening. We were happily singing away, clapping and grooving to the beats..  

[Image Courtesy: www.thehindu.com ]

The band took a break from their songs and belted out Aromale which got the crowd going, and then came Dil Se which was again a big hit with the crowd. They also sang a new composition and few that is found on their soundcloud stream. 

As they say, all good things come to an end.. The show went on till about 9.30 when they closed with Rudra... We dint want the night to end.. Sigh!  Wait, we were not done! After the performances were done and most of the crowd left, we made a beeline for the stage, spoke to all the band members and heard about their upcoming shows, their work life and much more................... 

If you love these guys, and want to watch them live, make sure to mark Oct 18th in your calendar and be there at Havana, Raintree... And follow them on facebook to know more!! 

You can learn more about them from

Wikipedia

Website

Facebook 

Youtube

Event page for 18th Oct

[Movie] Delhi in a day

 

I was itching to watch a movie, not because it had been a while, but because the last movie i watched left a terrible taste in my mouth and just about every other cell on me... No, dont ask me what it was.... i might throw up.... :-)

So, the movie i chose to watch this time was "Delhi in a day", the plot seemed interesting, actors were the ones who are featured in off beat movies, and it had a certain "non masala" feel to it. And it was made by Prashant Nair [who was making his directorial debut] 

The movie is a very real, sweet at times and disturbing and sad at other times. It shows the glaring differences between the upper class and lower class [ Dont think the story is confined to just Delhi, it is true of any city across the world]  This mix of worlds is seen by an outsider, a British guest who comes visiting, Jasper (Lee Williams).  

The story..

While the Bhatia family is upstairs battling with a broken down Air conditioner, their household help [Raghu, Chottu, Udai Singh, and Rohini] are already up and about. They are having some fun of their own in the kitchen, imitating the man & woman of the house, and generally unwinding before work takes over their lives. Kalpana Bhatia[ Lilette Dubey]  is rudely awakened as the AC has broken down and she is feeling hot & sweaty, she calls out to the household help, but gets no response. As she marches towards the kitchen, she pauses upon hearing their chatter. Barges into the room and gives them all a earful, and orders to kick them into action. She runs them through instructions given earlier on occasion of Jasper visiting them.

Jasper says he is staying with them just for a day, and is off to Banaras starting off his "explore India". He has quit his job, cashed in his savings, packed a backpack and landed at their doorstep.  

Kalpana insists her maid and cook pay extra attention, belting out specific orders- food, room, transport etc... Their drivers are tamilians, and one guy, Nataraj in particular is so afraid he keeps saying "i dont want this job, i shall go back home".  Jasper wants to roam around Delhi on foot and local transport, but Kalpana will not hear of it. Rohini [Anjali Patel] is a village girl with dreams in her eyes, she aspires to become a movie actress [dances and performs in the kitchen and whenever they are away from work] Raghu Kaka, is almost like her father, an old frail man who's been with the Bhatia family for generations.

Towards evening when Jasper returns to the Bhatia home, he discovers his money envelope completely empty, nearly 4000 pounds gone missing. He expresses concern to Kalpana who instantly calls to Rohini & Raghu Kaka asking them if they took the money. 

A discussion with Mukund [Kulbhushan Kharbanda] and they decide that no matter what the money has to be returned- she points a finger at Raghu kaka saying he must have taken it, tempted and with desire to get Rohini married off. Her husband says "else,we will have to repay the money to Jasper, cant have our name tarnished because of someone's misdeed"

  

While the Bhatia's have come to a concensus on this, it is the household help who are in a mess. Rohini is worried for her kaka, a man who has been more than a father to her. She decides to raise some money, going off into the narrow shady alleys of the village nearby only to return empty handed. Jasper on seeing her crying near their hut, understands the position and makes matters right. 

Even when Kalpana comes to know of the truth, she continues to muddle over what is the right thing to do... Reveal the true culprit or pray that Kaka manages to round up the money and return it to Jasper. It comes as a surprise when Jasper does what he does before bidding them adieu. 

Victor Banerjee as the recluse grandfather, Kalpana's father and his interactions with Jasper were scenes that were few and far between, but beautiful. I did wish there was more of him...

 Delhi in a Day is a movie that gives you a reality check into the lives of our domestic help- what they go through, their struggles, fears, hopes, anger and how they fall pray to upper class thrashings for no fault of theirs.  They work hard, are polite and mannered, taking on whatever words thrown at them, but in privacy do make fun of their employers and have their own kind of fun. 

Kulbhushan Kharbanda & Lilette Dubey are perfect as the Delhi-Punjabi  family heads, with no cliches or over the top dramas.  Anjali Patil stood out among the other set of actors, she was so expressive with her eyes and innocent smile. Being the only girl among the all male household help, it is beautiful to see how the others care about her and protect her. Jasper too in the movie is smitten by her beauty and innocence. 

The movie was good, showing off the parallel lives between the elite and the poor, but i wish the director had gone a bit deeper.. It felt abrupt and as if he dint know what to do and decided to end the story. Or was he scared to take it further being his 1st movie? but good attempt for a 1st timer...

Overall 7/10

[Movie] Wake up Sid

Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Konkona Sen Sharma, Anupam Kher, Supriya Pathak, Rahul Khanna

Director: Ayan Mukerji

Music: Shankar Ehsaan & Loy

Rating: ****1/2

Verdict: Good light fun movie!!


“Wake Up Sid” was one delightful movie. The movie has a constant smooth flow throughout; no over the top or understated drama scenes; no ultra emotional strangulation of the audiences; absolutely no hippie-yuppie cool dude acting by Ranbir; and last but not the least, a very realistic, and refreshing story.

 
  A movie that reminds you of those fun college days,  where there is one guy who is the rich brat, not worried about anything in life, always surrounded by money and fancy stuff. Wake up Sid is the story of how Sid transforms from a spoilt rich brat to a responsible young man.. and the journey is so real and so so much fun, the audience is with him through the way!!!

 
While the film actually becomes really engrossing in the second half, the first half facilitates an adequate groundwork for the story to progress. As you watch Sid mature, and by the time he returns to his dad (Anupam Kher in a short but effective role), you realise that the destination was eventually met even as the journey wasn’t quite ‘on your face’ or ‘over the top’.

 Meanwhile Konkona gets yet another complex role for herself. She is absolutely brilliant. Watch out for her in the interview scene with Rahul Khanna and the emotional outburst when Ranbir decides to go back to his parents’ house. Her irritation is so utterly believable and so are the tender ways in which she looks after him, and the slow process of falling in love with the guy she thought was her total opposite.... :)

 The beauty of ‘Wake Up Sid’ lies in the honesty with which all the characters have been portrayed, bringing them so close to the real life. Be it the problem of English-speaking Sid not being on the same wavelength as his Punjabi-speaking Mom or the Sid who is simply wonderful with his friends, we identify with him completely. The simple dialogues of the movie make it all the more easy to relate with.The good part about the ‘transformation’ that Sid undergoes in the movie is that it comes over a period of time, not overnight or within the space of a song.
 
Yes, the character of Sid has various similarities to Hrithik in Lakshya, Aamir / Saif in Dil Chahta Hai but this movie will leave an imprint in your heart, and you will walk out of the theater humming Wake up Sid!!
 
Fav songssssss that i've been tripping on multiple times during the day... -- Kya Karoon?', 'Iktara', 'Wake Up Sid'
 

[Movie] buzz of the week!!

 

MILK, a movie i had picked up from my DVD store, only because it had Sean Penn in it was quite a movie...Its yet another true story[ i say yet another, cos Changeling was the other movie i saw this week!!based on true incidents]

In 1977, Harvey Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, becoming the first openly gay man to be voted into public office in America. His victory was not just a victory for gay... Milk is about Harvey Milk, who was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, becoming the first openly gay man to be voted into public office in America. And this happened around 1977.... This is not just a movie about a Gay citizen, but its about a movement, that caused quite a revolution in US Political History....

. 

While living in New York City, he turns 40. Looking for more purpose, Milk and his lover Scott Smith (James Franco) relocate to San Francisco, where they start the small business --- Castro Camera,much to the chagrin of neighbors!!. Over time, with support from Scott and from new friends like young activist Cleve Jones (Emile Hirsch), Milk plunges headfirst into the choppy waters of politics. 

When Milk is elected supervisor for the newly zoned District 5, he tries to coordinate his efforts with those of another newly elected supervisor, Dan White (Josh Brolin). But as White and Milk’s political agendas differ, the movie takes quite a turn... A movie about the life of Gay people back in the 70s to how Politics was always ruling the roost is what sets this movie apart from others!!! 

-- Stick to what you believe

-- Fight till you die

That is what i learnt from this movie.....  

============ ================== ============= ====================

The 2nd movie i saw today was A Wednesday [ friends had been raving about it for months, and finally on Monday, i borrowed the DVD from a blog friend, Bhar.. Thanks Babes, sure enjoyed the movie..]

 

This is a hard-hitting thriller, great execution of the script by the director and performances that make an impact on the viewer. The movie is just 1:30 hours and had me glued to the sofa the entire duration!!! The story takes place on a wednesday between 2 and 6 pm. Prakash Rathod (Anupam Kher) a police commissioner gets a call from a man (Naseeruddin Shah), saying that 5 bombs are going to explode in Mumbai in 2 hours and the police needs to do as he says[ following which he will reveal the location of the bombs]. First task for the police force is to release 4 militants. Anupam Kher, Jimmy Shergill and Aamir Bashir have done a good job in executing their roles to the T.  

 

What will he do now in the short time period that he has been given? Will he release the militants or just work towards finding "The man"... Watch this movie, if you havent already!!!

[Movie] Slumdog Millionaire!!!

After all the hype and the Golden Globes, i finally managed to watch the movie- Slumdog Millionaire !!

I had read the book "Q & A by Vikas Swarup" about 2yrs back, and vaguely remembered the story.. That was when KBC was this very popular and happening show on TV...!!

This movie opens the police inspector (Irrfan Khan) interrogating and torturing Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) who's from the Dharavi slums on how he managed to answer correctly on 99% of the questions on the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (Kaun Banega Crorepati), hosted by Prem Kumar (noted Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor). They want to know if he was cheating? 

 

This is where Jamal starts off offering an explanation for each of the questions, relating them to his childhood days till today. This includes scenes of him obtaining the autograph of Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan; the death of his mother during Hindu-Muslim riots in the slums; and how he and his brother Salim (Madhur Mittal) get friendly with this orphan girl, Latika (Freida Pinto).

With every question, we are taken into the lives of this young man,and the turmoils he has gone through to reach where he has now.. At one point brothers loose track of Latika, only to later rescue her from forced prostitution. The would-be lovers are again pulled apart when Salim, who has turned to a life of crime, forces her to become a part of his crime lord’s harem. Jamal’s impetus for being on the game show, and his motivation to continue his focus, and he is on it not for the money,but in hope that his Latika will see him and they can reunite. I dont want to write in detail about the various aspects of the movie, but one must watch it to understand the depth!! 

A movie that had me disturbed, wondering if this is really how bad certain parts of our country is, has been well made by Danny Boyle!!  the one scene where we, the audience is bound to burst out laughing is towards the end, when in all innocence Jamal asks Anil Kapoor "Are you nervous?" !!! :)

Amazing acting by the kids, all of them !! . Anil Kapoor was ok as the host of the KBC show, could have been better, but he did play the part of the evil host to the T... crass and rude at times, he is good...  

Music by A R Rehman needs no special mention, what with all the Awards he has snatched already!!  

The final track Jai ho is a surprise, as the kids burst out into a dance and song routine right there at the station... fun to watch.... 

"O, Saya", a song that has some amazing electronic tones, is a peppy track..... Perhaps the most attractive aspect of this number is the international collaboration between A.R. Rahman and M.I.A. As for "Ringa Ringa" its an upbeat track that has various shades of Indian culture in it... Raqib Alam’s lyrics stand apart....

“You are my waking dream. You’re all that’s real to me. You are the magic in the world I see. You are my prayer I sing. You brought me to my knees. You are the faith that made me believe. Dreams on fire…higher and higher. Passions burning…right on the pyre…” – Blaaze and Wendy Parr

   

Latika’s Theme, in essence, is the instrumental of the very soulful “Dreams On Fire.” However, Rahman realizes that the beauty of the original song lies within the melodic power and vocal gentleness.

Watch it once!!!!

[Movie] Khuda ke Liye - In the Name of God!!

A movie i had been wanting to watch ever since i read about it in the papers and heard raving reviews from my friends... yep, am talking about Khuda Ke Liye, [In the name of God] directed by Shoaib Mansoor ... This Pakistani movie has become one of my favorites over night, and am going around telling others to watch it!! its probably the only movie of its kind that i've seen till date.... 

I wonder why it dint get released in the theaters here?? sad.. i wish more such movies came about....

here is a sneak peek into what the movie is all about... 

It is the story of two brothers, Mansoor (Shaan) and Sarmad (Fawad Khan). Both of l them love music, and have been performing as a team for years now.. they belong to a family who lets them live their life the way they desire, and does not beleive in forcing anything on anyone.... Mansoor is all about music, focussed and knows he is off to USA for a future in music... on the other hand, Sarmad is confused, and that is when he turns towards religion to give him guidance... her is where the movie takes a turn, he comes across the self proclaimed Islam prophet, Maulana Taheri (Rasheed Naz), who turns the soft spoken Sarmad into full fledge Jehadi... 

• Music is against Islam
• Wearing western clothes is also against Islam
• Women should wear a veil

are the messages drilled into him, so much so, that he stops singing, grows a beard, wears only salwar kameez, and even asks his mom to wear a veil....

Things are complicated when their cousin Mary (the beautiful Iman Ali who has acted well, excpet for where she tries for fake a Brit accent, but that fades away against her acting..) arrives from London to spend a few days with them, only to discover that she has been tricked by her father into coming to Pakistan to avoid her marrying her Non-Muslim boyfriend Dave. All this, while he has not been living life the Islamic way, and has a live in relationship with a British lady.... 

Meanwhile Mansoor leaves for Chicago to enrol at the “School of Music”, which is when his life goes through so many changes, that at the end, he does not know who he is anymore (literally). He meets Jani (Austin Marie Sayre), a fellow music student, who he falls in love with, and eventually they get married.. The song they sing together Bhadya ho is absolutely mind blowing...  Around this is when the 9/11 attack happens and one night, he is abducted and interrogated to find out if he was part of the Al Quaeda group.. these scenes made me cry, they are heart wrenching... its almost like every muslim is a terrrorist, and as the cop says "but every terrorist we've come across is a muslim"....  

How the tale goes from Pakistan, to UK and to USA is where the movie stands tall and strong... the battle Miriam( her name is changed to Miriam when she is forcefully married to Sarmad) fights to take revenge on her father and the man who forced himself on her, just bcos the Maulana said he needs to bear a child to prove he is a man is an amazing segment of the movie... This is where, Moulana Wali (Naseeruddin shah) steps in, and takes control of the entire situation , bringing to light what Islam is all about in REAL... 

Few of his dialogues --

“Two men who did the greatest service to Islam in Pakistan, Mahomed Ali Jinnah and Allama Iqbal, did so without a beard and out of the so called Islamic dresscode, in western dress." 

“There is beard in religion, but no religion in beard,”

All this opens Sarmad's eyes, and he withdraws the case against Miriam, and mends his ways, getting back to music...

Shoaib Mansoor does not miss a beat, he does not leave any stones unturned. While all characters have more or less the same significance in this plot, it is Mansoor who is at the centre of it....The grandeur of the Wazir Khan Mosque is simply breathtaking....  and so are the deserted moutains of Afganisthan...


 The movie depicts the lives of those connected with Pakistani society and shows the wedge between the moderates and extremists, it also brings to the fore the less-acknowledged truth, that, Muslims are being viewed with increasing suspicion in the West.

A must watch! 

 

Click here To listen to Khuda ke liye songs, and here to download em.... :)

[Movie] Mere Baap Pehle Aap

My Friend,S and i decided to go check out Blind date movie, which is a concept at Satyam theaters, where we dont know what the movie is.. It could be a new release or it could be a movie dubbed in Tamil.. i've not been to one, so we went to the theater assuming we'd get tickets.. alas, it wasnt so... anyways decided to catch a movie and this was one running at the 7pm slot... Mere Baap pehle Aap..

S had seen it, but said she dint mind watching it again... so got tickets and must say, its one movie where i laughed like crazy....

The movie is all about Janardhan Rane (Paresh Rawal, at his peak..hehehe ), who has two son (Akshaye Khanna) and Chirag (Manoj Joshi). Gaurav, now grown up, takes care of his father, like a father!! i mean literally, he shouts, screams, orders and even threatens his baap but all cos he loves his dad too much.. The father and son duo manage the business as well as the household chores, dad is the cook!! Janardhan's chaddi dost, Madhav (Om Puri), is desperate to get married, but Gaurav is dead against their friendship.

Because, Madhav is forever on look out for a bride and almost always land himself and Janardan into trouble,couple of times at the Police Station(Archana puran singh as the Inspector..), and it is upto Gaurav has to bail them out and face the embarrassment. And this happens not once or twice, but way too many times!!

One day, Gaurav stars receiving crank calls from a girl calling herself Rose, who claims to be his classmate. Rose is in fact Shikha (Genelia) who's playing a prank with Gaurav.. After a while, zillion phone calls to his store and to their home, seductive talk to his dad about how she has a child with Akshaye, etc etc... Shikha accepts the prank and they become friends. Shikha lives with Teacher Anuradha (Shobhana) n her friend.

When the dad is busy looking for a girl for his son, in comes Anu(the teacher), upon seeing whom Janardhan is lost.. it takes a whole bunch of intervention from the kids to figure out the truth and what happens next is the entire story.....

Genelia is adorable... never seen her this cute in any movie.. and she has also acted well..
The wacko scenes with Rajpal yadav and Akshay was hilarious.... laugh till your tummy hurts!!

There are some parts which i dint quite get:--

Anu suddenly says ok to marrying Janardhan
The 1st daughter inlaw who is against her FIL, Janardhan remarrying agrees to it and is all smiles at the wedding... did just a slap do the trick?? hmmm..

Disclaimer-leave your brains at home and go enjoy the movie...

[movie] RACE

RACE
Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Anil Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Katrina Kaif
Direction: Abbas-Mustan
Rating:


A Movie that has been on my mind, wanted to watch it, but dint happen.. it must be over a month since it was released and i finally got around to watching it..

Went for it with my sis and friend.. and must say, the movie was reallly awesomee.. i Enjoyed all the twists turns and plotting.. not to forget the techno stuff, and the car race towards the end of the movie.. it had me gasping, smiling, wondering whats gonna happen and some more... :)

here is a sneak review of the movie...

As Saif Ali Khan confesses in Race: he is only scared of honest people. The rest, he can handle and outrun, in any and every race. scruples? Ethics? do we know these words??? :P

Its all about 2 brothers who begin by racing bikes in their childhood and end up fighting a RACE life itself, with each one trying to outdo the other.. phew.. . Younger brother Akshaye hates big brother Saif, who not only won all the kiddy races but also managed to walk away with the family fortune, leaving kid brother completely dependent on his generosity. Akshay Khanna works his magic using the love of his life(or so he gets Saif to beleive), Bips . But it isn't Bipasha alone who keeps you guessing about her loyalties. In this gritty game of death, loyalties are as slippery as quicksand and it takes just a flick of a pretty head for a sweet simpleton to turn into a pucca predator. what happens in the end, you ask? Oh,well, cant let the cat out of the bag,can it? you need to watch the movie to see what unfolds and you will gasp and wonder with every turn and move...

Does Saif die?
Does Akhsay succeed in killing the brother he hates?
Is Bips the bitch or is it Katrina?
Whats up with the song -Touch me, touch me, kiss me kiss me?
Who loves whom?
What the hell is happening?

by the time your mind processes these questions, in walks our cop Anil Kapoor, R.D, and his wacko secretary Sameera reddy... What a team they are.. and it is amazing to see the whole movie unravel, with so many turns, at times we lose track of whats happening.. but dont worry, you will understand whats going on.. Till the last scene, the movie has us in our seats, relishing it...

What works for Race is that you can never predict exactly whats gonna happen next. Just when you think, this could be the last twist in the tale, it surprises you with another twist. There is almost a twist in every reel!

Directors Abbas – Mastan deserve credit for their execution, they succeed in holding your attention throughout the movie. The direction is complimented by the screenplay although the impact would have been much better had the story been more convincing.

The music is good, catchy numbers thru the movie...Pehli Nazar Mein is my favvvvvvv song...

Saif Ali Khan delivers a powerful performance. His expressions, intensity are top notch... He is so Hot and wowwww...

Akshaye Khanna is wow in this movie..

Anil Kapoor provides some much needed comic relief in the second half. As RD, who keeps eating a different fruit each time, he rocks. Some of his dialogues are hilarious. Some of his dialogues are hilarious.

Bipasha Basu is HOT especially in the song Allah Duhai Hai. Performance-wise Bipasha is good. Katrina Kaif looks gorgeous, but in the acting department strictly average. She needs to work on her dialogue delivery.

Vrooom... Race away....