A Rockstar and Some Players

Wonder of wonders. I was actually able to watch a couple of movies recently – completely as opposed to tidbits. Unfortunately, both these movies were a bit of a mixed bag and neither fully lived up to either director’s previous efforts.

The first movie I saw was Rockstar starring Ranbir Kapoor and Nargis Fakhri and directed by Imtiaz Ali of Jab we met and Love Aaj Kal fame.

The story isn’t much but the cinematography, both the actors’ good looks, music, and Ranbir’s charisma save the day and salvage a movie that moves in fits and starts. I found the movie rather boring in the beginning, and Nargis Fakhri’s acting pretty terrible. But as the movie progresses, she gets better and the movie overall looks more coherent. And whatever her acting defects, she makes up for it with her radiant beauty. She reminds me of another Katrina Kaif and if she works harder on her acting, she could make a big impression.

I like the music composed by A.R.Rehman. It suits the film but I don’t think I would have cared too much for it if I had heard it alone. My favorite songs are the seminal Sadda Haq and the cheery Katiyan Karoon. The rest of the music is not really standalone.

Overall, the movie is good, but not great. It does not match up to Jab we Met, but it is not as awful as Love aaj Kal either. But, please Imtiaz Ali, next time you make a romance, can you please try to make it romantic? Still, it is a good movie and worth a watch.

The second movie I watched is Players.

Players is directed by Abbas Mustan (the kings of thrillers). I have watched and enjoyed most of their earlier movies starting from the excellent Baazigar to the recent Race. Players however is a real disappointment. It boasts a number of stars – Abhishek Bachchan, Bobby Deol, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Bipasha Basu, Sonam Kapoor, and a number of lesser known actors. I guess it’s just a question of too many cooks spoiling the broth.

What should have been a taut thriller turns into a rambling snorefest. Except for Neil Nitin Mukesh, all the actors sleepwalk through their roles. The music is wince-inducing, and the girls who are supposed to look glamorous merely look tacky. The plot is derived from the Hollywood movie – The Italian Job. However, the effort to make it palatable to Bollywood movie audiences falls flat on its face. The directors would have been better off sticking more closely to the Hollywood original. You know it’s a terrible thriller when you can guess every twist and turn of the story much earlier than the main players. A movie to avoid!