Anjaana Anjaani

Till a few years ago, if a director approached a producer with a script that had just two characters from Scene A to Z, the producer would scoff at him and show him the door. After all, devoting an entire film on merely two characters is nothing short of a risk. That's not all, for the two characters aren't friends, acquaintances or lovers. They are strangers who meet accidentally on a bridge, since both have decided to commit suicide. If that's how your film begins, it's akin to taking another [giant] risk by Bollywood standards.

Okay, okay, before I begin dissecting ANJAANA ANJAANI, I need to clear a few misconceptions pertaining to this film. It's not a copy or adaptation or remake of Patrice Leconte's 1999 French film LA FILLE SUR LE PONT/GIRL ON THE BRIDGE, which starred Daniel Auteuil and Vanessa Paradis. The Twitterverse is also crammed with tweets speculating that ANJAANA ANJAANI bears a striking resemblance to the Telugu film ITLU SRAVANI SUBRAMANYAM [2001]. The only similarity between these three films is that two strangers meet on a bridge to commit suicide, that's it! ANJAANA ANJAANI is as diverse from these films as mangoes, apples and peaches. Now let's move ahead...


With ANJAANA ANJAANI, director Siddharth Anand accepts a big challenge. This one's a love story, but it doesn't follow the beaten path. It doesn't follow the rules laid out by the romantics in Bollywood. And that's where its strength lies. Generally, couples in love commit to die for each other, but in this film, romance blossoms much, much after the two meet at the bridge for the first time, when they are about to commit suicide. From strangers to lovers to strangers again is how the film explores the relationship between this couple.

ANJAANA ANJAANI works for two major reasons. The first being the powerhouse performances by its lead pair. Having watched their careers from the very onset, I would like to state that the two actors deliver career-best performances in ANJAANA ANJAANI. The second reason why ANJAANA ANJAANI works is due to the terrific moments in its second hour.

Final word? ANJAANA ANJAANI is worth a watch. If you are a romantic, or even if you are not, ANJAANA ANJAANI is a must-see for its interpretation of modern-day romance. Recommended!

Movie Reviews

Two things...
One, it's difficult to conceptualize and execute a film like ROBOT.
Two, when Rajinikant's name comes in the credits, one cannot hear anything for the next two minutes. His name is greeted with a thunderous applause, whistles yells and cheers. Such is the charisma of this superstar. Rajnikant is the Boss. The real Badshaah.

ROBOT, directed by Shankar, is a Rajnikant Express that transports you to a world you can't envision. Rajnikant's feats are legendary by now. In ROBOT, he goes a step further. The Robot in ROBOT not only follows orders of his creator, but also cooks, fights, romances and wonder of wonders, has a lengthy conversation with a mosquito and scan loads of books/magazines and an entire telephone directory in a second. Yes, you read it right!

Write your own movie review of Robot

That's not all, this Robot is Superman + Spiderman + Terminator + Godzilla, all rolled into one. There's more to this Robot. It can replicate itself, wage a vicious battle, turn into an Anaconda or a monster ball and wipe off an entire army. Whew! Known for larger than life canvas, ROBOT is Shankar's most expensive and if I may say so, his most imaginative film thus far. And who better than Rajnikant for the pivotal role!

Final word? A Rajnikant film is an event and this combo's [Shankar - Rajnikant] new outing ROBOT is sure to strike like Tsunami. Let me make it short-n-sweet. If you miss ROBOT, it's YOUR loss!

Location: Chennai 2010. Mission: Creating a robot Chitti. Purpose: To help the society. Development time: 10 years. Special Features: A human who is not born, but is created. He can dance, sing, fight, is water and fire resistant. He can do all that a human can and more. He feeds on electricity. He takes instructions literally. Where a human can lie to save himself, this robot cannot lie.

Where he has a razor sharp memory and can memorize an entire telephone directory by just running through the pages, he cannot understand human emotions. Dr. Vasi upgrades Chitti's processor and simulates human emotions without realizing the repercussions. Chitti gets transformed. He can now feel and the first feeling that he discovers is Love. Will this love come in the way of Dr. Vasi's purpose of creating Chitti? Will Dr. Vasi's own creation destroy him?

A title like ROBOT automatically puts tremendous responsibility and pressure on the director's shoulders. And ROBOT is not merely a display of VFX, but it also has soul, a story to tell. At first, ROBOT comes across as a clash between the virtuous [Rajnikant] and wicked [Danny Denzongpa]. But ROBOT changes gears in its post-interval portions as the focus shifts to the creator [Rajnikant] and his creation [Rajnikant].

It's a Rajnikant film and it would be incomplete if his loyal fans don't get to watch his stylish actions and feats. Thankfully, ROBOT showcases it all. He can glide on the railway tracks, run horizontally on a moving train, transform into an Anaconda, can swallow helicopters and even fire at people with his fingers, without using a pistol. These are truly clap-trap moments!

Even otherwise, the screenplay is really well penned and absorbing. While the film is a super ride from start to end, it's the penultimate 25 minutes that leaves you awe-struck and speechless. You can't imagine a Hindi film having such an out of the world climax. There will be pandemonium inside theatres when the climax unfolds, I am sure. Let me confess, it's the mother of all climaxes!

Only thing, Shankar could've controlled the length of the film. It could've been shorter by at least 10 to 15 minutes, which includes doing away with a song or two. Of course, like all Shankar movies, the songs are filmed most imaginatively on exotic locales, but what's the point of having songs if they act as speed breakers?

That Shankar ranks amongst India's best directors is well known by now and ROBOT only cements the fact. His vision and execution of the difficult subject deserves the highest praise, in fact distinction marks. He not only dreams big, but the outcome is incredible too. A.R. Rahman's music doesn't compliment the content of the film, but like I pointed out earlier, every song has been filmed exquisitely. The action and chase sequences are outstanding [Yuen Woo Ping, action choreographer in the MATRIX and KILL BILL sequels, was the stunt coordinator]. Visual effects are spectacular [Stan Winston Studio, the studio behind JURASSIC PARK, PREDATOR, TERMINATOR, IRON MAN, AVATAR, provided the animatronics technology]. Cinematography captures the grand production values with precision. The locations of Austria, Machu Picchu in Peru, U.S.A. and Brazil only enhance the visual appeal of the film. The sets are mind-blowing. Dubbing is near-perfect.

ROBOT is a Rajnikant show from start to end. And no other actor, not from Bollywood at least, would be able to do what he does with such amazing ease. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan looks stunning and acts most convincingly. Danny Denzongpa is efficient, as always. The remaining actors enact their parts well.

On the whole, ROBOT is a crowd-pleasing and hugely mass appealing tale of android revolution with a thrilling plot, rich and imaginative screenplay, super action, astounding effects and most importantly, Rajnikant, who is the soul of the film. It's the Big Daddy of all entertainers. Miss it at your own risk!

Anjaana Anjaani

Director: Sidharth Anand Producer: Sajid Nadiadwala Cast: Priyanka Chopra, Ranbir Kapoor, Zayed Khan  Stars: *** The challenge that film walas set themselves in today’s day and age is to create new parameters and break all the rules of traditional Bollywood film-making. And while they experiment, the audiences are served with a fine smorgasbord of feisty films to titillate their palette. The experiment that director, Siddharth Anand, has tried in Anjaana Anjaani, is to use just two major characters in the entire film - Ranbir Kapoor (Akash) and Priyanka Chopra (Kiara). Both these gorgeous young people have been beaten by life and decide to end it all by jumping off the New York Bridge. Of course they don’t finally do anything of the sort but make a decision to spend twenty days of their lives doing “things they have always wanted to” (now haven’t we heard that in a billion Hollywood films? The Bucket List leaps to the mind) While fundamentally the script does have only two characters interacting with one another, changing each other and impacting each other’s lives, but there are a host of peripheral characters that make their appearance, sometimes to take the story forward, sometimes to provide the background of the characters of Akash and Kiara.  Akash, an investment banker feels that he is a failure because he took huge business risks thereby sinking the business and his partners as well. Kiara, on the other hand, has had a failed relationship with a lifelong partner. Fed up, they both decide to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge. However, both land up on the same bridge at the same time. Anjaana Anjaani, is a fun film but it tries too hard. After the interesting start, it falls into the rut of the couple hitting the road, having a great time and falling in love with each other, and then (surprise!) deciding not to commit suicide. Yes, they strengthen each other in many ways, more so by helping each other to get in touch with their deepest desires and fears, thus while exploring the other, and they also come face to face with a few things about themselves.  Ranbir Kapoor is spectacular but one can’t say the same about Priyanka, who seems to be showing the pressure to perform. Basically, there’s an overdose of cuteness by Piggy Chops, which can get a bit over the top sometimes. The movie seems to be the college goer’s delight, and aimed at that class, since the lifestyle that every yuppy would aspire for is all there. Though how, when Kiara is out of a job and Akash, bankrupt, can the couple afford their trips to Las Vegas and boating trips in the Atlantic, is anyone’s guess.  But these are a few minor glitches and you aren’t supposed to ask these questions anyway. You are expected to just sit doing ‘awww…’ at the cute couple; wishing you were there when they get drunk on beer, go party hopping, gamble at the casino, go to all night parties and what have you. Basically, though the surmise is different, there’s really no meat on the bones of the film. The whole suicide bid scene by the couple, which by the way, carries on for pretty long, as they make one failed attempt after another, is just not serious enough. After all, it’s pretty serious to want to kill yourself, right? You have to be pretty sad to want to do it, right? So what are all the fun and games about? But that’s just another question you are not supposed to ask. Siddharth Anand has handled the movie with style. He’s aimed at the young city Indian and I’d say a lot of sweet young things are going to love this film.  The look and feel is slick and stylish, with lots of trendy locales and situations.  Both the protagonists look very hot, (though now that we are on the topic, about it, what has Priyanka done to her lips? There’s a permanent pout there.) Ranbir does an uber hot, bare chested, muscled appearance; he also does a pole dance, in a gay bar, where he strips with abandon. In fact, judging by the number of gay jokes and the fact that he’s lusted after by so many gays in the film, it appears that the attempt is to make Ranbir a pin up boys for the gays as well as the girls! The end is predictable and falls into the rut of the love stories. The dilemmas are resolved, both Kiara and Akash decide to face their demons and go their separate ways.  Finally they realize that they cannot do without each other (of course the realization comes during a long and tedious song sequence). Then comes…what else?...the chase to the airport, the race to the meeting spot, and voila! The lovers unite, and the audience goes, ‘sigh!’ Sweet! Nice music by Vishal Shekhar, great weekend watch for the younger lot!  Final word? Shall we just say that Anjaan Anjaani is Chicken Soup for the Romantic Urbanites Soul