Shamelessly Entertaining Dirty Picture

The reason why Kolaveri Di works is because it “entertains” and nobody bothers if it has great singing, beautiful arrangements, melodious music or deep meaningful lyrics. It appeals to that side of ours which doesn’t always look for logical reasons for enjoying. The same stands for the famous ‘Nakka Mukka’ song which also features prominently in this film for its length. ‘Sex Sells’ because in that moment of ecstasy no one looks out for rationality. The central character of the film Silk Smitha and the film itself is based on this idea of pure entertainment.

The film lives up to the promise it makes and in a way pays a perfect homage to the character of ‘Silk Smitha’. The biopic moves about in a very entertaining manner with sequences unfolding in a series of double meaning dialogues and quirky characters. In fact it won’t be too wrong to say that the dialogues are one of the strongest features of the film on which the entertainment part rides. Rajat Arora to that effect has done a fantastic job in terms of screenplay, story and dialogues which make it a meaty and crisp product.

The screenplay of the second half though doesn’t match up to the first half and certain sequences could have been avoided. Especially the sequence where Vidya Balan picks up a verbal/dance fight with a new kid on the block could have been done better. One other place where the writer could have done a better job is the climax of the film which in a way turned out to be a very expected, lacking the irony of being a celebrity associated with soft porn. The film is a bit like glamorized version of 1997 Hollywood Film “Boogie Nights” which was out and out based on the Porn film industry of west. But as I said this film lacks the irony which Boogie Nights beautifully portrays. Barring the end, the writer(s) have almost done a flawless job and need to be complimented for that.

Vidya Balan has acted really well and carries the entire film on her shoulders. It is one of those rare Bollywood films which have given a female lead the central character of the film and has not at any point of time let the likes of Naseeruddin Shah or Emraan Hashmi overshadow the character of Silk Smitha . The credit goes to both Milan Luthria and producer Ekta Kapoor for making a female centric commercial film. The star of the film is Vidya no doubt , but still in my opinion she hasn’t really pushed the envelope in terms of acting as I expect a lot from her. I could still see traces of real life Vidya Balan in it instead of a full blown Silk Smitha.

Naseeruddin Shah was also a bit disappointing, lacking the usual on-screen aura that is there around his characters no matter how small they are. Emran Hashmi has done well as a jealous director who hates stars and their tantrums. I would like to specially acknowledge him as very few Indian “Stars” actually take a backseat in a film and don’t mind being underplayed. The art direction team and cinematographer Bobby Singh have also done a fab job, successfully recreating the time that the film is set in. The background score by Vishal-Shekhar adds to the narration of the story , using the song Ooh La La and Nakka mukka in an appropriate manner.

Last but not least, Director Milan Luthria, has definitely made a good film striking a proper balance between entertainment and storytelling. The story has been told in a very entertaining manner which would excite you as an audience and also shock you in certain portions. Overall, it’s a paisa vasool package of titillation for the hardcore single screen type of audience and also of story/acting which would appeal to the “multiplex” adult audience. Definitely deserves a onetime watch.

Raaz – The Mystery Continues — Music Review

The sequel of yet another film is going to hit the cinema halls pretty soon and this time it is a sequel or should I must say a film in the Raaz series . Raaz if you remember brought back the trend of Horrors and Thrillers in the industry and then followed films like Bhoot,Darna Mana Hai,Saya,Krishna Cottege,Nazar, etc. etc. that all had some supernatural element in it . Raaz was more of a sleeper hit and no one expected a film with the likes of Dino and Bipasha to do well . This time round though the situation is completely different and it is Bhatt camp’s favourites Emraan Hashmi and Kangna Ranaut that are sharing the screen space trying to send a chill down your spine . The director is also different with Mohit Suri in the seat instead of Vikram Bhatt . Vikram Bhatt in any case hasn’t given many hits in his career of 22 films . Though he recently tasted succes with 1920 . One thing that I am expecting out of Mohit Suri is a good original film that need not necessarily be a classic in the genre . I liked his last attempt Aawarapan and he certainly made Emran to act for a change instead of making out with the female lead.

Lets talk a little about the soundtrack and looking at the album it looks like the trend of getting music for each song from different composers is catching on rapidly . The album has Five Original tracks along with three remixes and there are around four different music directors that feature on the album . The first track is ” Maahi ” which is already on air . The lyrics on this one are by “Jiya Dhadak Dhadak ” fame Sayeed Quadri and he does a fairly good job on this one also . Music is by Sharib-Toshi who do a decent job themselves . They have given it a very basic tune and the lyrics along with that tune are good enough to carry the song . This song may not get as hit as the other songs of Emran Hashmi have got in past but certainly would get popular . Toshi the singer also does a decent job and his voice gives a different feel to the song . Overall , it is a nice track that might get much more popular in the coming days .

Next comes “Soniyo” by Raaju . It is also a very simple track and has nothing so new about it that would make it an  instant hit . But this doesn’t mean that the song is not good . It has some nice lyrics by Kumaar and vocals by Sonu , Shreya and Neeraj . Sometimes simple tracks get a lot more popular than the others . The track starts off with some nice english singing by Neeraj and slowly Sonu takes over . Then it is Sonu for most of the part yet Shreya and Neeraj support him beautifully . The lyrics by Kumaar have a nice romantic feel to them but I felt that the music composition could have been much better . Still , it is a nice simple romantic track that would be liked by all .

The third track on the album is “O Jaana” is more of a commercial track so a little different than the previous two . Though it is commercial yet it is different . Different because usually commercial tracks don’t really have good lyrics and this one on the contrary has good lyrics . Music is by Raju Singh who does a decent job and doesn’t spoil the good lyrics by giving it a fancy tune or experimenting with it . The lyrics on this one are again by Sayeed and he does a good job again . KK gives in nice vocals like always and overall it is a fun track with some nice content .

Next comes in the Title track “Kaisa Ye Raaz hai” which again has slower tempo like the first two songs and it interestingly has a little rock music sort of feel in it . And since no one sings rock songs better than KK in the film music scene , he does the job effortlessly and in a nice manner . Sayeed writes an average song and the music by Pranay Riijia is also quite average . Some of the Piano based pieces in the begining and in between sound quite mysterious and haunting . These pieces would be very much a part of the Background score. Overall , the song is so so and would probably be liked by KK fans and would certainly make much more sense in the film along with the story line .

Last original track on the soundtrack is “Bandaa Re” which is again more of a Film oriented track and has all those spooky mantra chants , thunder sounds and other such elements to give it a little eerie feel . The lyrics by Gourav Dasgupta in this one are below average and not good as compared to the other songs . The lyrics don’t provide much to the song and neither does the music . The music is also just good enough and would sound better in a cinema hall rather than at your home . This song might hinder the pace of the film a little bit considering it is a five minute track with nothing much to offer . The song would become a disaster and a final nail in the coffin if the screenplay is a little weak and slow . The vocals by Krishna are good but he sings in almost Kailash Kher style and we don’t need one more Kailash , happy with one .

Then comes another version of Soniyo which is labeled as “Soniyo – From the heart” on the album . This one makes my point even more stronger that we don’t need another Kailash . Krishna gives vocals on this one straight from Kailash Kher’s heart . Jokes apart , Krishna is a good singer no doubt but he needs to change his style a bit or else he would get lost somewhere as a copy of Kailash Kher . I liked this one also but I would still prefer the original one .

Then comes a Rock version of Maahi which would be surely made into a promotional music video featuring Emran acting as a rock star . Well this is just a guess but not a wild one and I am positively expecting a music video to soon hit the music channels . This version is also by  Toshi and this pne sounds better than the original one . The rock like music that has been composed by Sharib n Toshi is good and it doesn’t feel like the rock version has been made just for the sake of increasing the songs on the album . The song is bound to get popular among the youth which after Rock On expects a rock song in each album . But still , I felt that the tune feels a lot inspired from the western rock songs and I am still waiting for that perfect purely Indian rock song that I didn’t even find in Rock On . Toshi has a voice for such songs and we can expect many such songs coming from him in future .

The last track is a remix of O jaana by DJ Suketu and is labeled as “dance with me mix”. So it is a track that is good for discos etc. and DJ Suketu has done a good job on this one . He is not one of those DJs that add extra bass beats and increase the tempo and label it as a remix . He adds a lot more to the remix and gives it a different feel than the original one .

Overall , it is a good album with almost all the songs being worth listening once . Apart from Banda Re and the title track almost all songs are good enough to make the soundtrack worth buying .

Album Rating : Three and a Half out of Five Stars ; Good songs with not many experiments .