Vicky Donor

Rating : 7/10
Release Date : 20th April, 2012
Time : 122 minutes
Director : Shoojit Sircar; Writer : Juhi Chaturvedi; Music : Abhishek - Akshay
Starring : Ayushmann Khurrana, Yami Gautam, Annu Kapoor, Dolly Ahluwalia, Kamlesh Gill

A laugh a minute first half and a good, pacy, though slightly senti second, work well and ensure mobile phones & side chit chat are forgotten while watching the film.

The true beauty, though, lies in the unusual vocation of its hero, Ayushmann Khurrana, who is a sperm donor and the excellent characters & locations etched around him including,

Dolly : his widowed mother who runs a beauty parlour to support her good for nothing son and sarcastic mother-in-law
Kamlesh : the whiskey swilling grandmom, who dotes on her grandson and is amazingly progressive in her outlook and intake
Yami : yummy bank manager who ends up falling for our hero and the subsequent sparks, inevitable in a union between a Punjabi boy and Bong girl.
Annu Kapoor : the infertility clinic specialist who needs some high quality sperm donors to save himself from bankruptcy and has his heart set on our hero.

The best jokes come from the mother and the grandmom, none more so than during their bonding sessions over drinks late at night. The reaction to the union & the nupitals of our unlikely lead pair also provide great moments of hilarity. And our sperm obsessed doctor, who as it turns out, has a heart of gold, is integral through our film.

The fresh faces really work for the film, make it interesting and engaging, with none of the actors coming with any baggage or preconceived stereotypes. Yami is great in the first half, alluring, mysterious, playing the part of the enigmatic Bengali brilliantly. Annu gives his role a real jolly crack. Ayushmann is very good as the no-nonsense Punjabi boy. And no praise can be high enough for Dolly and Kamlesh.

The soundtrack, thankfully all in the background, lends zip to the film. The ethos of Delhi, its innate crudeness, language, show-off nature and locales are well captured. Whether its by showing the good doctor constantly eating at a chat wallah or Ayushman’s relationship with his terrace neighbor or the private detective handing over his food bills prior to sharing any information or even the assistant doctor at the clinic, who seems to be a fertility specialist on his own…its all excellently done

I like the courage shown by the makers in going for an unusual topic, fresh faces. I like that the marketing of the film stayed focused on its core topic and didn’t deviate too much. I love that the film also stays more or less on course in its entirety on its theme, deviating just slightly in the second half to other topics. It’s a refreshing film, funny, engaging and enjoyable.

PS : liberally laced with Punjabi dialogue, if you’re not comfortable with the language, better to take a translator along…

Yeh Saali Zindagi

Rating : 6/10
Release Date : 4th February, 2011
Time : 130 minutes
Director & Writer : Sudhir Mishra; Music : Nishat Khan, Abhishek Ray (title track bonus version)
Starring : Irrfan Khan, Chitrangda Singh, Arunoday Singh, Aditi Rao Hydari, Yashpal Sharma, Sushant Singh, Saurabh Shukla, Prashant Narayanan, Vipul Gupta, Vipin Sharma

There is a remix version of the title track that has some whacky sounds and beats that seem to do justice to this off beat film. Weird, quirky characters and situations. Equally weird dialogues and sounds. It confuses and captivates, grips you without really making you care. Also, for a change in Hindi films, the second half is better than the first. And then there is Chitrangda (my bias for her well chronicled in my reviews of her earlier films Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi and Sorry Bhai).



The film is about love, unrequited or otherwise. Irrfan is besotted by Chitrangda. She, though, is in love with Vipul Gupta. Both of them are kidnapped by Arunoday, who has just got out of jail and wants to leave it all because he loves his wife (Aditi) and she wants him to give up his way of life. Arunoday is also caught in a gang battle between two brothers, Yashpal Sharma (a golden hearted villain) and Prashant (who seems to swing both ways) and a corrupt cop (Sushant) who swings whichever way the wind blows. Throw in Saurabh Shukla (Irrfan’s boss and hates Chitrangda) and also Shyam’s fiancée (daughter of an influential politician and the real target of the kidnapping) and you begin to get an idea of the tangled web being woven…




The first half is disconcerting. Too many characters, an uneven pace, no clarity on what is happening, who’s who and even the editing (switching between flashback and the present) doesn't help. The second half makes up by making the plot thicken and threading some interesting, unexpected twists and turns in. However, the fundamental flaw is that while we possibly like or dislike some characters, we love or hate none. Either things happen too fast or there are too many questions hanging over their actions. Why does Irrfan love Chitrangda even though she clearly doesnt ? Why does she love Vipul, is she a gold digger ? The Arunoday and Aditi love track is a little clearer but seems far more physical, not the kind that will make either of them change the course of their lives the way it does.

There is a fine ensemble cast here, really good performances. The music is very good, particularly the Sararara song and a soft number, Kaise Kahein Alvida. Even the background music is nice, keeping pace with the mood of the film.


I enjoyed the film but clearly its not for everyone. Slightly dark, gritty, a jerky pace and profanity laced dialogue. However there is wit, humour (situational and otherwise) and enough interest in the storyline to carry us through. And for those who do stay for the ride, you get something different, off the normally safe and well treaded track…

Aisha

Rating : 5/10
Release Date : 6th August, 2010
Time : 126 minutes
Director : Rajshree Ojha; Writer : Devika Bhagat (inspired by Jane Austen's 'Emma'); Music : Amit Trivedi
Starring : Sonam Kapoor, Abhay Deol, Ira Dubey, Amrita Puri, Cyrus Sahukar, Anooradha Patel, Yuri, Lisa Haydon, Arunodhan Singh, Anand Tiwari, MK Raina
Lets be clear that style is more important than substance in this film. Its almost a paid promo for Sonam and the brands she endorses.. L’Oreal / Dior / Elle / Louis Vuitton getting as much footage as some of the characters. What keeps it together are some good punch lines and very good performances from Abhay Deol (who basically carries the film on his shoulders), Ira Dubey (plays her part to perfection) and Amrita Puri (who puts heart into the girl from Bahadurgarh).



So Aisha (Sonam) is full of herself. She’s into match making, shopping, wedding planning, animal shelters, river rafting, partying…pretty much aimless and happy to spend Dad’s money as she zips around in her yellow VW Beetle. Her best friend is Pinky (Ira Dubey), also a bit of an airhead, happy to be Aisha’s partner in crime. Aisha now acquires a new project. She is determined to pair up Shefali (Amrita Puri, gawky, plaited girl from Bahadurgarh who continuously makes various faux pas’ and is desperate to get married) with one of their circle, Randhir Gambhir (Cyrus Sahukar, heir to a mithai shop empire, rich but not really with it and has a huge crush on Aisha). While Dad, masi etc watch indulgently, the only one who doesn’t really approve is Arjun (Abhay Deol, childhood friend, smart investment banker, expert polo player, great tango dancer, general cool guy). He wants Aisha to let things be. He doesn’t want her to turn Shefali into a Xerox copy of herself. He wants her to focus on better things / realize her potential. And Aisha doesn’t like being criticised…


Arjun’s girlfriend, Aarti (Lisa Haydon, svelte, sexy in a very Angelina Jolie-esque way) and Dhruv (Arunodhan Singh, Aisha’s masi’s stepson and a guy who thinks he’s cool vs actually being so) provide the other complications in this otherwise straightforward storyline.


They manage to hold it reasonably together till the first half but then it starts to fall apart. Key reason is that we never understand why the characters behave the way they do because character development is sacrificed at the altar of fast paced storytelling. And promoting Sonam, making sure she is always the centre of attention. And its all very predictable.

Sonam is not bad. She seems to embody the Barbie doll characteristics of Aisha, looks nice all dolled up and sulks / pouts to perfection. It’s the scenes where she needs to emote which seem to test her. But she's not bad, especially for this role. Some of the jokes are great, with Abhay having most of the punch lines, right from “mall ka rasta bhool gayi ?” to “I know nothing about girls but a lot about women”. The soundtrack is consistently peppy, some lovely songs (including a soft guitar number) and some scenes are designed to perfection, including the opening wedding, some of the art in the background and Abhay’s snazzy suits.



Love can be one of the most complicated emotions. But not if you watch Aisha. Pithy one liners, people who seem to find their soul mates at the drop of a hat and a central character who seems to be comfortably gainfully unemployed. And an ending that’s too pat. All part of a nice, girly, Lutyen's Delhi paradise.