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Showing posts with label Nagesh Kukunoor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nagesh Kukunoor. Show all posts

Monday, July 7, 2008

3 Deewarein - break down the walls

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Three convicts - all on death row for murder. Jaggu (Jackie Shroff) is convicted for killing and stabbing his wife because she was cheating on him with another man. He admits it. Nagya (Nagesh Kukunoor) is convicted for killing his wife by pushing her off the street and getting hit by a car. He denies it. Ishaan (Naseeruddin Shah) is convicted for murdering a bank teller while he was robbing a bank. He says it's an accident. Mohan (Gulshan Grover) is the three convicts' custodian. Chandrika (Juhi Chawla) is a documentary filmmaker killing her time by coming to the jail to do a movie about the three men on death row to escape her abusive husband.

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3 Deewarein is the movie where Juhi Chawla fans get to see her have more screen time. After her marriage to Jai Mehta, Juhi hasn't been playing leading heroine. Although she doesn't have a lovey dovey role in 3 Deeewarein, it was great to see her again. She proves she is here to stay in Bollywood! The cute, bubbly face with the sparkly smile still lights up the screen. I think she looks more beautiful with age. Her acting is still the best.

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Naseeruddin Shah hardly ever disappoints. I am not a huge fan of his where I would go watch a film just because he's in it. He's a great senior actor. He's the Hollywood equivalent of Morgan Freeman, to me. His character is the sneaky guy who tries to be clever.

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Jackie Shroff looked depressed and moody most of the time because his character. Always sad, he doesn't deny that he killed his wife and just waiting Doom Day.

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Look it's Nagesh Kukunoor! He looks so different in 3 Deewarein! I never would've guess that was him! This guy is talented. First he writes, directs, and stars in this film. His character is hurtful that many have even thought about him killing his wife but waits for a day when the truth to come out.

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Gulshan Grover has a smaller role. He would've been a good choice for playing one of the convicts since he's good at playing negative roles. Instead in this film, he plays the good cop who is the convicts' guardian.

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I rented the dvd for 3 Deewarein back in 2003 when it was first released. The copy I had was really bad, I wasn't able to watch it. I was so disappointed. Now after five years, I finally get to watch it! Since then, I'm more impress with Nagesh Kukunoor because I enjoyed his films - Iqbal, Dor, Bombay to Bangkok...and looking forward to watching his latest Aahayein since it stars my hottie John Abraham.

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I remember people comparing 3 Deeewarein to The Shawshank Redemption. I hardly see the resemblence. I think both are different. The only similarity I can see is the escape at the end but that's it. Otherwise, both films are brilliant in their own ways.

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3 Deewarein is a must see for Juhi fans. It's just a good film to watch. It's not your typical masala film. No dancing around in trees or lovey-dovey scenes. Just good directing, script, and acting from everyone.

Friday, June 6, 2008

Bombay to Bangkok - what a wonderful journey

Shankar (Shreyas Talpade), an amateur thief, needs money desperately. Therefore, he steals from the local don (Nasseeruddin Shah). He escapes from Bombay to Bangkok impersonating as a doctor. He hides the money and is unable to retrieve it when he reaches Bangkok. Later he meets Jasmine (Lena Christensen) and is interested in her. However, he doesn't speak Thai nor does she speak Hindi. They speak in broken English or with the translator's help, Rajwinder (Manmeet Singh). With her help, they go on an adventurous journey to escape the don (Naseerudin Shah) and his wannabe rapper son Jam K (Vijay Maurya).
What interest me in this movie? Thailand! I was born in Thailand so it always interest me when Bollywood films are filmed in Thailand such as Zinda, Ek Ajnabee, 36 Chinatown, etc. Although I have no memory of Thailand since I came to the USA when I was only six months old (I'm basically American), it still amuses me when my favorite cinema - Bollywood - is film in Thailand, the country I was born in (I've never been back, I know, I know).
Besides the movie being shot in Thailand for a reason for me to watch the film, the other reason is Shreyas. I love him and think he's an underrated actor. When I first saw him in Iqbal, I was blown away by his brilliant acting. Being in Om Shanti Om, a Shah Rukh Khan film, has helped him gain more fans. Whether it's a serious role like in Iqbal or a comediac performance in Apna Sapna Money Money, Shreyas never fails to disappoint me. He was just as convincing as the love struck guy in Bombay to Bangkok.

Goris play the main heroine in a few Bollywood films already - Jennifer Kendal (Bombay Talkie), Rachel Shelly (Lagaan), Antonia Bernath (Kisna), Alice Patten (Rang De Basanti), etc. Since I'm Hmong/Southeast Asian/Pan Asian, I've always wanted to see a Pan Asian heroine in Bollywood films. I was ecstatic when Lena Christensen was the main heroine in Bombay to Bangkok. Although Lena isn't full-blooded Thai, I was still happy. She has the same facial structure as Tata Young, who ironically is a famous singer/actress in Thailand and sang the song 'Dhoom Dhoom' - Dhoom. Both being Euroasian with difference Lena's half Thai/Dutch while Tata is half Thai/British-American. One of my friends tell me that a lot of Thai stars in Thailand are mix with European. Her acting is decent and she's very funny in the film.

 
Shankar and Jasmine communicate to each other through the translator - Rajwinder (Manmeet Singh).

The love story between Ram K (Vijay Maurya) and Rati (Jeneva Talwar) is so cute. They both understood each other. It was not a big part of the movie but it's worth mentioning. I would like see more of Vijay in the future.

Naseerudin has a short role but he's always good at what he does.

Shreyas and Lena definitely have chemistry.
The wonderful kiss between the two....

Just because the director is Nagesh Kukunoor, do not expect a brilliant masterpiece like Iqbal or Dor. Do yourself a favor and just watch the film to watch it. Don't think too hard. Bombay to Bangkok is definitely a cute timepass romantic comedy film. There hasn't been many romantic comedies in Bollywood lately so it was a good start in 2008 for me. Being the first Bollywood film I saw in 2008, I was satisfied. Although I do love the fact Bollywood is doing more different genres, it's always good to see a romantic comedy.