Kaminey: paifa wafool hai 3.5/5

"machli ke kaanto main magarmach fass gaye"
That line sums up the story of Kaminey...a gripping tale of one night in Mumbai where three average Mumbaikars are responsible for a shootout between a marathi politician, a drug mafia don, corrupt cops, some nigro peddlers and bangla bandhus with aamchi Mumbai police.

Twins Guddu and Charlie (Shahid), are like chalk and cheese. Guddu is the good, amibitious guy, some Aids activist engaged in increasing condom usage. Ironically, he and his girlfriend Sweety (Priyanka Chopra) failed to take relevant protection during their act. To avoid any repurcussions they get married raat ke dhaai baje...against the wishes of Sweeties powerful Marathi politician (Bhau).

Around the same time of the day, Charlie, is involved in a maara maari in a 5 star hotel, and in the skirmish that follows robs a police jeep and smashes the head of 2 cops (who apparently were transporting cocaine in a guitar hidden in the jeep).

As in the case of twin trouble, their enemies catch the wrong Shahid and thereby ensues the "catch me if you can" drama. The winner has to find the guitar which will win them Rs 10 crores.
I missed introducing the bengali brothers in the frenzie, who are maniacs speaking in Bengali which I could barely comprehend.

The plot thickens and gears up nicely for the fitting finale. However, the final shootout is a little too high on guns and bullets and goes a little overboard. But barring the little skid in the final minutes, the movie is gripping... real to the tee and takes you to the Mumbai we have seen before in the Ram Gopal Verma (of Satya fame) movies.

Now to the technical aspects...of watever I think I can understand...
terrific music...felt nice to hear Suresh Wadkar behind the mike,while the hige octane Dhan te Nan is electrifying... Dont remember much about the background music.

Busy camera work...moving from eccentric angles to extreme close up, moving left right up down and giving a fleeting view of the landscape to hide the proceedings from the viewers.
The local train sequence steals the show, while the hotel chase scene are also extremely well shot.

Performances:
The supporting cast is able and sound. Mikhail (Chandan Sanyal) , one of the bangla maniacs, is good in a few scenes but goes over the top. He seriously acts gay with Charlie. But its the wily Bhau (Amole Gupte) who rocks. A mix of Arun Gawli and Raj Thakre, he carries himself with amazing ease, a little doze of histrionics and eccentricity backed by detailed marathi touch.

Priyanka, marathi mulgi, aai shapat...ekdum item hai. I was really impressed by her marathi dialogues, she passes off as the typical marathi girl. But eventually, this movie is Shahid's vehicle.
He is totla, a hakla, gets to do some real action, maintains amazing intensity in some scenes and manages to go thru a movie without his forte- his dance.

Vishal Bharadwaj has bought a new whiff for Bollywood fans who are not used to the Quenton Tarantino kind of movies (me included).
With the exception of an overboard climax, the movie has everything to fulfil the expectations of a movie buff.

Love...Aaj Kal Aisi hi hoti hai: 3/5

After walking out of Kambakht Ishq and a passable New York, expections were sky high for Imtiaz Ali's fresh flick. Deepika looked hot in the Chor Bazaari number while Saif was cool in the Twist number.

The movie dwells upon the two theories of love. While Jai (Saif) represents the current generation and their pragmatic approach towards love, relationship, breakups, flings versus the veteran sardarji (Veer Singh) Rishi Kapoor, who has his own story typical of the eastman color movies we have forgotten ages ago. The two tales reach their happy ending, through the same old situations. A breakup, the meeting after ages, or the shaadi, running away from home, or the climax are all situations we have seen in almost every movie.

But that is where Imtiaz Ali (director) enters with the powerful punch. Each of these scenes have something fresh to offer.

The post breakup conversation between Jai and Meera (Deepika), or the trip to Delhi which consists of the beautifully picturised Chor Bazaari, and the typical shaadi scene are worth mentioning. The screenplay shines throughout these moments, very well captured by Imtiaz.
However, apart from some real good moments, the movie fails to carry the flow throughout the 150 minutes. However, you will nver feel too bored with the proceedings.

The music complements the screenplay with the exception of the san Fransisco number. I really felt like walking out and buying a samosa during that song, only to realise Samosa costed a bomb! The cinematography is a clear winner. The three cities Kolkata, London and San Francisco with their bridges, trams and the roads add to the storyline. The San Francisco setting reminded me of the sitcom Full House :)

Of the cast, Rishi Kapoor is a charmer throughout, while there is not much to do for the rest of the supporting cast. Deepika needs to go back to Farah Khan and get some lessons on dialog delivery. There doesnt seem to be a fullstop when she talks. Performance wise, she is strictly ok, but she looks damn hot. As far as Saif is concerned, this role is nothing but an extention to his Hum Tum role, nothing great again.

Imtiaz Ali has given us fresh takes on love through Socha Na Tha and Jab We Met.
Love Aaj Kal is not in that league, but still a decent effort.

Atlee Rating: ***