Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

So here are three friends, each battling their own issues - one burdened by the past, one obsessed about the present and one unsure about the future. They get together for a trip of their lifetime and along the way learn their lessons when not really seeking the answers.

Learning the simple lessons of life is not an easy job. Sometimes you need a shock to get up and realise what has gone wrong or what can go wrong. Other times, the beauty and the reality of life just slowly creep up on you when you are least expecting it. And these are the lessons that always have a much more lasting effect, especially when they have the power to change your past, present and future.

One of these lessons is about just letting go. Letting go of the past baggages that keep haunting you. Letting go of the hurts, angers and resentments that we carry around like a millstone around our necks - overlooked by us but obvious to all others. Imran lets go of his past and jumps to a free fall and learns this lesson. 

Another of these lessons is 'Seize the Day' or 'Carpe Diem'. This is to those people who are obsessed with packing in so much of obligations and ambitions in the present moment, that they live life as one big burden. When Arjun goes deep-sea diving and sees the beauty of the world, he learns this lesson. 

And the third lesson is about facing your fears to write your own future. Having the courage of your convictions, standing up to what's right and making sure that no one else is running your life for you. When Kabir runs with the bulls and faces his fears, he learns this lesson.

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara is a beautiful story that gives out such lessons without being preachy or pretentious. Zoya Akhtar proves that Luck by chance wasn't just luck and nor just by chance. She is definitely a film-maker to watch closely. She has brought a lot of feminine sensitivity to the film that has made it so much more subtle considering it is a film about male-bonding. Wonder why she didn't cast Isha Sharvani instead of Kalki though.

The portrayal of Spain is simply brilliant and it was a real brainwave to use that as the destination to tell this story. Not only is it so rich with life (which is the essential theme of the film), it also has landscapes and culture which is relatively much lesser exposed to the Indian audiences. The characters are lovable in their own ways and nobody really disappoints at all.

The only thing in the film that could have been improved was the actual chemistry between the three boys. It was all there in terms of dialogue and acting, but the magic of Dil Chahta Hai was definitely lacking. When I saw DCH, I was almost moved to tears with nostalgia of my own close friends who are not so much in touch anymore. That did not happen.

But it is a film that definitely should not be missed and must be seen on the large screen only. Go out there and live it up, even if it is just vicariously. The lessons you take home will be real nevertheless. 

Shaitan - Brilliantly devious

Shaitan is about the devil in your head that gets in and refuses to get out - ultimately spiraling you to self-destruction. But never once does the film become preachy or supercilious towards either the characters themselves or the audience. In fact you totally empathise with the 'youth-out-of-control' depiction of the protagonists.

I felt the biggest achievement of the film was that it made me experience what the characters are experiencing. And this is especially evident by the use of POV shots as well as the brilliant sound-edit. Even the effortless manner in which the film swings back and forth between stark reality and psychedelic surrealism is almost as if you are on drugs yourself. 

The performances are brilliant all round. The story has evil portrayed deliciously but there's also just retribution to all in the end. It's arty throughout right up to the spiraling end credits. Some sequences especially the gun-fight and chase with a remixed 'Khoya Khoya Chaand' are absolutely gorgeously depicted. So also is the scene where the first mishap happens while running over an innocent passerby and the aftermath of the same. 

Imagine the thrill of a long roller-coaster ride. Now imagine it flying off the rails and hurtling into space. That's what Shaitan is like. You know that you are in for some crazy, wild story-telling when you sign up for it. The promos and the publicity material has already shown you that. But nothing really prepares you for what's to come. And the best part of it is that it gets worse when you least expect it to. 

Delhi Belly - Sh!t happens (like a work of art)

Having hated the pissing-farting-shitting humour in films like Dumb & Dumber, There's something about Mary and even 3 Idiots, I got into seeing this film with not much hope of even liking it. After all, the entire plot of the film is revolving around someone getting diarrhea as the title and the tagline so proudly proclaim.

It does begin pretty disgustingly. Three youngsters living in conditions that can only be described as absolute squalor. They are fast asleep as the camera lingers lovingly on roaches, butt cracks, toilet bowls, unwashed utensils with congealed leftovers, and more of the like in their shithole. I was wondering if I should be looking for humour in these sordid visuals. But soon humour itself found me. With the entry of the girlfriend of one of those, the three are forced to get up. And once the dialogue starts, there's absolutely no looking back.

The three main characters are simply superb. Each having enough to do and each doing it brilliantly. Even the supporting cast in whatever they have to do have delivered par excellence. If everyone just does a brilliant job, then credit has to be given to the direction. The music score is effective enough to work as almost another character in the plot.

Delhi Belly is definitely not for the prudes and I can imagine certain generations turning up their noses at the language and the visuals depicted. But this is what it is in the real world out there and the actors portray their characters in exactly the same manner.

What works for the film is the plot and the pace. The plot simply breezes along at a pace that makes sure you're kept wanting for more. The length and no-interval format work perfectly for it. The writing is one of the best that I have come across since a long time. That is the real hero of the film.

Don't expect meaningful cinema here. Expect an all-out comedy. But for enthusiasts of what works and what doesn't work in a film - this one would be a brilliant case to study. There's a song in the film that is titled: 'I hate you and within brackets: like I love you'. Likewise, this film is simply 'Mindless Crap and within brackets: that has been mindfully crafted'.