Rockstar : by Imtiaz Ali

Rockstar is the latest offering from the very talented young turk by the name of Imtiaz Ali who is just 3 films old.

Ranbir plays Janardhan Jhakar, a wag who transforms into a forbidden and splenetic Rockstar, rechristened as Jordan.

Nargis plays Jhakhar's love interest who makes her debut with this film is half Pakistani , half Czech model.

Jakhar is in love with music and needs to feel the pain for becoming a superlative musician as advised by his confidante , Khatana played impressively by Kumud Mishra.

The initial film moments bring a smile to your face as JJ tries woo Heer(Nargis) and stalks her to get attention.

Imtiaz Ali , the director has showed great sense of maturity and depth in dealing with a complex relationship paradigm between JJ and Heer. There are no simple answers to the  passion and love for each other inspite of Heer getting married and moving to Prague.

The second half  meanders though with the affair in European heartland and makes way for an open ended yet poignant finale.

Nargis is ordinary and her diction and performance left a lot to be desired. A special tribute to the original rockstar in Shammi ji portraying a shehnai virtuoso.

The abutment of Ranbir's portrayal of Jordan in the post interval reels with his goofiness in the first half proves what mettle this actor is made of !!

He has left his contemporaries far behind in the race . It’s a gripping performance – from Janardan’s edginess and non confidence to Jordan’s volatile self! – Ranbir has absolutely nailed it! 

Sadda Haq , an anthem as we speak , would not be the same without Ranbir making the track his own on stage. He literally wraps in Mohit Chauhan's crackerjack renditions all along, convincing me of Jordan's pain!

A.R. Rahman is now a nifty musician , an untouchable force who is the backbone of this cinematic experience. The way his notes showcase the unpredictability yet innocence of Jordan , the brash Rockstar deserves an ovation -  Sadda Haq , Jo Bhi Main , Nadaan Parinde are my picks.

Morrison & Cobain make way for an Indian version to root for , a true blue hysteria inducing Rocker!

Rating : 4.0/5.0

Rabbit Hole : by John Cameron Mitchell

Rabbit Hole is a heart trending story of a couple who are struggling to heal after the sudden accidental death of their son , Danny.

Story begins with Becca and Howie played by Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart respectively are in deep mourning after their 4 year old son dies in an accident crash when he ran out to chase their pet dog.

Becca wants to get rid all the memories of her son by giving away his clothes , toys & other belongings , move out of the house and other distressing objects.

Howie is angry on Becca for trying to eradicate Danny's fond memories and things which may remind of the kid.

Th couple also join a self-help group , where in people come together in grief and share their sorrows.

Becca is upset by the talk in the group and is not willing to attend it any further.

On fine day , Becca follows the Jason , the teenage driver to ran over Danny and starts conversing with him.

The conversations between the two makes Becca realize that Jason is truly feeling the guilt and she makes him know that it was not his fault.

The bickering between Howie and Becca over her meetings with the teenage boy takes the film to another level.

Nicole Kidman play role her character with dignity yet her downcastness & anguish is palpable.
Aaron Eckhart is just about ok.

Rabbit Hole is a cinematic experience with a positivity surrounding it.

An emotional & tragic journey of parents overcoming the loss of a child !

Rating: 3.0/5.0

Seven Pounds : by Gabriele Muccino

Will Smith is one of the most sincere Hollywood actors and it reflects in the choice of movies he has acted in.

After 'Pursuit of Happyness' , he is back with Seven Pounds.

Will Smith plays Tim Thomas , who is set on a mission to change lives of 7 strangers .

The film kicks off with the search for the worthy and the privileged , 7 lives whose transformation is in hands of Tim.

Tim confides in his brother of his intentions and sets out to donate his organs one by one to each of 7 strangers starting with lung lobe to Ben , his brother.

The second half of the movie sees , Tim falling in love with one of the strangers who has a weak heart . He goes through an emotional turmoil as this was not part of the deal.

Seven Pounds is an extremely poignant and intense screenplay. The culmination of the film has a massive shock value and hit me hard.

Will Smith is admirable as Tim , and his character connects with the audience at different strata of emotions.
The film scores on its original screenplay and the performance by the protagonist

One of the best Tear-Jerkers!

Rating : 3.5/5.0

Schindler's List : by Steven Spielberg

Holocaust - Genocide of Six Million European Jews during WWII by Nazi - Germany

Oskar Schindler - A German businessman who was self reliant , independent , shrewd & money making Nazi supporter.

The List - A roll call of 1,100 Jews , survivors of the Ghetto.

Schindler's List is a true story inspired from a biographical book about a man , Oskar , who with his business acumen had a profound impact upon seeing the atrocities by Hitler led Nazis on the Jews.

Oskar played by Liam Neeson is a charismatic & alluring man. He has all the attention in the book and support from the military & SS.

He acquires a factory and starts his production  with his close associate Stern played by immensely talented Ben Kingsley.

Schindler had one simple objective - 'Maximize his profits by getting cheap Jews Labor' even if it means bribing the SS (Nazi Military).

Ralph Fiennes plays a SS Lieutenant who looks over the construction of the Plaszow concentration camp & orders his troops to empty all Jews with shoot at sight orders.

Stern & Schindler are distraught at the sight of massacre around them . Schilnder wants to save as many as he can in the event of  the orders to move all Jews to Auschwitz ,

They create the list of 1,100  Jews to work at his artillery shells factory thereby saving lives from the Nazis.

The performances by the actors is exemplary. The filming in black n white gave this film a documentary feel and a timeless sense.

A master craftsman , Spielberg used nuances which are heartrending , poignant , disturbing , sorrowful. The red color of the coat worn by the little girl used at the end symbolized hope & the bloodbath at the same time.

Crying was inevitable as the credits rolled , the pain of Schindler at the end comes a full circle.

Film of the decade (1990-2000) with 7 Oscars for Oskar!

"Whoever saves one life saves the world entire."

- inscription by the Jew workers on the ring gifted to Oskar.

Rating :   5 ⁵  / 5.0

Life is Beautiful : by Roberto Benigni

This is the second foreign language film  reviewed by me after Amelie & it gives me immense gratification in doing so for 'Life is Beautiful'.

This 1997 , Italian film is about Guido , played by Roberto Benigni who is a happy go lucky chap working as a waiter in a restaurant.

The film traverses through the hilarious set pieces in the first half where Guido woos a local school teacher. He is charismatic , comical and coy!

Years pass by , Guido marries his beloved and they have a son. The setting moves to WWII , where Guido and his son Joshua are forced to move into a train to concentration camps.

His wife demands to be on the same and all three are taken to the Nazi camps to be separated later in the male/female wings.

Guido makes all the effort in humour to guard his son from the Nazi's. Joshua  is told a made up story by his father that all the prisoners are a part of war game where the person who to attains 1000 points wins a tank.

The movie is poignant and funny , erupting mixed emotions for the audience. Roberto Benigni is brilliant as Guido and his performances brings a lump in my throat and grin with each passing reel.

In a bid to save his family , Guido's positivity & conviction that everything will be alright , carries the screenplay to great heights.

The finale makes you wonder of the film's title ' Life is indeed beautiful' and one should make the most of it till it lasts ... Guido did & passed the same moral to all!

Roberto truly deserved the Best Actor & Best Foreign Language Film academy honour.

A film for all seasons .. a message to Celebrate Life! come what may!

Rating : 4.0/5.0

No One Killed Jessica : by Rajkumar Gupta

No One Killed Jessica is the real life account of the famous Jessica Lal case which saw closure April 2010 , after 11 years of unrelenting trial for Jessica's family.

The script is written by Rajkumar Gupta , critically acclaimed director of the film 'Aamir' , which he claims is partly facts partly fiction.

The year is 1999 , Jessica is bar tending at an elite Delhi party , where Manu Sharma , son of a Congress politician shots her dead on refusal to serve drinks.

Sabrina Lal played by a restraint Vidya Balan is all & shattered. She supports her family and sees herself in the web of dirty politics and power game.

On the flip side , Meera , feisty news reporter played chirpily by Rani Mukherjee , is least interested in the open & shut case and takes the end result for granted.

Manu is acquitted in 2006 , Sabrina is devastated , Meera has her foot in the mouth at justice being denied!

NDTV reporter takes the pledge to bring in support from the nation on the shocking verdict , leading to the reopening of the case. Intense public & media pressure lead to the subsequent life imprisonment of Manu.

It is a story of perseverance and faith in justice , proving the saying Good prevails over Evil.

Acting skills are on a display , leading the way are the two female actors , Rani and Vidya , both are laudable.

Rani is on a comeback trail and how , with a hard hitting performance. Vidya has scored a hatrick post Paa & Ishqiya. She plays Sabrina with lot of grit and vulnerability at the same time.

Music from Amit Trivedi is pleasing with the right mix of soothing number like Dua to head banging Dilli! .. He surprises us with every film from Dev D to Aisha.

No One Killed Jessica is an emotional roller coaster ride which gives a sense of triumph! ..

Worth a Watch!

Rating : 3.5/5.0

The Reader : by Stephen Daldry

The Reader is a poignant story set in Berlin , of Hanna Schmidt played by Kate Winslet.The story begins in 1950 , where a teenager 'Michael' played by David Kross is assisted  by middle aged Tram Conductor , Hanna , when he fells sick in the middle of the street.

Thereafter , starts a sensual bonding between the 15 year old & the older woman which transcends into an affair to remember. Hanna was fond of Michael reading to him which included finest classics like the Odyssey, Huckleberry Finn and others.

One fine day , she gets promoted and moves out without a trace. The story moves ahead , where Michael is at a law school studying. As a part of the curriculum , the students are asked to attend a trial of several women accused of letting 300 people burn in a church when they were SS guards.

Hanna is one of the defendants!

Hanna denies authorship of the church fire report , despite pressure , but succumbs to it when asked to give a handwriting sample..

Michael catches her secret of all these years , she was a functional literate!

The film addresses a deep message of love , trials & tribulations spanning background , age , caste & creed.

The journey is heart wrenching ... The sensitivity portrayed between the middle aged woman & the kid is superlative & creates magic on screen.

Kate Winslet is exceptional and she proves it with a Oscar winning act. 

Watch it for the sheer brilliant story-telling & Winslet , a great adaptation of the novel by the same name.

Rating : 4.0/5.0

Hotel Rwanda : by Terry George

Hotel Rwanda is yet another movie which highlights the dark hours of an African Nation.

The movie is based on true to life events of mass killings which occured in Rwanda in 1994 , where milllions died due to hatred amongst two sections of the African Tribals ....... Hutus and Tutsi!!

The film is about a Hotel Manager taking upon himself to shelter the helpless Tutsi people who are the primary targets in this bloodshed.

Hotel Rwanda is a very realistic film giving insight into the state of an African Nation ( a la' Last King of Scotland ) ... the ghastly act of killings has been depicted in a very never seen before mode!! ... may cause the cinegoer to switch the film off ... ( not for the faint- hearted)

The manner in which , beating the odds , Paul Rusesabagina , saves many tutsi lives in a crisis civil war scenario makes me stand up and applaud the man .

The performances are exemplary in particular Don Cheadle playing Paul Rusesabagina .

These true life events pictured in the movie gives us hope that there is SPACE FOR EVERYONE IN THIS WORLD...

Rating : 4.0/5.0

Mithya : by Rajat Kapoor

Mithya .... meaning "a lie" is not a typical bollywood potbolier , it breaks the cliche' to the hilt.

The team of Bheja Fry collaborate for the most unexpected ride of 2008 ,with Rajat Kapoor in the thick of things behind the camera.

Ranvir Shorey , plays a struggling actor frustrated with the knick - knacks of bollywood world. Unexpected events at a night out in mumbai street , creates a storm in the life of VK (Ranvir) .

The story is a maze of events involving the two underworld gangs and VK is in this muddle. Naseerudin Shah , Saurabh Shukla , Vinay Pathak , and many more are the pawns of a Chess Game and someone is surely checkmated!!!!

The script by Rajat and Saurabh Shukla is well-written and reminds us of Ramu' s Satya and yesteryear's Don. The performance by Shorey is once again superlative , he is definitely the king of off-beat cinema in India!

Neha Dhupia is just ok , and the supporting cast gives much needed impetus to the story!

Watch this film for Ranvir only and the unconventional story-telling .

Rating : 3.5/5.0

Atonement : by Joe Wright

Atonement .... as the bible says "satisfaction or reparation for a wrong or injury; amends, reconciliation" 

It is a story of two people madly in love with each other , James McAvoy and Keira Knightley.

The youngest of the three sisters Briony , misinterprets each moment shared by them as an act of erotiscism on the part of Robbie ( played by James ) .

The circumstances build in such a manner which implicates Robbie into a false charge solely on Briony's testimony.

The film then shifts 4 years ahead , England is at war during WWII , Robbie given a choice between prison sentence and joining the army , chooses for the latter. Keira Knightley ( Cecilia ) meets Robbie and the lost love is found!

The twists n turns in the second half , are out of this ordinary, with the narration leaving the cinegoer dumbfounded.

Hats off to the performances , James is into the character with ease , since I saw him in Last King of Scotland. Keira is passe ' , could have done a bit better .

The supporting cast is great ,particularly Cecillia's younger sister Briony. The background score is awesome , particularly at every instance of Briony's intro , the piano keys surely rings alarm bells!!

The finale makes me hail the writer of the book as well the screenplay adapted by the director Joe Wright!! ..... am teary eyed at the end of it all!!

Rating : 4.0/5.0

Woh Lamhe : by Mohit Suri

Woh Lamhe gives an insight into the life of a top-notch actress , her anguish and happiness , her aspirations and expectations, her madness and cravings, her achivements and the downfalls.

Loosely and supposedly based on the life of Parveen Babi , Kangna Raut does an exceptional job in moulding herself and digging into the high-nosed character of a superstar.

Shiny Ahuja is a wannabe director , with the intention of signing Kangana for his movie. His plan of action is a success in terms of attracting the actress by breaking her self-esteem and high-headed blues.

The story - telling is compelling and the schizophrenia diagnosis leaves the audience gasping for more. There in lies the emotional power of the script backed up by stupendous music.

Take a bow Pritam ... I am his fan since Gangster and this music album can be touted as the finest soundtrack in a long long time!!!

Songs worth mentioning :

• Bin tere
• Kya mujhe pyar hai
• Chal Chale
• Tu jo nahin

The chemistry between Kangana and Shiny sparkles and makes the film worth watching. Go for it , even if u have missed it like I did in 2006 :)

Rating : 4.0/5.0