Blog Posts by Rummana Ahmed

Rani Mukerji and Prithviraj in 'Aiyyaa'Sachin Kundalkar's 'Aiyyaa' is a curious film to review, neither can you completely diss it as a bad one nor can you overlook its obvious flaws. There are moments in the film that will make you smile much after you have left the theatre and then there are others that just had no place in the final cut.

Baradwaj Rangan has titled his review, "Aiyyaa"… Curiouser and curiouser:

Throughout Aiyyaa, we are left turning between a lovably loud Hindi film and a more dreamlike French romance that might have featured Audrey Tautou — and the effect is whiplash. A musical sequence like Dreamum wakeupum — an expertly staged parody of the Padmalaya ethos — belongs in the first kind of a film, but clashes horribly with the sensibilities of the other film. And a song between two supporting characters — Maina (Anita Date, who's made to look like a cross between Olive Oyl and a Folies Bergère entertainer) and Meenakshi's brother Nana (Amey Wagh) — is staged like absurd theatre. It has no business in a

A still from Aiyyaa
Cast: Rani Mukerji, Prithviraj

Director: Sachin Kundalkar

Rating: **1/2

To enjoy a film like 'Aiyyaa', logic and rational definitely have to be left behind. Sachin Kundalkar creates a funny, slightly eccentric, filmi protagonist but he expects her charm to carry a film that is saddled with a ridiculous plot and side characters who are intended to be amusing but border on the annoying.

Meenakshi (Rani Mukerji) loves melodrama and is crazy about typical Bollywood films and music. Needless to say she also aspires to have a classic Bollywood romance rather than settle for an arranged marriage. Coming from a typical middle-class family, she has no choice but to go through the routine of meeting prospective grooms with their families, complete with a tray of poha and sreekhand. Despite several rejections, Meenkashi manages to find a perfectly eligible candidate. However, she is not too keen about the alliance because she finds herself insanely attracted to a very intense-looking Tamil

Celebs at 'English Vinglish' premiereGauri Shinde's directorial debut has been welcomed with thumping applause not because 'English Vinglish' says an extraordinary tale but because it makes a simple story so special.

Anupama Chopra in her review says:

English Vinglish is that rare thing — a Hindi film that creates a heroine out of a homemaker. Shashi, played by Sridevi, is a beautiful, accomplished woman who efficiently manages her home, husband, mother-in-law and two children. She also runs a small business making ladoos.

Shinde's narrative resonates with the audience because they can identify with the emotions that are not extreme and overwhelming but merely sensitive. Baradwaj Rangan writes:

There's no hate here; it's just that the love has dimmed — otherwise, we couldn't be hearing a song that went Piya bin dil lage na as Shashi gets ready to go abroad all alone (for her niece's wedding), with the rest of the family following her after a few weeks. Shashi doesn't like it when Satish hugs a female co-worker. She