CHAK DE INDIA

The movie is about getting back passion for a particular game and winning for your country; it’s about believing in yourselves when others give up. Of course, there could be comparisons to sports-oriented films such as Lagaan, Iqbal, or even Bend It Like Beckham, however, it’s wrong to do so because by the end of the movie, you see it’s original in its own way.

Chak De India revolves around an ex-Indian Hockey Captain, named Kabir Khan (Shah Rukh Khan), who mentors a field hockey team of young and feisty girls who lack team spirit. Their determination, ambition and skills are put to test in an ultimate contest with the world's top teams. For the girls, it is a chance to make their nation proud. For their coach, it is a chance to reclaim his lost honor after being deemed a traitor seven years ago.

The movie has the right intentions from the get-go. Kabir Khan is obsessed with getting these arrogant girls to the World Cup and have them understand the importance of not just being women (who are meant to get married to cook and clean) but to have their own identities and stand the same as men, especially in sports. In a nation that is crazy over cricket, the team encounters groups of people who do not believe the importance of their efforts or the game.

You will have to watch this movie to see how far Kabir Khan and the girls make it. Moreover, forget all thoughts of a predictable ending because the movie has its moments of nail-biting suspense and the finale will have you at the edge of your seat.

Technically, the film is visually captivating, especially the cinematography in Australia. Jaideep Saini has created an interesting story, however his screenplay could have been tighter (especially for the over-the-top reasoning of Kabir being a traitor). To his credit, he wrote many interesting sequences such as the introduction of all the girls, the McDonald’s scene, and the Men vs. Women’s game. Salim-Sulaiman’s music is adequate as a backdrop for the film but nothing to write home about. The editing is not up to par to other Yash Raj Films, especially during the sports action scenes.

GANDHI MY FATHER

Gandhi has always been compelling complex and strangely contemporary. Sir Richard Attenborough introduced "Mahatma" the great soul to the west and the world remains grateful to him. Somewhere in the shadows of this great man lived his son, roaming the streets of India like a beggar. Converting to Islam as a rebellion, reconverting to Hinduism as a penance and finally drinking himself to death. Harilal Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi's eldest son carried his Gandhi identity as a curse around his neck. Mahatma Gandhi could transform the soul of a nation but could not save the soul of his own son. Gandhi became a greater human being as he struggled personally, socially and politically, but always put his principles and quest for human dignity above everything else.

CAST & CREW
Akshaye Khanna, Darshan Jariwala, Bhumika Chawla and Shefali Chhaya

Director: Feroz Abbas Khan

Producer: Anil Kapoor

Screenwriter: Feroz Abbas Khan

APNE

Apne is the tale of the Papa, the Puttar and the Chip. That about sums it up. There’s Papa Deol (Dharmendra) as Baldev; ex-boxing champ and there are two ‘puttarjis’; Sunny ‘paaji’ as devoted son Angad, and rocker-musician son Karan (Bobby Deol). And then there’s the chip (it’s not the eating kinds) and it’s the size of Mount Govardhan (don’t know about Mount Govardhan, and attempting to see a film as nauseatingly pious as this?) and perched neatly on Papa’s shoulder. Papa has the chip because, once when he was a boxer and was wrongly accused of doping charges, he swore to avenge his honor by making his son the champ.

However in the interests of family and common-sense, Angad - the son in question, chooses to quit boxing beyond a point and takes up business, thus saving his family from penury. Evidently, Papaji got angry and hasn’t been on good terms with him ever since.

So now the poor Angad, affection starved and all, is doing well, loves his family but longs for his father’s approval. When an opportunity to restore some boxing prestige arises, Baldev chooses Karan to turn boxer (musician to boxer – yeah right?). When Karan suffers a setback, it’s up to Angad again to step up, and wins this prestige.

DHARM

The movie is about a Hindu priest Pandit Chaturvedi (Pankaj Kapur) who is one of the most highly respected priests in the entire city of Varanasi. A man who lives for his religion, soaked in years of ancient traditions, values and morals. He is a strict, yet lovable man. As any real priest would, Chaturvedi believes he is a disciple of God on this earth to spread God’s message and love as he goes about his rigidly ritualistic world of pooja’s and teachings. One day his daughter brings home an infant (Krish Parekh) and the mother of the infant has disappeared and cannot be found nowhere. Pandit Chaturvedi is hesitant to have the child around the house at first, and when it’s confirmed that the child has been abandoned, he then makes the decision that the child will be raised in the local orphanage. However the Pandit’s wife Parvati (Supriya Pathak Kapur) has by now developed a soft spot for the young child and requests her husband if they can keep and raise the child if as their own. Hesitant at first, the priest reluctantly agrees as his wife lies to him that the baby is the son of a Brahmin. Slowly, the child wins over everyone hearts in the house including Pandit Chaturvedi who finds a son, a disciple and a best friend in the child.

The story takes a turn when the baby’s mother returns to claim him back, and much to the shock of Pandit Chaturvedi, the lady is a Muslim. The child who they’d fondly named Karthik is in fact Mustafa. Pandit Chaturvedi is in a state of shock and utter despair as he feels he has done the biggest sin of his life and feel as if he has betrayed his religion and more-so God. In a state of recluse and regret, Pandit Chaturvedi decides to take a series of different vows and “vraths” to clear his conscience. However whilst his mind is telling him he has done a grave sin, his heart sorely misses his little son, and the words “babuji” echo in every corridor of the house.

In a series of events, riots break out in the city of Varanasi, Mustafa’s mum begs and pleads the Pandit and his family to take back the little boy as he is much safer with them. However the doors of the house are closed for the little boy. What follows next can only be only described as a journey as Pandit Chaturvedi defies what he has believed his entire life if “religion” and listens to his inner conscience in the rousing finale.

PARTNER

The story by David Dhawan and Yunus Sejawal has been inspired by Andy Tennant’s Will Smith-Kevin James starrer HITCH. The entire premise of the movie remains the same with Smith being replaced by Prem aka Salman Khan, a date doctor who has helped hundreds of men woo the girls of their dreams and find true love. The ultimate bachelor playboy Prem finally meets his match and finds the women of his dreams, Naina (Lara Dutta, a feisty newspaper journalist.

Prem comes across Bhaskar Diwakar Chaudhury (Govinda) who is in love with Priya (Katrina Kaif) the rich daughter of a millionaire business tycoon Raichand (Dalip Tahill). Though reluctant at first, how Bhaskar wins over Prem’s heart so that Prem can help him win over Priya’s heart forms the rest of the crux. Yes there are some misunderstandings which are resolved rather quick, as well as an unfinished and unneeded track of an underworld don called Chhota Don (Rajpal Yadav) who seems inspired by both Shahrukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan. Though the basic premise of the movie is the same as well as a number of sequences which have been lifted directly, Sanjay Chhel’s screenplay does give the it’s own look and feel which in turn makes PARTNER it’s own unique movie. Where in PARTNER Smith clearly had the leading role, and James was supporting, in PARTNER it’s an equal show for both Salman and Govinda to showcase their mettle and Chhel has carefully crafted the script to take this in to account. If one wanted to sit here and pick faults they could easily fill up more than an hour, however the “mantra” for the “DD+” formula has always been “leave your brains at home” and PARTNER is no difference. However one does wish that the rather annoying angle of Chhota Don gets deleted as it’s sticks out like a sore thumb, and despite best attempts to inject humour including some old-school toilet humour, the angle fails to gel. On the other hand this can be over-looked as the focus here is primarily on Salman Khan and Govinda.