DJ Munks.com

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Sajid Nadiadwala has been producing movies for over 40 years now and he has made a number of hits in this time. He has a way with sleazy comedies and recently he even tried to write one.. but Houseful did not get a single houseful even with a star cast of Akshay Kumar, Ritesh Deshmukh, Deepika Padukone & Lara Dutta. Good lesson for Sajid to stick to producing films..

This time he tries something different in the form of a genuine romantic comedy which is not sleazy and is with a hugely talented young director Siddharth Anand. Siddharth has a knack for making young & modern romantic hits in the form of Bachna Ae Haseeno, Salaam Namaste and Ta Ra Rum Pum.. and Sajid truly needs that after flops like Houseful and Kambakht Ishq in his kitty.

Anjaana Anjaani with Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra has definitely been promoted as the biggest pre-Diwali release of the year and has the elements to make a hit movie. Ranbir can never say no to Siddharth who gave him is first hit movie in the form of Bachna Ae Haseeno and he is on a roll with super hits like Raajneeti, Wake Up Sid & Rocket Singh making him an ideal choice for the male lead. While Priyanka has the cuteness & hot factor that would work ideally with a script like this. Plus there is a special guest appearance by Zayed Khan.

The marketing for this movie has been brilliant with ‘Making of the movie’ taking centre stage on every channel. They have used the amount of fun that they have had on the sets to promote how much fun the actual movie is… which is an excellent strategy. On top of that the trailer and the music of Vishal-Shekhar is ‘killing it’ on every TV & radio channel. All these are perfect for the making of a hit movie..

But is it really or is it just another over hyped disappointment? I found out at a special screening in London..

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PLOT

Akash (Ranbir) is a dynamic & ambitious wall street guy in NY who picks up a massive loan to reach his goals. The market crashes and he finds himself on the Brooklyn bridge with the aim to end his life. He has no family, no friends & the bank has taken over everything he owns. Sitting by the bridge is a drunk Kiara (Priyanka) who is attempting suicide as well with her broken heart. They are unable to commit suicide but land up in the hospital just to escape & try to end it all again. Their attempts never succeed and they decide to give themselves 20 days to finish what is pending of their lives and end it at new year mid night. They also decide to fulfill their last wishes & do all that they wanted to. That’s where the fun starts & Akash realises that he now has a reason to live.. that is Kiara. But she is stuck on her broken heart & love for Zayed Khan. He sends her back to Zayed to give her relation a second chance while he goes back to making up for the losses in his business. What happens next is something you can easily guess but I rather that you watch it.

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REVIEW

Siddharth’s direction has never gone wrong in this genre & style of movie making… and it doesn’t once again. The bonus here is that he has written the screenplay as well and that is a brilliant job overall. He has a story telling style of his own which works seamlessly with a young audience. The plot of the movie is different and genuinely funny at times but like most Bollywood movies it is predictable. It also has a message with a tag line saying “Live each day as if it is your last” which is inspiring too. Other than this the movie gives a very strong message to the youth saying suicide is not a solution to any problem. Facing your problems and giving life a chance is the only rightful thing to do.

The movie thus has all the important elements to make a good movie including romance, comedy, educative message, good cinematography & US location shoots in LA, NY & San Francisco, good direction & screenplay, good music and most importantly.. good performances by Ranbir & Priyanka. Zayed does a decent job too in the limited time that he gets on the screen but Priyanka outshine everyone. You will really love her work and the cuteness factor that she caries effortlessly & with glamour.

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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MOVIE

- Fantastic screenplay with good direction.

- Perky story with a perfect mix amount of romance, comedy, fun & locations.

- Ranbir & Priyanka are very cute and fresh.

- Performances are genuine, good, dynamic and in-your-face-noticeable.

- No villians.. no baddies.. no fights.. no action.. making it a good family or couples movie.

- Good edit and thus a good flow to the movie that keeps you hooked throughout.

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LOWLIGHTS OF THE MOVIE

- Most dialogues are average & could be funnier or more touching in the sad scenes.

- Attention to detail goes missing at times.. especially in case of the weather. Within 20 days of the movie the temperature changes between 5 to 40 degrees!!

- Predictable story line with guessable situations.

- No action & no baddies.. thus missing a big element of Bollywood movies.

- Songs at really short durations at times.

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FINAL WORD

Pretty Good – 7.5/10

Anjaana Anjaani is an overall entertainer. It has most elements of a modern day hit with a global appeal. It is based in US but with that Indian connect which brings it to a perfect balance for the UK audience. The movie is not age specific but does require you to be young at heart. The movie has a message which I think is the most important aspect of it. The fun moments & the sad moments come along in the movie with equal prominence and leave you touched. The story is simple but cool. It is predictable but still keeps you engrossed. The riveting factors are Ranbir & Priyanka’s performances. Both are pure talents mixed with hard work and expert guidance in the form of Siddharth & Sajid Nadiadwala.

I won’t say this is the best movie of the year but it sure is entertaining and should not be missed. Watch it once and that is it! You wouldn’t want to see it again but you will not forget the experience either.

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Sajid Nadiadwala is back after kind of a flop movie earlier this year in Housefull. Even though Housefull did well with its collections at the box office it still was a terrible movie.. But now he has teamed up with director Siddharth Anand who has made hit modern romance movies like Bachna Ae Haseeno, Salaam Namaste and Ta Ra Rum Pum. Thus Anjaana Anjaani could turn things around for Sajid with a hit that would be even appreciated by the audiences. The trailer looks like it could do the trick with super talented Ranbir Kapoor and super hot Priyanka Chopra leading the way.

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Vishal Shekhar have already had a big musical hit this year with I Hate Luv Storys and so the expectations are really high on the musical front for something new and different. They surely have the calibre and Vishal’s voice to create some magic… but what scares me is looking at the list of lyricists involved here for a total of 9 songs. Does it give a music director & the movie director variety with the songs or makes it difficult to get the right sound with the inconsistency? Let us listen and find out..

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REVIEW

Track 1 – Anjaana Anjaani Ki Kahani – The title song is definitely new not similar to anything that I think I have heard before. Although the start seems a little disappointing with English lyrics, the chorus is very catchy and you will instantly like it. It has the big sound with a full band including elements of rock, dance and brass. It is an upbeat song and will work well in the international circuit on radio stations and Bollywood dance parties… that is the beauty of Vishal-Shekhar’s composition! Lyrics by Neelesh Misra are average but modern and fun. We first heard singer Nikhil D’souza on the song Sham in the movie Aisha and we loved him. Knew he had a long way to go and here he is opening Vishal-Shekhar’s big budget movie with Monali Thakur supporting him on the female vocals. 7/10 for all the fun this song projects.

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Track 2 – Hairat – Vishal-Shekhar show how mature their music is with a modern global audience appeal. The music of this song could easily be used on a big budget Hollywood movie OST in the background of a suspense thriller.. with English lyrics ofcourse. But here Vishal shows not just how mature his music is but also his lyrics are. The wording and rhymes are perfect and the work of a pro. ‘Long time hiding’ but ‘never forgotten’ singer Lucky Ali delivers a performance to remember. His voice texture brings a different energy and flavour to the song. Love this song as the perfect high speed drive song. 7.5/10.

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Track 3 – Aas Paas Khuda – An OST for a romantic movie would be incomplete without Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s voice.. His Sufiana voice works magically on your listening senses. Although this is nothing compared to his other hits but it has it’s own feel. What doesn’t work too well here is the composition of the song. It is outdated and not unique. The instrumentation is average too. Saving the day a little are Vishal & Shekhar’s lyrics which too are not the best. 6/10.

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Track 4 – Tumse Hi Tumse – Three lyricists on this song!! Amitabh Bhattacharya & Anvitta Dutt have written the main lyrics while Shekhar sings it for them. Caralisa Monteiro has written and sung the English lyrics. I really like the vocals and lyrics of this song but the song doesn’t click for me overall.. and that is because of the arrangement. The rock instrumentation is something that I am not sure about was the best musical fit. Well that is just my opinion but something doesn’t make this song click and it becomes an average song. 6.5/10.

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Track 5 – Tujhe Bhula Diya – The start of this song is mesmerising with Shruti Pathaks voice and some innovative guitar strumming. What a come back on the composition and arrangement tactics! Fantastic and truly brilliant!! The bits of Qawalli thrown in on the bridge comes in beautifully.. especially after acoustic main stanzas. The music shifts into three different arrangements seamlessly with excellent classical instrumentation. The Punjabi lyrics at the start followed by the main lyrics are the work of Kumaar and Vishal himself again. They are very good and singer Mohit Chauhan’s harmonic vocals forces you to take notice of them. An overall great song.. 8/10.

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Track 6 – I Feel Good – This is a Vishal Dadlani song with his vocals, his lyrics and his music. Shilpa Rao who recently delivered a mind blowing performance in the song Nain Parindey in Lafangey Parindey joins Vishal on the vocals. Her presence helps but not much.. this is still an average song with another rock English lyrics song. The guitar solos in the bridge make it better but not enough. Only thing worth noticing is Shilpa Rao’s work who usually sings classical song and now delivers a rock chick song. 6.5/10.

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Track 7 – Anjaana Anjaani – This song starts off with very soothing music with ambient flutes and Shilpa Rao’s deep voice on the vocals with Vishal accompanying her again. The they do work well together and you can appreciate the pair as you hear them together in more songs. I love the lyrics by Kausar Munir & Irshad Kamil. Musically it is very well mixed and arranged with lounge taking on rock in the chorus. Innovative but this song needs to be heard a little too many times for it to grow on you. 7/10.

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Track 8 – Tujhe Bhula Diya (Remix) – The only remix on the album is by Abhijit Vaghani who has done an excellent job of making this great song a little different & upbeat. He has given it a twist with a piano melody and a trance feel. He has still managed to keep the traditional elements including a harmonium solo which goes almost dry without a beat which is very brave to play on a trance dance floor. Respect to this mix.. 8/10.

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Track 9 – Aas Paas Khuda (Unplugged) – So I guess I was right with the fact that the musical composition wasn’t working for the original song above. When you hear this unplugged version it sounds totally different and you really appreciate the beauty of it. What you appreciate more is the beauty of voices.. and this includes a feature by Shruti Pathak. Fantastic version! 7/10.

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FINAL WORD

Above Average – 7/10

Anjaana Anjaani has no bad song and no really good song. It is a bunch of average and above average songs with Tujhe Bhula Diya & Hairat being my favourite songs that truly stand out. Title song Anjaana Anjaani Ki Kahani is catchy and different too but not stunning. Is it the influence of too many lyricists? I don’t think so.. I think it is a Siddharth Anand thing. He usually has a couple of big songs in his movies with other average songs that don’t fight for too much attention. Maybe it is his weird strategy of his or just plain bad luck! Vishal-Shekhar do an decently good job like they always do but the influence of Vishal’s rock background is truly evident and maybe overused. Overall I would still recommend you buy this album as a whole. OST available on T-Series.

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The much anticipated big release of Summer 2009 is here….

Kambakkht Ishq comes up true to expectations.

I expected Kambakkht Ishq to be better than Chandni Chowk To China… IT ISSSS.. !!!

I expected to be sleazy, dumb & crap… IT ISSSS !!!

If CC2C was super bad.. This is BAD…. n that’s a relief !!

Yup, I wasn’t expecting a great deal out of Kambakkht Ishq. The trailers looked stupid with the typical Akshay Kumar sleezy humour & extravagant senseless sets increasing the movie spend around a dumb script. Also, since it is a Sajid Nadiadwala movie you can expect it to be that weird style of comedy that you have seen in movies likes Judwaa, Mujhse Shaadi Karogi & Heyy Baby.

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The only thing I was looking forward to in this film was to see if Kareena Kapoor has got any weight-age to her performance as she has been almost missing in action after Jab We Met & has only done a few rubbish films like Golmaal Returns & Roadside Romeo. Plus, I wanted to see how have they managed to fit Hollywood stars like Sylvester Stallone, Denise Richards & Brandon Routh into a Bollywood script.

Another thing to figure out is if Director Sabbir Khan has any talent whatsoever in handling a big budget project like Kambakkht Ishq in his debut directorial venture.. Lets watch & find out..

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PLOT

Akshay Kumar is Viraj Shergill & the best Stuntman in Hollywood who does stunts for the likes of Brandon & Stallone. He is a total playboy who hates the concept of marriage. Kareena is Bebo/Simrita Rai who is an aspiring surgeon & also a supermodel when it comes to generating money to pay for medical school. She hates the concept of men all together since she has seen a lot of bad happen to the women in her family. Their paths are crossed when Akshay’s brother Aftab decides to marry Kareena’s best friend Amrita Arora. There is abuse, hatred, name calling, fighting, etc. all the time between them on every occasion they come across each other & that’s nearly all of the first half. In their ego trip fights they ruin Aftab & Amrita’s wedding too.

Akshay gets injured in a shoot & is taken to Kareena’s hospital for her first operation. She accidently leaves her watch inside his abdomen which keeps ringing a ‘Om Mangalam’ alarm every hour. She realises this later & now has to do everything possible to get pally with him & get him back to her operation theatre and remove the watch before he finds out and sue’s her career to an end. Over the meetings Akshay now is falling for her while she is just playing a game. She manages to operate & get her watch back but shue’s Akshay away. He is heart broken & now about to marry Denise Richards [for God's sakeee...!!! ] It’s now left to Kareena to see his soft humane side & fall in love with him & stop them before they tie the knot.

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REVIEW

The plot does sound funny when you read about it with the continuous fighting between two people who hate marriage & the whole idea of leaving the watch in his stomach. But believe me.. it’s not funny when you see it..!! Except for a few Akshay scenes I couldn’t even force myself to laugh at the rest. The worst part is you can see director Sabbir Khan is trying really hard to make you laugh in every scene but fails drastically.. His direction is not too bad but this man has also written the story & screenplay…  & that’s where he has ruined the movie !! The script is a disaster to say the least for a story that could have been really funny.

The amount of money spent on this movie is ridiculous & seems like a total waste. Totally set in LA with some parts in Italy. The cinematography & locations are all good but that’s it seems they worked on. The script & performances were neglected. They have managed to fit the Hollywood stars well in the few scenes they have but all other performances are average including Akshay & Kareena. Thankfully Akshay is not overacting as was seen in CC2C & is funny in some scene. His action stunts are good & so are his dances in the songs. Kareena has acted like she did in KKKG with the good looking snob character. Her acting is plain average & it’s thus hard to believe she even did a movie like Jab We Met. She is looking super fit, glamorous & hot no doubt. That’s probably the only thing worth going for the guys.

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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MOVIE

- Slumdog Millionaire was Hollywood goes Bollywood. Kambakkht Ishq is Bollywood goes Hollywood.

- Some major Hollywood stars appearing in this Bollywood flick.. although briefly.

- Great locations. Good sets. Good cinematography.

- Very good costumes, glamorous look to Akshay & Kareena giving a global fashion outlook to Bollywood in a new style.

- Kareena & Akshay looking very fit, stylish & good together.

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LOWLIGHTS OF THE MOVIE

- Absolutely stupid story.. what makes it worse it rubbish execution of it.

- Barely funny & thus should not qualify as a romantic comedy.

- Script & screenplay are bad with too many loose ends & unwanted.

- Actors like Javed Jaffery, Kiron Kher & Boman Irani are totally wasted on comeo’s. Javed & Boman don’t even have any connection to the main story.

- There is too much show of skin all through. They have forgotten tradition, culture & ethnicity.

- There is name calling, abuse, etc. desperately put in to instigate humour. How low & desperate can they get !!

- Exorbidant sets & expensive locations used to cover a poor dumb script.

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FINAL WORD

Below Average – 4.5/10.

This movie will only make you laugh if you go to see it in a theatre to a full hall with loads of friends. And if you do enjoy it then, then thank the company & not the movie makers. Else the only other reason to watch it is to see Hollywood, LA, Italy and a super sexy Kareena Kapoor who is barely wearing anything. The women can go for Akshay if they like.

The UK audience will not like this movie.. cause we watch Bollywood films so that they take us closer to our homeland & culture. Kambakkht Ishq has forgotten it’s a Bollywood movie.. if we do want to see skin show, sexy dresses & Hollywood stunts we can might as well watch Hollywood movies. This flick crosses boundaries of decency at certain levels. But hey.. they are using all this to cover up a crap script they wrote.. That’s only fair on their part to do. I call this another failed Akshay movie this year & a disappointment from Kareena.Save your £7 for a better day in this recession.

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