'Vinayakudu' Review: It's Touching And Good

 Film: VinayakuduRating: 3/5Banner: Prem MoviesCast: Krishnudu, Sonia, Surya Teja, Poonam Kour, Ankitha etcCinematography: PG VindaEditing: Marthand K VenkateshMusic: Sam PrasanProducer: Sarita PatraStory, Screenplay, Dialogue and Direction: Sai Kiran AdiviReleased On: 22nd November 2008 There is a mythological story of dwarf god Lord Vinayaka who impresses his parents with his down to earth nature and love to win the position of 'ganadhipatyam'. Here the title 'Vinayakudu' is apt as the obese hero impresses his beautiful lover and wins her heart.  Story:Karthik (Krishnudu), the obese guy joins in an ad designing company. Girls tend to keep him away from them due to his odd personality. He finds a girl Kalpana (Sonia) interesting in that company. She too shuns him initially and also cracks lots of jokes on his physical appearance. But the soft hearted Karthik wins the heart of arrogant Kalpana with his immaculate attitude. Finally, the egoistic Kalpana falls in love with Karthik unknowingly. On the other hand, the love track of Sandhya (Poonam) and Altaf (Surya Tej) runs separately. Shalini (Ankitha) is a character that's used as catalyst to elevate the character of Karthik.  Performances: Krishnudu simply excelled in his role as fat Karthik. His Godavari slang has got its originality and ease. All together his performance itself is under played and aptly fitting. He has justified as a crooked egoistic senior student in 'Happy Days' and here in 'Vinayakudu' he pulled sympathy for his character from the audiences.  Sonia looked normal but her magnetism is known for many. She has a lengthy and meaningful role to play in this film as a girl with huge self respect and personal feelings. Well, she proved that her 'noodle like' hair is her trade mark.  Poonam Kour played a naughty urban girl's role. She looked slim and glamorous. Her role is not that substantial in the film and she cannot be called a second-heroine. She is only a friend of heroine.  Cinematographer PG Vinda (as doctor) and Miss Andhra Poonam Kour's mother (as the mother of Sonia's fiancé) have appeared in guest roles.  Technically the movie got enough boost and there is nothing to point mistake. In a couple of scenes the editing cuts appeared to have jumped. It's a director's movie on a whole where he has rightly handled the departments of dialogues and screenplay as well. 

Masand's Verdict: Yuvvraaj doesn't hit the right note

Cast: Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Zayed Khan, Boman IraniDirection: Subhash GhaiIn the end credits sequence of Yuvvraaj, the film's writer-director Subhash Ghai makes a short appearance on screen, scribbling away on a writing pad. There's a good chance he might be finishing the script of the film, which having watched Yuvvraaj you can clearly tell was still incomplete and underdeveloped when Ghai shot the film. Once again flogging his favourite formula of sparring siblings, Ghai borrows the premise of Rain Man for his latest, but packages it with his own brand of 80s melodrama and emotional overdose. The problem here, as you may have guessed, is that both the formula and the treatment no longer work. There's a desperate need for reinvention. Salman Khan stars as a chorus singer in a Prague orchestra who heads to London to claim his share of his vast family fortune after the death of his billionaire father who he was estranged from. Also expecting a monster chunk of the money to support his decadent lifestyle is his spoilt younger brother, played by Zayed Khan. Add to this mix an assortment of 80s-style supporting characters like the conniving wheelchair bound uncle, the cliche-spewing aunt, the good-for-nothing cousins, and the cleavage-baring, perfume-squirting sister-in-law, all of whom have their eyes only on the dead man's wealth. As luck would have it however, Dear Departed Daddy has left the bulk of his fortune to the eldest of his three sons, the autistic one, played by Anil Kapoor. Determined to get what they believe they rightfully deserve Salman and Zayed plot to cheat their bhola (innocent) brother out of his inherited wealth, but after spending enough time with him they realise the importance of family and brotherhood. Yuvvraaj uses scale and grandeur to compensate for the fractured script, but as Ghai's own films -- Kisna and Yaadein will tell you -- no amount of ambition and passion can hide poor writing. The characters are all underdeveloped - from the protagonists who have no layers, no edge whatsoever, to the supporting players who are all silly caricatures.The dialogue is a mix of clunky lines that make you cringe in embarrassment, and a bunch of unintentionally hilarious gems that will make you laugh every time you think of the film. Like that priceless scene in which Katrina scolds Salman for being an insensitive son to his father: Jo bete ne apne baap ki shakal sapne mein bhi na dekhi ho, woh beta nahin, woh hardcore anti-family man hai. There was a slim chance the film might not have hurt this bad if the acting was any better, but to think the stars of this film were paid crores of rupees to put up this show makes you realise that indeed life is unfair. Salman Khan does pretty much as he pleases, walking in and out of scenes as if he were at home, never mindful of the fact that he's playing a character here and that some consistency in performance is expected of him. He just about scrapes through the comedy with a few light moments, but completely fails to touch your heart in the film's emotional scenes. 

Masand's Verdict: Dostana, a barrel of laughs

Cast: Priyanka Chopra, Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham, Kirron Kher, Bobby DeolDirection: Tarun MansukhaniUnapologetically irreverent, this week's new Bollywood release Dostana is a barrel of non-stop laughs; a film that pulls out all stops in its shameless attempt to win you over. Set in sunny Miami, Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham play a pair of straight blokes who must pretend to be a gay couple so they're allowed to rent rooms in a swanky condo occupied by single, young chick Priyanka Chopra. The trio strikes up a close friendship and all's going well in their little world until both boys realise they've fallen for her. Wait, what's more, she seems to be falling for her boss; that role played by Bobby Deol. Stripped to its bone, the basic premise of Dostana is your fairly standard triangular romantic-comedy, but it's the manner in which writer-director Tarun Mansukhani gives this ordinary plot a whole new spin by throwing in that 'pretend-gay' angle that turns it into a winning lottery. Laugh-out-loud hilarious, the film's first half comes packed with naughty lines and often risqué humour. That fake flashback which serves as Abhishek's romantic back-story with John, concocted for the benefit of Priyanka and her aunt, is one of the funniest scenes I've seen in months. Prepare to crack up also in that scene in which Kirron Kher playing Abhishek's mum discovers to her horror that her son is gay; and that subsequent scene in which – having finally come to terms with this painful fact – she decides to accept John as her son's chosen partner, and gives him a fitting bahu's welcome. Despite the stereotypical gay characters, it's to the director's credit that the film rarely comes across as mocking or insulting to gay sentiments. Even when reinforcing many gay clichés, Dostana has a naughty innocence to it that is hard to take offence to. In a roundabout manner perhaps, but the film is even progressive when it comes to portraying same-sex relationships, as is evident from the Kirron Kher-character's acceptance of her gay son's relationship, her blessing of this union, and finally her expectation of commitment and fidelity from both boys towards each other. Sure it wouldn't hurt if all gays weren't made to look like flaming queens, and if there was at least one gay character that wasn't a caricature, but in all fairness to expect any more in terms of the portrayal of gay characters is perhaps unfair – after all, Dostana never promises to deliver the sensitivity of Brokeback Mountain. After all the fun-n-games, it's in the film's second half that the energy dips. For one, the tone shifts abruptly from comedy to schmaltzy romance, prompting a string of sappy scenes, including a contrived one each in which Abhishek and John both go to great lengths to woo the girl. There's also sadly no escape from those predictable misunderstandings and manipulations which only slacken the film's pace. Having said that, it's still an immensely entertaining watch with producer Karan Johar's light-and-frothy signature style stamped across every frame. From the eye-watering photography of Miami's fabulous beaches, to the stars' slinky designer costumes; from Vishal-Shekhar's foot-tapping numbers to the carefully picked curvaceous blonde junior artistes in every scene – this is that cool-light-n-easy kind of film that you either have an appetite for, or no interest in. Of the actors, Sushmita Mukherji as Priyanka's aunt and the boys' landlady is deliciously over-the-top and makes her every moment on screen memorable. Boman Irani as Priyanka's gay boss making that Devil Wears Prada-inspired entry, is particularly likeable, especially in that scene in which he mistakes Priyanka's aunt for the maid and declares her a fashion disaster.