Review: Movie: 1920
1920: Adah & Rajneesh
Cast: Rajneesh Duggal, Adah Sharma
Director: Vikram Bhatt
Hell hath no fury like a woman possessed, discovers architect Arjun Singh Rathore when his wife Lisa starts behaving strangely after moving into an isolated mansion in Yorkshire, which, by the way, stands in for Palanpur in this film.
One night, he catches her slurping up the entrails of a dead cat, another night she’s talking in a strange voice and rocking the bed, but not in a good way.
The doctor’s convinced she’s suffering from split personality disorder, the priest insists something’s gotten into her — quite literally.
Turns out, there’s a spirit hanging around the house who has some unfinished business with Lisa. For Arjun, who has nothing to hold on to, not even his faith in God which he renounced not so long ago, it’s going to be an uphill task rescuing his wife from the stubborn spirit.
Even before you begin to complain about the dozen or so holes in Bhatt’s film, let’s remember that objecting to silliness in a horror film is a bit unfair, considering the whole point of the genre — the fun and the terror — lies in the suspension of disbelief.
That said, what I do have a problem with, is the repeated recycling of the same old moments from such films as The Exorcist and more recently The Exorcism of Emily Rose.
Too many scenes in 1920 are unabashedly borrowed from these films, including the now obligatory scene of the possessed victim levitating mid-air. How many times will we see that scene being repeated in horror films?
Remember, the best horror films are the ones that make you forget you’re sitting in a cinema, and transport you to the scene of action as if you’re out there running from the psychotic murderer, or hiding under the bed in fear of being discovered.
They’re the ones that set up a scene for impending tragedy, the ones that build up a mood of tension.
That’s what director Vikram Bhatt goes for in 1920 — desolate surroundings, a creepy house a sense that something bad is going to happen.
If it weren’t for such silly distractions as the Victorian era costumes and the Yorkshire landscape, the Rakhi Sawant item song, and even the bizarre flashback, Bhatt might have actually got it right.
In the end, it’s about what scares you and what doesn’t.
Let’s not forget, we’ve become accustomed to seeing dead people and psycho killers in the movies. We don’t get scared very easily these days. Which is why it’ll take a lot to make us jump out of our seats now.
But 1920 makes a sincere attempt. There are moments in the film’s second half that might genuinely spook you. These moments, however, are few and far between.
It’s the endless back-story and the film’s lethargic pace that do the most damage here.
Debutants Rajneesh Duggal and Adah Sharma who play the film’s protagonists are ordinary at best, and the supporting players aren’t much better.
1920 is for fans of classic horror. It’s not quite a classic itself, but sets up a chilling mood nevertheless. Hence two out of five for director Vikram Bhatt’s 1920.
Rating: 2/5 (Average)
Review and Download: Music: Jannat
Album: Jannat
Music: Pritam
Lyrics: Sayeed Quadri, Neelesh Misra
Singers: KK, Kamran Ahmed, Richa Sharma, Rana Mazumder, Rupam Islam
Rating:
Whether it’s their movies or music, the Bhatts have always sought inspiration unapologetically! Their upcoming film Jannat too is no exception in both the departments. Loosely based on the Bob Woolmer murder case that made news post Pakistan cricket team’s ouster from the last World Cup, Jannat has Emraan Hashmi playing a match-fixer. With a film based on such a theme, one wonders how much scope the music will have. But when it comes to the Bhatts, rest assured, they can infuse music in any plot, melody being their forte. With Pritam being the composer, let’s not debate on the originality of the tunes, though one can surely expect an ear-friendly score. And with Pakistan as the backdrop, the Bhatts only get an easy excuse to use Pakistani voices in the soundtrack, something which they are quite fond of. Only this time there are new names on the credits and refreshingly so!
Track 1 – Zara Sa For the opening track, Pritam chooses his most dependable singer KK for a tune that has ample scope for the trademark KK ‘Ooooing’ brand of singing. Kishore Kumar had his yoodling and now seems like KK is soon building his oodling stamp. After Tu Hi Meri Shab Hain, Kya Mujhe Pyaar Hain and Labo Ko Labo Se, the Pritam-KK duo give you another mellifluous number of the same genre with Zara Sa . A couple of hearing and you soon take to the song effortlessly. Contrary to what the title may suggest, the Power Ballad version of Zara Sa is not a remix but a slower adaptation as compared to the original. While the original track cruises casually, this version stresses on every beat and note creating an added impact. KK’s singing and Pritam’s arrangements go in the mode of Scorpions’ popular English number ‘Still Loving You’.
Track 2, 6, 8 – Judai After Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Atif Aslam and Mustafa Zahid, Bhatts introduce a new voice from Pakistan in the form of Kamran Ahmed who writes, composes and sings Judai. Staring off with mellow guitar strumming, the song grows on you with an instantly infectious tune. Kamran’s voice has that typical texture distinctive of our neighboring country singers. An un-credited female voice plays in the background which in most probability belongs to Richa Sharma as she takes the lead in the female version of the same song. The usually rustic Richa Sharma sings on rather lower notes and sounds somber in Lambu Judai. But she gets to be her usual self intermittently in the alaaps which is reminiscent of ‘Rabba’ (Musafir). With no difference in the musical arrangements, the male version ends up being more appealing than the female for the texture of the vocals. The Kilogram Mix (whatever that means) of Judai is just modified with faster pace to be a dance track.
Track 3 – Haan Tu Hain by KK is as cliched a composition can get with the beats in the background dating back to the decade-old Nadeem Shravan tabla treatment. Neither KK’s singing nor Pritam’s instrumentation succeed in uplifting this conventional track. Complete lacklustre!
Track 4 – Door Na Ja Rana Mazumder who has only sung for Pritam till date sings Door Na Ja , a slow number with sturdy instrumentation. With heavy electric guitaring, this one is essentially designed as a rock number. Though the music and singing seem to get out of smooth sync at places, this one ends up being a decent composition.
Track 5 – Jannat Jahan Electric guitar continues to rule Jannat Jahan which qualifies to be the title track of the film. Another Bengali singer Rupam Islam goes head-banging ballistic in yet another rock number from this album. The lyrics by Neelesh Misra speak about the magic and madness of money and serves as a good background theme piece for the film. The spunk in Rupam’s singing and Pritam’s guitaring enlivens the energy of this track.
Guitar is one prominent instrument that defines the music of Jannat thereby giving it a ‘rocking’ feel. Bhatts have constantly upgraded themselves on the musical scene and continue their legacy of chartbusting compositions.
Jannat’s score is harmoniously heavenly!
Downloads:
01. Zara Sa – K.K
02. Judai – Kamran Ahmed
03. Haan Tu Hain – K.K
04. Door Na Ja – Rana Mazumder
05. Jannat Jahan – Rupam Islam
06. Lambi Judai – Richa Sharma
07. Zara Sa [Power Ballad] – K.K
08. Judai [Kilogram Mix] – Kamran Ahmed
Review: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Cast: Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, Shia LaBeouf, John Hurt
Director: Steven Spielberg
Rating:
The fourth in the Indy series comes after a long break but yet it manages to enthrall the audience with awe and wonder with the magnificent sets and locations.
This Indy flick takes you back to the late 80’s during the height of the cold war, with plenty of Soviet agents milling about, to attain the ultimate weapon. However some where, down the line this becomes kind of boring as the Russians constantly keep popping up every now and then.
First off are the disappointing facts about the film, the character of Mac (Ray Winstone) which appears to be under-developed and at times confusing with the constant switching of sides… Prof. Oxley (John Hurt) seemed like he was on dope all the while except towards the end, sadly but true.
If that’s not enough then we have the crazy jungle vine swing sequence… now wait a moment, though this is an Indy flick, but this just seems a bit over the top….
Now the good part Harrison Ford still IS Indiana Jones. He has retained the magic to impersonate this character. You really see his efforts to make this film work. Great camera work and sets. Shia LaBoef is actually quite good and not annoying at all, he has some funny lines and scenes. I never regretted that he was in the movie.
As far as action goes there are some really good scenes, esp. in the first half of the movie with believable stunts and not too much CGI, e.g. the motorbike chase or the Warehouse battle. Great! Humor was OK and most jokes worked for me and more so the quicksand scene.
On the whole if you are an Indy fan this is simply a must watch and for the others the film still remains a complete entertainer and is definitely worth the time and money.
Aladin Amitabh Bachchan from flick Aladin
Aladin is a fantasy movie starring Amitabh Bachchan. Big B has posted latest images from the sets of flick ‘Aladin’. Don’t expect any glitzy stuff from this movie.
Yeah, movie is larger than life but dressing is very modern and not what we usually see in such type of movies. Big B explains his character…
“…My role is that of the genie and yes I will appear at the rub of the lamp to fulfill the three wishes of the one that carries the object of desire.”
Here is first look of Amitabh as Aladin.
