JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM: External Movie Review 1

Well, guys! The reviews are out! I have 3 review till now. And guess! EACH of them is negative! This is the REDIFF review 1!

Maybe I'm just too naive.

I actually expected Jhoom Barabar Jhoom to be a love story, a fun four-person entertainer. It's not. I expected the film to star Abhishek Bachchan, Lara Dutta, Bobby Deol and Preity Zinta. It doesn't. Sigh. Promos are too misleading. Sure, the Shaad Ali film features this sub A-list starcast, but the star of Jhoom Barabar Jhoom is a man named Aki Narula, and he does costumes. Shaad's feature-length music video affords Narula the chance to go wild and flex his designer skills, and so we're treated to outlandish dresses and crazy colours, startling cuts and bizarre bling. Bravo.

It's just that maybe films should have a point. Or if not that -- for perhaps that might seem too optimistically greedy a demand -- then at least a story. Jhoom Barabar Jhoom has nothing to offer but eye-candy. And, unlike Dhoom: 2, it's not sugary enough to lap up anyway, a contrived, half-witted, over-Punjabi offering. Gah.


Anyway, Abhishek is Rikki Thukral, a sashaying Punju lout who likes all things shiny. He runs into the ever-pouting Alvira Khan (Preity), a British girl with Pakistani roots. Both share a table and their love stories, Forrest Gumping into an almost-confessional conversation as they sit at Waterloo Station, waiting for a train. So as Rikki's uneaten sandwich cools off, he describes his dreamy Anaida Raza (Lara), a manager at The Ritz in Paris, and Alvira gushes about her millionaire lover, Steve Singh (Bobby). They're both utterly happy couples, but -- as we discover through an unthinkably out of context series of dargah and mosque scenes, with some Taj Mahal talk thrown in for good measure -- this two-hour conversation has left them convinced they are in love with each other.

Convenient, no?

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for trademark Bollywood escapism.

What I'm not so gung-ho about, though, is a scriptless film playing out with extreme obviousness. Ooh, there is a twist, but by the time it comes around you're bored and don't really give a damn anymore. Jhoom is a film aimed unashamedly at the Punjabi-Abroad audience, and the only way I see them enjoying it is if they spot a familiar Southall laundry. In case you were wondering, it's not funny. Unless, that is, your idea of funny just happens to be Abhishek Bachchan saying 'Blimey' in an overdone Punjabi accent every few scenes -- and then pausing to give you laugh-time -- and a pretty actress with a Punjabi foul mouth. (Have you, by any chance, wondered at my constant use of the P-word? I'm sorry, can't help it. This movie tries to be as hardcore as sarson da saag. Only, it's stale.

Abhishek tries hard, and you have to admire him for it. Not many actors would come in and try their hand at a character only playable by Akshay Kumar, and Bachchan does a valiant job as stand-in. For the filmmaker's part, they've given him the plummiest of lines and the edgiest of shoes; he has the laughs, the definitive protagonist role, and a real character arc. What he does with all of this is, of course, overact to the nines, making Bunty Aur Babli seem like a masterwork. Lara Dutta is the finest of the four, her character managing a relatively adorable French accent as well as coarse streetwalker-speak with natural flair. The film is quite a revelation as the actress emerges comfortably head and shoulders above the rest of the cast, and is the only one to act in the appropriate key.

Bobby Deol doesn't have much to do in the first half, but is significantly, impressively 'chweet' in the second, and you don't mind him as much as his filmography demands. And then there's Preity Zinta. Once young and bubbly, today's Zinta looks heavy on both botox and frustration. Her lips might possibly have had a shot of collagen too many, and she pouts as if a boyfriend fawningly compared her to Ms Jolie, lying through his teeth. The result is disastrous, an actress hamming enough to make her co-stars look way better. From accent to emotion, Preity is plain and simple insufferable in this film. Perhaps big-sister roles are in order.

No, the Haneef bhai bit role is the film's best, a pleasant surprise like the cameo from The Kumar's At No 42 cast.

There has always been a warmth to Shaad Ali's work, a certain slice-of-life realism palpable even when the going gets unreal and outrageous. Here, the director succumbs to the gimmicks, and while almost every line in the first half plays for laughs, there isn't even a snicker from the audience. And the gimmicks aren't even clever. Shaad whizzes by in a car nearby, writer Habib Faisal has a two-line cameo. And the star-kids are put in their place: Abhishek gets to grin about Ash-ji and Amit-ji's statues at Tussauds' and wear a bright red Coolie shirt; Bobby comes on screen with Main Jat yamla pagla deewana playing. And both dutifully ride a motorcycle and sidecar with the Sholay song playing. When, oh when, are we going to let go of these coat-tails?

The first half is merely, mindnumbingly boring, while the second gets exasperating. And it's all so inanely wasteful. There's nothing wrong with making a madcap comedy. Next time, though, a plot would be nice. This film doing well would just mean more brightly packaged idiocy will be shoved down our throats, and so I'm praying otherwise. All I can say is that it's stupid. Oh, and a word must be said about the music. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy have managed one catchy, potentially hit number in the title track, while the other songs all seem derivative of either Rahman or Reshammiya. But they have their one, titular 'punch' song, and so the filmmakers go all-out with it, thwacking us with versions of it repeatedly. Like the hit of the year at a Punju shaadi, we're Jhoomed till we groan as Amitabh Bachchan [Images] pops randomly, meaninglessly out of place and sings a few lines, while the rest of the bachchas go completely overboard, stretching a 'dance competition' version to about 20 minutes, interspersed with snatches of dialogue. Aargh.

Just before a ridiculous Amitabh epilogue, the film ends happily, with a couple kissing. I won't tell you which two are liplocked, but it isn't a surprise. Anyway, it's one of those awkward screen kisses, a glorified, postured moment with the man bending the woman over his kneww, and planting one, hard. The shot ends with her legs wobbling in discomfort.

We can relate. We've been dying to walk out.

Rating: *½ (1.5/5) [Very Poor to Poor]

JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM Character Sketch

Okay, guys! Today is the Jhoom Bararbar Jhoom day. The Yash Raj Film directed by Shaad Ali Sahgal releases today. So, there is no fault today, if I post many........many..........JBJ-related posts. For starters, the character sketch. The next post will be synopsis.

STEVE SINGH (BOBBY DEOL)
Steve Singh is the immensely rich and treacherously handsome joint partner of London's reputed Singh & Smith Law firm. Steve is the man's man... the man about town... powerful, intense and very self-effacing... Born to a British Mum and Punjabi Dad, he's a balance of Punjabi impulse - not thinking twice before heroically saving Alvira's life - and he's got suave ritzy genteel from his Brit Mum. Classy. Seemly. Chivalrous. That's Steve.

He has a palace for an office matched only by Mandrake's Xanadu. And wears those dashing suits and up-market cuts like Bruce Wayne. What's more... one meeting and he seemed to know everything about Alvira her religious rituals, where she worked, her pet name... Is he Clark Kent or Superman? He even seems to appear and disappear at will... Yes... That's Steve.

He has those natty rugged looks... a scar on his cheek that he got while rescuing a girl who was being forced to dance... But even that Steve doesn't wear on his sleeve. He's Alvira's knight in shining armour... her millionaire lover... her hero...

ALVIRA KHAN (PREITY ZINTA)
Picture a three foot six inch girl. She stands alone in the middle of a church. Merely six years old, Alvira Khan takes an oath before God. "I'll never marry a brownie kaalakalutaa. Please find me a good-looking gora boy like yourself. Amen." Cut to 20 odd years later. Alvira is your typical Pakistani Brit. She would hate to acknowledge the Pakistani part... She's more Brit than the Queen herself.

Despite living in a ghettoized Lahori household, Alvira has that stiff upper lip attitude towards the riffraff...especially those crass Southalliyas with their lack of polish and their over-friendliness. That job she has as Manager at the House of Fraser's is a godsend. She can hobnob with the hip Bond Streeters any time she likes... Yea, that's what she calls 'class'...

She has a princess personality and a virtually rebellious opinion of everything. And on a fated day at Madame Tussaud's, the princess is daringly rescued by her knight in shining armour... her prince Steve, who grabs her from under a falling Superman model... And she's swept off her feet, heels over head in love... Her dream come true!

RIKKI THUKRAL (ABHISHEK BACHCHAN)
Baadshah of Bhatinda, now Sultan of Southall... Rikki Thukral! Confront him and he pulls out his most lethal weapon... "I got class"... Can't mess with Rikki after that. Classy he is, in his own earthy way... Just watch him engineer a deal... selling pirated films, illegal antiques, rented property, second hand fridges... if need be even the Queen's crown... Rikki makes it look like a cakewalk with his canny cheekiness and charm.

Rikki came to Southall with a dream... of acquiring windfall riches. He would do all it takes... The moment he met Huffy Bhai it was like love at first sight. It didn't matter that Huffy Bhai was from Karachi or that he would lift his kurta at the most inappropriate moment... they got on like a house on fire. Him and Huffy live life with the attitude and spunk that shouts out, "We're here now... and now that we're here, Southall is ours!" They stay themselves everywhere... and wherever they go, they set up an independent republic! Together, both of them can arrange anything under the sun... from the best seats at the Cricket World Cup to a fridge at the cheapest price... after all, it's not fashionable for a modern day entrepreneur to have all fingers in one pie.

They haven't got a permanent mailing address... and even if they did, nothing would ever get sent there... Always on the move, Rikki's clients' needs are such that he can't contain his business in an office... so the whole of Southall is his oyster. Rikki doesn't consider himself a crook, but rather a maverick who just makes the calls... talks the talk... brings people together... walks the walk... makes his commission and stays happy.

Like everything in Rikki's life, even falling in love was 70mm cinemascope. Only Rikki could have fallen in love with his dream girl Anaida when the legendary love-birds Princess Diana and Dodi were leaving The Ritz for the last time.... And then like sparkling magic, as Rikki says, "when two lovers die, another two are born"... they dance... they sing... they're in love!

ANAIDA RAZA (LARA DUTTA)
Anaida Raza is the sizzling nymph with a soft core. Brought up in the City of Love as a pragmatic,rooted and razor-sharp woman... Assistant Manager at The Ritz Hotel in Paris... she runs her beat with metronomic efficiency and keeps everybody including her staff happy.

She's dealt with all types and can be as friendly as she can be foxy. She'll manage a huge hotel and make it look like a breeze... despite thousands of photographers jumping all over the place... but also find the time to pick up Rikki's handkerchief from the floor and return it to him... How was she to know the hanky would turn out bait... and she'd be hooked, in love with Rikki in the flicker of a moment.

Like so many around the world... she gave her heart to Princess Diana. So much so, that despite her otherwise no-nonsense exterior, she cried when she couldn't visit Diana's funeral.

She has that alluring combination of passion and charisma that would make any guy go ga-ga...

And Rikki is no exception.

Well, I just spotted toooooooooooooooooo many goofs outta there. They will be clear when the film is released. Yash Raj Films! Do something real research!

• Watch the trailer! You'll see that despite being all Brits and (MAYBE!) no acquaintance with India. Yet. they converse in Hindi!
  
• Despite being "more brit than the queen herself" and "Sultan of Southall" Preity and AB Jr. have not a single touch of British English accent! Wow!
  
• Diana died in 1997. IF the film is set in present times (probably), the characters look not a single day older in the 10-year old flashback. Just compare this two songs (Kiss, Ticket) with trailer.

थोरा तो research करो! Please think!

Okay. no more criticism now. Get ready.

IMAGE & TEXT CREDIT: http://www.yashrajfilms.com/

(CLICK ON THE IMAGES TO GET WALLPAPERS!)

JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM Production Video: Ticket to Hollywood

Once again a sardonic post! Last time, the saving grace were Preity and Bobby! This time I bring a Bachchan? Have I any shame? Yes, I do! It's only for you my dear friends! Courtesy, my YouTube friends!

It's the production video of the song Ticket to Hollywood. It really has a Hollywood feel in the song. As I earlier posted the video, you have definitely seen that Abhishek and Lara were in the video.

The video starts off with the song recording in the Yash Raj Films studios. It has singer Neeraj Shridhar sharing his experience about the song. But it has no Alisha Chinai in the video, who also sang the song. Next Lara comes into the frame describing her looks and dance steps enthusiastically. She looks better in the video than in the original song.

Vaibhavi Merchant talks the dance steps. She discusses the I-am-not-gonna-rehearse-before-the-shoot habit of Abhishek. Though she is just exuberant praising Abhishek's steps, his "body movements" hardly resemble dance. No, folks! It ain't a personal grudge! You see and tell me. Don't you think his supposed-to-be-rival-friend Hrithik is a better "dancer"!

Lastly, The Son comes into the picture. And like I said before, with his overgrown beard, he looks anything but a man! And why does he pretend to be sooooo smart?

Overall watch this video. It ain't that bad! It clearly shows how people in Bollywood work.

JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM Video: Kiss of Love

What is exactly my motive? Am I really a human being? Or am I mocking myself? After my one of the best posts ever (at least I consider so), I am coming with videos of an Amitabh- Abhishek film! Shame on myself! Well, I will manage what I am to do. Thanks to my YouTube friends!

As you all may know, this is a song featuring Bobby Deol and Preity Zinta. Though we hear the words KOL throughout, we not a glimpse of any sort of Kiss of Love. The visuals are bright and imaginative. It's picturized well. The whole video works on a Broadway Musical format. Be it the sets or the costumes - they all symbolize the same. The cinematography is stunning with rich colours and innovative camera angles. The costumes are good. Finally I am able to say that after the pseudo-wannabe-Jack Sparrow looks of Him (you know whom I mean!).

Now, coming to actors, Booby isn't very good but certainly not bad. Glamorous and thankfully suits the look. Preity is the real visual treat here! She looks a million bucks. She has not looked more beautiful before. Courtesy: Aki Narula and make-up artiste.

But one complaint! The husky voice of Vishal (of Vishal Shekhar) doesn't suit Bobby at all! Why add his voice? Dunno! Now watch it!

New JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM Song Video: Ticket To Hollywood

Well as always, it's for the first time on Bollywood Unlimited again. I requested my YouTube friend to find new JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM videos, for you! And guess what, he got the song TICKET TO HOLLYWOOOD. He acknowledged my site and subtitled it at my requests. That's very nice of you. This is A Yashraj/ YRF/ Yash Raj Film which stars Preity Zinta, Lara Dutta, Bobby Deol, Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan.

This song features Abhishek teasing Lara in Paris demanding "ticket to Hollywood". What's that? It's got a Punjabi feel. It's sung by Neeraj 'Bombay Viking' Shridar and Alisha Chinai. Watch it!

The look of Lara is awesome but unshaven Abhishek looks anything but a man.



Please tell me how's it!

More exciting videos coming soon!

Xclusive! JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM Audio Listings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Well, I refrained from posting yesterday (though I had a lot to post) as gesture of condolence for the Virginia Tech victims.

Now, coming to the point, I think we are on a roll and BUwH is definitely going p(a)laces! Barely 2.5 days ago I had shown you the first theatrical trailer of JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM. Now, I'm the first on the internet community to bring you the exclusive audio listings of Yashraj's JBJ. And guess what (like the last time) I have requested a Flickr member to post a wallpaper of JBJ. Now, it's here (Click to enlarge). Just for you!

If the trailer is anything to go by, one can surely tell that the title track is just awesome! The song are composed by Shankar - Ehsaan - Loy and lyrics are penned by Gulzar. Going back 2 years, this team (Yash Raj Films, Shaad Ali, Gulzar, SEL) created a bunch of wonderful melodies in form of "Bunty aur Babli". Who can forget KAJRA RE! So, the expectations riding on them is mammoth. WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FROM THE ALBUM? Tell me!

There are 7 tracks in the album. If you just look through the list of singers, you'll be surely bowled over. Even the musical trio tend to say that it's their "best effort to date". So I don't know what to expect. But hopes there from the BaB team. But really? it's better than Kal Ho Naa Ho ? Don't know!

Moreover it will be released on Audio - DVD format too! See the specs.

WHAT DO DO THINK OF THE LIST BELOW? Tell me!


1. Jhoom
Singer : Shankar Mahadevan
2. Ticket To Hollywood
Singers : Neeraj Shridhar & Alisha Chinai
3. JBJ
Singers : Zubeen, Shankar Mahadevan & Sunidhi Chauhan
4. Bol Na Halke Halke
Singers : Rahat Fateh Ali Khan & Mahalaxmi Iyer
5. Kiss Of Love
Singers : Vishal Dadlani & Vasundhara Das
6. Jhoom Barabar Jhoom
Singers : KK, Sukhvinder Singh, Mahalaxmi Iyer & Shankar Mahadevan
7. Jhoom Jam
Singer : Instrumental (it's provided by the company! good! a singer named Instrumental croons it)


The makers say, "For maximum listening pleasure, it is recommended to listen to this album at the loudest." So! Can't wait? Don't worry! I'll post the clippings as soon as they are released. Just watch the trailer till then!

XCLUSIVE and First !!! JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM: Theatrical Trailer . . . . . . . . . . .

I'm so gald! oops! GLAD!! Actually I am so ecstatic that I am typing wrong spellings! The first trailer and first official teaser poster(or the news of them) of JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM appears first on BOLLYWOOD UNLIMITED before appearing on any blog/ entertainment bureau website. I feel both proud and humble. When it first appeared on YouTube, I was the first to see it and I immediately requested the provider for sending a subtitled version of the trailer for international visitors of BU. And guess what! It's here! For you only!

Now, let's stop bragging about myself and get straight to the point. To be frank, the
trailer, although not awesome, is still quite good. But there are a number of minuses too!

Now, what's Jhoom Barabar Jhoom? First and foremost, it's a Yash Raj Film. Yashraj's TA RA RUM PUM released. It stars Abhishek Bachchan, Bobby Deol, Lara Dutt, Preity Zinta in pivotal roles while Amitabh Bachchan is credited in a "Special Appearance" or an extended cameo role. Rumors are there that Shah Rukh Khan is in the film serving a cameo. For a fact, it has featured the English football team Chelsea extensively. It is directed by Shaad Ali Sahgal, who previously directed YRF productions like "Bunty aur Babli" and "Saathiya"

So, you may wonder, how's actually the trailer? Have a thorough knowledge of it before it downloads. To be frank, it's not awesome. It's not bad either. It's pretty much good.

The trailer kicks of with Abhishek and Preity sharing a same table (probably at Heathrow Airport). From their conversations, you know that they are strangers. AB Jr. introduces himself as Vicky Thackral and Preity herself as Albira Khan from Lahore.

The next scene, you spot Amitabh. He is in a different get-up.......can't explain...(just see to understand.. ....err! what was that? Is he (or the costume designer or the makers) trying to be "cool", "smart" and "different"? Let me tell that it isn't. It's only an expression of bad taste and tackiness. The director/he has to understand that he is 64+ now and he just doesn't suit the get-up. Anyways!! He seems to be the सूत्रधार / Narrator/ Manipulator of the story.

However, a couple of scenes go and we again see AB and PZ talking. AB tell her "Do you think I'm a flirt?". Then Preity tells her about her fiancé she's waiting for - Bobby Deol. Abhishek too shows his engagement ring and tells her about his fiancee - Lara Dutt.

Then, we have a series of scenes where each one of the 4 character (alone or together) appear in different scenes, dance sequences (one of them is in front of Eiffel Tower). Meanwhile, we see Amitabh crooning the title song rendered awesomely by Shankar Mahadevan, lyrics penned by Gulzar.

In the last scene, we hear AB Jr. asking Preity if she had sex with Bobby!!!!!!!!!! What's that! Is it a mammoth tale of extra-marital affair or something else? KANK anyone? It's not clear. I request you to imagine at your best what it actually is about.

Of the actor's looks, I've already commented on Amitabh. Now come to his son, he too pretends to be smart but isn't. His beard and long hair doesn't arouse anything but disgust in you. His dialogue delivery too is very bad. Bobby looks at his best.This is the best get-over he's ever got. Lars's hairstyle and look are likable. Out of the main cast, Preity looks best. She's definitely gorgeous in this movie.

Tell me how the trailer is and which movie they've copied this time.

Without Subtitles


With Subtitles