Murder 2 (2011)

The mystery of Murder 2 was: is it an actual sequel to Murder? Is it a horror movie? You’ll just have to watch it to find out, and I did. Most directors are headed the sequel or prequel way these days. Though Murder had released more than seven years ago (April 2004), it continues to remain in people’s memories for various reasons and mostly for its sizzle factor. Murder had a captivating story, great music and proficient performances by its actors. In fact, Murder caught the attention of many people and till date some people enjoy the songs and the movie too.

Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt do not make movies with big stars. Instead, they substitute stars with big initiatives and innovative concepts. They tend to work with new stars and making new stories with inventive new ideas. They truly want to give up-coming actors a chance to show their fresh talents and move up in the industry. What sets apart their films, besides the above mentioned reasons, is the fact that their films are high on sexual content. Before I start I would like to mention that Murder 2 deals with the crimes related to the flesh trade and exposes the murkier side of the society.

Murder 2 has a fresh story and it is very well played by the new actors. Plus it has a clash between good and evil and this is one of the key components of the story. The Bhatts’ new offering is a sequel to Murder but at the same time actually isn’t. Murder 2 is not the sequel in true words. Mohit Suri, had directed the sequel to Raaz (Raaz: The Mystery Continues), it was also expected to take the Murder movie further. Murder 2 is a dark film. It has a lot of ups and downs but the space maintains the graph. It has a lot of scenes which a weak-hearted person won’t be able to handle. As far as I can recall the same thing was said for the movie Haunted 3D, the first 3D Indian film.

So the movie started with a really dull and boring scene and people were like WTH. But as soon the first song started the frowns turned into smiles. The film is set during Christmas and New Year, when visitors and tourist visit Goa for vacations. Arjun (Emraan Hashmi) is an ex-cop who earns his living doing odd jobs for gangsters and flesh traders. Arjun meets Sameer, a Goan flesh-trader, who has been suffering a huge loss as his hookers were disappearing mysteriously. Arjun is freaking out as this is high season for his trade. He assigns Arjun the responsibility of tracing the missing girls. Priya (Jacqueline Fernandez), a model, loves Arjun. However, he is hesitant to commit to this relationship.

The film chases Arjun as he chases the culprit(s), and it is thrilling, to say the least. On the flip side, the story stagnates slightly towards the beginning of the second hour. If one avoids comparing the soundtrack with the prequel’s, this film has a rich soundtrack that works well. ‘Haal -e- Dil’ (music: Harshit Saxena) and the track filmed on Yana Gupta at the onset, ‘Aa Zara’ (music: Sangeet Haldipur-Siddharth Haldipur), are first-rate compositions. There are a few more songs like ‘Aye Khuda’ and ‘Phir Mohabbat’ (music: Mithoon) which are really quite addictive.

The whole movie is watchable and it is rated adults only which means that people younger than 18 years of age should not watch it. On the whole, Murder 2 is one of the finest crime stories to come out of the Hindi film industry recently. And although it does not have the same chills of evil as Haunted 3D, you must watch it simply to discover the devious plot twists and turns – Faiz Rohani

Rating – 3.5 out of 5

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 2011, Genre – Thriller/Social, Country – India, Language – Hindi, Producer – Mukesh Bhatt, Director – Mohit Suri, Music Director – Mithoon, Sangeet Haldipur, Siddharth Haldipur, Harshit Saxena, Cast – Emraan Hashmi, Jacqueline Fernandez, Prashant Narayanan, Sulgana Panigrahi, Sudhanshu Pandey, Sandeep Sikand, Shweta Kawaatra, Yana Gupta

No One Killed Jessica (2011)

Every once in a while Bollywood brings out a political thriller which is bound to unleash a number of emotions in the audience. Last year it was Rajneeti and this year it’s No One Killed Jessica. Despite the fact that this one might not have been as strong and impactful as Rajneeti, it sure gets you thinking as you walk out of the cinema or watch the end credits on the television screen in your lounge. It makes you believe that normal people have the power to bring about a revolution.

Produced by UTV and directed by Rajkumar Gupta, No One Killed Jessica, is based on the controversial Jessica Lal murder case. The opening scene of the movie is in a renowned night club, where the music is racy and the drinks are flowing as the young dance the night away. Everyone’s having a great time and all is well until bartender Jessica (Myra Karn) refuses to give Manish (Mohammed Zeeshan Ayub) a drink. Manish flares up and takes out his gun intending to scare the poor girl and instead shoots her dead.

Manish’s imprisonment is inevitable considering 300 prominent people of Delhi were present at the party, yet somehow he doesn’t get into trouble. Jessica’s sister Sabrina [Vidya Balan] tries her best to get Manish behind the bars but all her attempts are in vain just because Manish is rich and resourceful. All 300 witnesses are bought and the evidence is tampered with, thanks to his father who happens to be a minister. There comes a point when even Sabrina loses hope and that’s when a journalist, Meera [Rani Mukherjee] who had earlier ignored the case because she thought it was clear cut, takes the responsibility of providing justice to Jessica. The way Meera cleverly turns the table and uses the power of normal people from the community to bring the culprits to justice shows how much power people have in their hands, power they are unaware of. She very intelligently gathers people from all walks of life to help her in the cause and succeeds while at it. With the power of the masses, she forces the government to acknowledge the public ire and deliver justice to the slain Jessica.

Picking a controversial issue and making an entire film on it is not an easy task so Gupta must get due credit for taking the uphill task which very few filmmakers have the guts to take. Also, the way he brought it out on celluloid is superb and he sure will get critical acclaim for that. With just one film to his credit, Aamir, [which also gained more critical acclaim than commercial success] one thing is clear that Rajkumar Gupta knows how to make serious cinema.

The narrative and storytelling of No One Killed Jessica is effective even though the first half is slightly slow but once Meera enters the screenplay, the film actually starts looking like a political thriller. Clearly, she adds the thrilling element to No One Killed Jessica. Yet, chopping off 15 minutes would have made the film crisper and more interesting. The second half definitely keeps your eyes glued to the screen till the end.
Usually political thrillers don’t have good music and neither does one expect that from them but NOKJ surprises you on this front as well. Amit Trivedi’s meaningful music adds a lot to the film. Of all the tracks used in NOKJ, the ‘Dilli’ track is really catchy while the others are effective in their own specific places and move the narrative forward.

The actors have done a great job. Vidya Balan is one of the finest actresses in Indian cinema and in NOKJ, she stands up to her reputation and delivers a powerful performance even in scenes where there are few dialogues to make an impact.

Even though Vidya has given a splendid performance, the hero of the film remains Rani Mukherjee. From Kuch Kuch Hota Hai till date, Rani has never disappointed as far as her acting is concerned and neither does she in NOKJ. Her role becomes more prominent in the second half of the film, where she makes a huge impact and clearly steals the show. Rani’s dialogue delivery and expressions are clap-worthy throughout the film. Apart from Rani and Vidya, the inspector deserves applaud too as he made his role look absolutely real and close to life.

No One Killed Jessica is one of those movies that define the larger purpose of cinema, that tell that cinema isn’t all about song and dance, that show the real dark side of the society and reveals the bitter truth! It’s one of those movies that get you thinking and not only that but also show that women, or young girls in this case, can change the world.
Let’s hear it for girl power! – Hafsah Sarfraz

Rating – 3 out of 5

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 2011, Genre – Thriller, Country – India, Language – Hindi, Producer –Ronnie Screwvala, Director – Rajkumar Gupta, Music Director – Amit Trivedi, Cast – Rani Mukerji, Vidya Balan, Myra Karn, Neil Bhoopalam, Shireesh Sharma, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Bubbles Sabharwal, Yogendra Tikku, Geeta Sudan, Samara Chopra, Satyadeep Misra, Rajesh Sharma, Rajkumar Gupta

Game (2011)

When it comes to films starring Abhishek Bachchan, one is somewhat wary. Often times it’s because despite the hype, many (if not most) of AB Junior’s films turn out to be duds. For every Yuva or Guru, there is a Raavan, Bus Itna Sa Khwab Hai etc.

Having said that, it must be said that Game did look appealing. For one thing, it isn’t a regular Abhishek Bachchan film. Plus it comes from Farhan Akhtar’s banner that has a history of producing modern and entertaining films.

Our introduction begins with some key players through a series of meetings set by Kabir Malhotra (Anupam Kher). A billionaire who resides in Greece, he writes a letter to four people and invites them to his private island under the pretext of helping them with their various problems.

Abhishek Bachchan comes in from Turkey as Neil Menon, a casino owner in some serious debt from loansharks who are lethal as they are dangerous.

Vikram Kapoor (Jimmy Shergill) comes in from Mumbai as an actor with a deadly secret (namely murder) and three back to back flop films. With his career on the low, Jimmy takes the offer from Kabir Malhotra and comes to Greece with the hope that his career will eventually fly from some help from the tycoon.

The third player is OP Ramsay (played superbly by Boman Irani), Prime Ministerial candidate for Thailand. A corrupt politician to the core, PM comes in to protect his seat in power. Hoping to gain some cash from AK, he too arrives to the secluded island.

And finally there is Tisha Khanna (Shahana Goswami), a journalist who drinks too much and has no real credibility.

Once the four players arrive, Kabir Malhotra reveals his real reasons for inviting them. And that is getting them arrested for the death of his daughter. But before he can prove their guilt through some evidence, Kabir Malhotra dies. What looks like suicide turns out to be murder. And so enters Kangana Ranuat as Sia Agnihotri a member of International Vigilance Squad (IVS). She begins her investigation and so begins the chase.

During the first half of the film, the plot thickens quickly. The frames move quickly and we travel to Istanbul, Mumbai and back to Greece in quick succession. It’s thrilling and exciting. One reason is perhaps because the plot is hard to decipher and predict. And that really makes a difference, especially if the flick is dealing with the genre of thriller.

But it’s the second half where the film looses momentum and completely changes gear: from a smart urban thriller it delves into a typical Bollywood film where there can be no gray shades to the star of the show. In this case, it’s Abhishek Bachchan. You’ll have to watch the film to understand fully what I mean.
From an acting viewpoint, the real star is Abhishek Bachchan. He looks suave and cool and plays it so. As a casino owner, he has shades of nasty grey but Abhishek plays it so well. Neil Menon is neither a good guy nor bad. He walks somewhere in the middle and Abhishek walks that line like a complete pro. The script doesn’t do his performance justice.

The other actor who is absolutely brilliant is Boman Irani. As a corrupt politician who will do anything to get to power, he is delightful to watch. Boman really makes you hate his guts and he does it conviction and class.

Kangana Ranuat is adequate in most scenes. Jimmy Shergill once again proves that he is a great actor, desperately in need of some meatier roles. His role is relatively small but it is significant. As an actor obsessed with successes, Jimmy’s Vikram Kapoor is brilliant.

Ultimately, Game loses points because of its script. What started out as an interesting and entertaining film eventually slows down and becomes predictable. Game falls short of being edgy. And that is its biggest flaw – Maheen Sabeeh

Rating – 2.5 out of 5

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 2011, Genre – Action/Drama/Thriller, Country – India, Language – Hindi, Producer – Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar, Director – Abhinay Deo, Music Director – Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani, Loy Mendonsa, Cast – Abhishek Bachchan, Sarah Jane Dias, Boman Irani, Jimmy Shergill, Gul Panag, Soniya Jehan, Shahana Goswami, Kangna Ranaut, Sikander Kher, Anupam Kher, Gauhar Khan