udita_mittal Reviews

Inside Man (II) (2022)

Stupid people making the worst decisions

[3/10 · 3 February 2023]

There's nothing more frustrating to watch on screen than stupid people making terrible decisions. Every time Ben Na Harry appeared on screen I was literally shouting at them to not do anything silly. But of course they do the most contrived silly things. Every character on this show is sketchy and poorly written. The two parallel story lines are joined together by the thinnest thread and the connection makes almost no sense. The plot is so so weak. Acting is ok. A very annoying and slow show. Will not recommend you waste your time on this at all.

This review needs more characters to be published so I'm writing this extra sentence :)

A Suitable Boy (2020)

Beautiful in parts

[6/10 · 28 October 2020]

Disclaimer - I have read the novel many times and am a huge fan. As excited as I was about the series, it was never going to live up to the the source for me.

First the positives, no expense appears to have been spared in production. The costumes, locations, cast and music is top notch. I was listing after saeeda bai's shararas! Tabu was excellent, and Ishan Khattar a revelation. Tanya Maniktala grew on me and Danesh (as the hottie Kabir) was perfectly cast. The supporting cast was excellent! The music was lovely, and the 1,300 page story well adapted.

The negatives - the dialogue in English was so jarring. Every time one of the characters slipped into Hindi/Urdu or Bangla my heart sang out. I understand that the series was written for an English audience but how could they get it so wrong. The odd and inconsistent accents, the very very weird language. Urgh!!! Some of the acting was also very off putting. The actor playing Rupa Mehra was shrill and OTT as was Kulbhushan Kharbanda in his minuscule role (and I won't even mention the actor who played his wife). It was so out of sync with the understated performances of the rest of the cast.

Tumbbad (2018)

Did I watch the same movie?

[2/10 · 20 February 2019]

Who is writing all these 10* reviews?? I really don't understand the hype behind this movie. Watched it on Prime recently and was so disappointed. Very slow and boring. The message is apparent from the get go, it just takes soooo long to get there in the movie. Strictly avoidable.

Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019)

Such a satisfying watch!

[8/10 · 12 January 2019]

The entire audience erupted into spontaneous applause at the end of the film. Which sums up the viewing experience for me. A thoroughly enjoyable action film, which gave me several zero-dark-thirty throwbacks (which is a good thing). Slickly executed and a tight film. Cast is impeccable and background score gets a major thumbs up!

We Are Family (2010)

Boring and cliched

[1/10 · 29 October 2018]

Such a boring movie, with unlikeable characters, cliched situations and bad dialogue. Nothing to redeem the movie at all. Performances are so average, it's like the actors sleep walked their way through the film. Certainly worth a miss.

CC2C (2009)

Don't bother with this crap

[3/10 · 20 January 2009]

After reading the dismal reviews for CC2C on IMDb I tried to dissuade my brother from taking me to watch it, unfortunately I didn't succeed. I went in for the movie with low expectations and an open mind, what resulted was 3 hours of simple torture.

I'm not an Akshay Kumar fan, never have been, and after this movie never will be. I'm not surprised at his choice of movies (crass humor, stupid stories and dumb dialogs) but what really surprised me was that someone capable of making Kal Ho Na Ho would blumber and fail so miserably. The story was so bad that it appeared to have been written on the sets, dialogs close to non existent, terrible acting (seriously Deepika!), and screenplay which left a lot to be desired. Yes, there was some action in the film, but so what?

Things I enjoyed: The trailer for Dilli6, The scene in the airplane, The end credits (woohoo!!!)

Things I didn't enjoy: ummm....everything, I was looking forward to the last scene after which they'd say "the end", unfortunately they didn't even grant the audience that, telling us that the movie was "to be continued" at which the entire cinema let out a collective "oh no!!"

Rest assured, this movie is certainly worth a miss. I'm not going to be lining up to watch another Akshay Kumar movie any time soon.

Aksar (2006)

Rubbish

[2/10 · 29 May 2008]

I often wonder how movies like this even get made, and the most shocking part is that people actually pay to watch them.

With Aksar it appears as though the director made up the story as he went along, adding twists and turns when he liked, no matter how ludicrous they were. The script was non existent with inane dialogs such as "Jo Sheena Roy pehenti hai, wahee fashion hota hai" and "Yeh Versace hai Madam" (yeah right).

Every one of the characters was shallow and underdeveloped. Acting was awful. Constumes (lycra for Udita and awful suits for a stocky Emran), locales (the numerous houses that were used for interiors did not even vaguely resemble a Victorian mansion), screenplay etc etc, just one word- rubbish.

For those people who love Hashmi and his movies, watch it. As for me, I'll never get those two and a half hours back. The only redeeming factor was some of the music which was decent.

Shaurya (2008)

A few good moments from a rip of a few good men

[7/10 · 19 May 2008]

Before I watched Shaurya I was warned by several people that it was a copy of a few good men, however I put that aside when watching the movie.

The story is centered around a court martial, where the defendant is being represented by Bhose. There is a gamut of other actors including Javed Jaffrey, Seema Biswas, KK Menon and Minissha Lamba, among others, all in supporting roles. While the movie unfolds in an interesting manner it is at a painfully slow pace.

A decent chunk of the first half is spent defining Bose's "too cool for school" and Jaffrey's "Mr. may I help you" characters and their inexplicable friendship. The Indian army is sufficiently "bollywoodised" with Bose getting a transfer to be with his friend, sleeping in till 1:00 and wearing incorrect uniforms.

The pace finally picks up in the second half of the film, with many unanswered questions being answered. Acting improves as the court martial takes center stage. Menon does not fail to impress, however Bose is simply annoying and Lamba an unnecessary addition.

Very few films such as this are churned out of Indian cinema. Although it is not top notch it is worth a watch.

Stop! (2004)

why do I watch this ****?

[2/10 · 23 February 2008]

My summer holidays are almost 3 months long, as a consequence I tend to get bored, and so I watch far too many movies, good bad and ugly. Unfortunately, that is my only excuse for having watched this dismal film.

I'm finding it difficult in deciding how to begin bashing this movie. What was worse: acting, story, editing, screenplay? It's hard to decide.

The story is simple, a bunch of young Indian friends living in Dubai, and their individual as well as intersecting stories. Something that could have turned out to be a small budget hit is completely ruined by terrible story and rubbish acting.

The movie only gets a 2 for the song meri kahani, which is worth listening to.

Rest assured, definitely not worth a watch. As for why I'm wasting my time writing this comment, just to warn other unwary viewers from watching this movie.

Jodhaa Akbar (2008)

looong,......... sooo loong........

[7/10 · 23 February 2008]

When I told friend that I was watching Jodhaa Akbar over the week, her advice was "carry some food...lots of food". Turns out her advice was handy, and the chips and popcorn I carried fell short. I can't quite figure out the trend with long movies. Do filmmakers feel that if they dish out half an hour of extra scenes and songs, that the audience will get better value for money. Personally I'd prefer a better edited movie, than one which winds on forever.

Length aside, Jodhaa Akbar is an honest attempt to create a historical romance. We have come to expect nothing but the very best from Gowarikar who has given us Lagaan and Swades in the past. Does Jodhaa Akbar live up to expectations? Well, yes and no.

Clearly JA is more a piece of fiction than a factual narrative. Anyone expecting a recreation of Akbar's rule over India will be disappointed.

There were far too many characters and intersecting story lines to be followed. Rather than adding to the fabric of the film, they detracted the viewers' attention from the crux of the story.

Some of the casting was brilliant. Roshan, Rai and Ila Arun were brilliant in their roles. Although because there were so many characters, few actors had enough screen time to do justice to their roles.

Music by Rahman was hauntingly beautiful, and choreography was well suited.

Costumes were good, though could have been better. Jewellery was breathtaking.

All in all, well worth a watch, though my advice: take food, take lots of food.

Cheeni Kum (2007)

Cheeni kum, namak bhi kam

[6/10 · 23 February 2008]

Cheeni Kum looks like it will be interesting. An Amitabh Bachchan, fresh from the failure of Nishabd, and Tabu, still reeling from the success of the Namesake.

However the film does not deliver. A grownup romantic comedy, that is not grownup, romantic or a comedy. A sorry excuse for what could have been a good movie.

There is a lack of chemistry between the two leads. Why an intelligent woman would fall for an old cynical and expressionless man is never explained.

Supporting characters of the mother (Zohra Sehgal), a precocious young girl ("Sexy"!!?), Shalini and the staff at the restaurant are easily summarized in two words: Annoying and Unnecessary.

Tabu was good in her role, as was Paresh Rawal. However, Amitabh Bachchan is a let down as usual.

The movies swings from high melodrama to plain boring. Not something that I would recommend, though it does come with a disclaimer: Cheeni Kum.

Johnny Gaddaar (2007)

Johnny be good

[7/10 · 16 February 2008]

For a movie that reveals the traitor in its name, Johnny Gaddar remarkably turns out be a nail biting thriller.

The movie follows an interesting narrative, that sets up viewers to clearly understand and watch the story unfold. Although the story is neither new, nor brilliant, it is the way in which it is executed that makes all the difference.

Casting is brilliant, apart from Rimi Sen, who seems to be an appendage to every multi starer around. Acting was good. Background score fitted well with the movie.

The recurring 70s thriller theme was fabulous, and thoroughly enjoyable. Although I have reached barfing point when I see Amitabh Bachchan in any movie, his film clippings were good to watch in JG.

A good, unconventional thriller.

Saawariya (2007)

scan, play, skip, play, scan some more...end of movie

[5/10 · 12 February 2008]

I view Sanjay Leela Bhansali's movies with cynicism. Not because people blindly praise them, but because I find his work pretentious, artificial and self absorbed. He did well in HDDCS, but Devdas and Back were phony and plastic.

I eventually watched Saawariya since I had nothing better to do (yes, midday TV isn't my thing). Half an hour into the movie I was bored. It's never a good sign when you look at your watch only to realize that a mere 30 minutes have passed since you pressed the play button. After scanning through most of Lady Pop's scenes (I couldn't figure out what Zohra Sehgal was doing in the movie) and skipping a large proportion of the many songs I realized that all I wanted to see was some daylight in the picture.

Seems like Bhansali was so absorbed in keeping his two new stars under wraps that he forgot to order in lights.

Not a good viewing experience, do something better with your time.

Border (I) (1997)

one of the most best war films made

[8/10 · 15 August 2007]

Border is no Saving Private Ryan or behind enemy lines. It's an unpretentious patriotic film, which is great to watch on 15 Aug or 26 Jan. It's heavily dramatised with punching dialogue and touching songs. The characters are varied and likable, and acting doesn't come much better, though Sunny Deol is over the top as usual.

It's sad to see this movie trashed by some Pakistani viewers, who are clearly not happy to see a movie made about their war failures. Maybe they should make movies depicting their own point of view, rather than watching pirated copies of Indian movies, and then complaining about them.

Delhii Heights (2007)

complete waste of time

[4/10 · 25 July 2007]

I love Delhi, everything about it, food, chaat, autos, smells, shopping, crowds. It's great when a movie really captures the soul of a city. Monsoon wedding succeeded in really portraying Delhi and Delhiites. Combined with a great story, wonderful actors and slick editing, it culminated into a brilliant movie.

Delhi Heights fails on each of these points. A ridiculously dumb story. My cat could have written this story in half an hour. Some terrible acting. Most of the characters in this movie are down right annoying. Even Om Puri, who is usually nothing short of brilliant, was reduced to a blumbering Sikh. Many Hindi 'multi-starers' are just a combination of a few mediocre stories, in a bid to make the intersecting story more interesting.

The only good thing about the movie is its music. Rabbi has done a fabulous job, very song is catchy. Some of the choreography isn't bad either.

The verdict: don't waste your time watching it, just by the music disk.

Gangster (2006)

Why do people make movies like this?

[4/10 · 12 July 2007]

I fail to understand how a movie of this class even manages to make its way into theaters in old Delhi, let alone be screened at PVR and get good reviews. Maybe Hindi cinema has reached such low levels, that if anything that hasn't been re-hashed in the last 2 years is released, everyone applauds that movie for its uniqueness.

The story is old and stale, something that's been used over-and-over-and-over-and-over again. Gangster - in love with - bar dancer- cheating with- restaurant singer. Unfortunately I can't tell you the "twist" without putting a spoiler warning, but it's so predictable that you'll guess within the first 5 seconds of the movie.

This was the first (and last) of the Emran Hashmi movies that I have seen. Too bad he does so many movies, because now, when deciding which movies to watch, I first remove all of the 30 movies that he does every month from my list. Shiny is completely unutilised. I wonder why he was in the movie at all........oh that's right.....the movie was named after his character. Kangana Ranaut, don't get me started, how did she ever land a movie. She looks great, but her accent is atrocious.

All in all, my advice: Do No Watch!!

7 1/2 Phere: More Than a Wedding (2005)

a great idea, let down by bad editing and some poor acting

[6/10 · 11 July 2007]

The movie is based around Asmi (Juhi Chawla) an aspiring TV show director. Asmi plans to make a reality show centered around a wedding in a joint family, only problem, there's only one such wedding in all of Mumbai in this season. Enter, the greatest joint family we have seen as yet. One so complicated, it beats Kyunki Saas Bhi!! What ensues is a fabulously complex story, of philandering uncles, a secret lover, an entertaining cat and the regular band baja.

The idea is great and completely genuine. However it is let down in a big way by shoddy editing. Much of the movie was only worth trimming. Acting be everyone apart from the leads was awful. Irfan and Juhi were brilliantly cast.

All in all, worth a one time watch, but nothing sparkling.

Darwaza Bandh Rakho (2006)

crazy fun

[7/10 · 28 June 2007]

Another one of those movies with far too many characters for everyone to have names, lots of intersecting story lines, a crazy situation and heaps of noise and fun.

The story's simple, a group of wannabe dons kidnap a rich, dumb girl and seek refuge in a Gujarati businessman's home. What ensues is a crazy ride with many ups and downs and some serious laughs.

I'm not the type of person who laughs aloud in movies, but this one had me in splits. Some of the characters are simply hilarious, while others seem to be in the movie just to increase the chaos.

Don't expect logic in this movie. It's a loose script, but enjoyable. The movie could have done with some serious editing, especially towards the end, but no one would mind that.

Definitely worth a watch, especially if you enjoy the Hungama and Chup Chup Ke type of movies.

Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (2007)

entertaining but dumb

[6/10 · 28 June 2007]

Let's face the facts, if you still expect intelligent cinema from yash raj film, you've got to have been living under a mushroom for the last two decades. Just have a look at their recent movies- Dhoom, Hum Tum, Veer Zaara, Ta Ra Rum Pum.........the list of "dumb movies" goes on.

Jhoom is of the same mould, good entertainment, but if you expect something path breaking, don't bother. I went in to watch the movie with 0 expectations, and I came out with a smile, and tapping my foot to bol na halke.

The script needed some serious editing. Many sequences seemed to be in the film for no good reason. Story was lame, though cinematography more than made up for that. Preity Zinta should go and get married to Ness, her acting gets worse in every movie, though she looked wonderful. Her Brit accent was terrible, she should take lessons from 11 year old Lindsay from Parent Trap. While we're on the topic of accents, Lara's French was cute, though it changes half way through to some sort of contorted 15th century English accent. Weird huh? Abhishek was awesome, as was Bobby. Amitabh had no role, but was good in the song.

Music's decent, the kind that grows on you. Choreography was fabulous, Merchant seems to be the only one who knew what she was doing.

All in all, watch it to forget about everything else for 2.5 hours. If you're looking for intelligent cinema, watch Moore's new documentary.

Bas Yun Hi (2003)

Lame, lame, lame

[4/10 · 9 April 2007]

What exactly was this movie about?? On the face of it, it seems watchable, yuppie crowd, good music, Bangalore......but all that seems does not eventuate. Extremely loose script, lame dialogs and just about bearable acting. The movie looked like it had been shot on a camcorder, with extremely bad cuts. Why didn't they just use that huge contraption that Purab was carrying around. Everything looked like it had been shot in a studio, maybe that was because of the echoing voices, or perhaps because of the lack of background music. Acting was so so, most of the time it looked like it was an extremely slow paced play. None of the characters were fully developed, and they always seemed to be in a hurry to go somewhere.......where?? I don't know, maybe you should ask the cast, and while you're with them, also ask Nandita Das why she felt the need to do this film. She looks different and acts as well as ever, but didn't she read the script before signing on?? Purab wasn't great, and as for the other actors........why were they even in the movie (esp Kabir's girl friend.........what was her name?) I usually appreciate experimental, young movies, but this one was a farce. Not worth watching, unless you'd like to see what Bangalore looks like in the director's dreams.

Gol Maal (1979)

Brilliant

[9/10 · 3 August 2006]

This has got to be one of the best movies I have, and will ever, see. It's comedy at its best.

The casting is superb, with Amul Palekar, Dina Pathak, Utpal Dutt, Manju Singh, and of course, a whole lot of special appearances.

The story is quite ridiculous at times, but the acting and music more than makes up for it. Some of the sequences such as Ramprasad's interview with Utpal Dutt and the scene where Dina Pathack comes into their house through the window, are out of this world. It makes me wonder, what ever happened to good Indian comedies?? The story resolves quite nicely, and all well that ends well. Basically, a thoroughly enjoyable film.

Fanaa (2006)

I'm not so sure........

[6/10 · 31 May 2006]

OK.........this has been the most over rated movie of recent times. Albeit, kajol looks good, and aamir is amazing (as usual), the kid is really cute, and the cinematography breathtaking...........but the movie still lacks punch. I went in for the movie expecting a lot, and came out laughing because it turned out to be so predictable. The initial bits in Delhi were very well done. The movie moves at a quick pace, and for everone who likes Delhi, you'll love these parts. Aamir unfortunately looks old, and his shers get tiring after the first 5 or so, but overall it is quite enjoyable. Just before the interval, when Aamir's true identity is revealed, the movie takes a turn to the over the top "main hoon na" or "men in black" type story line. It actually becomes quite amusing at times. As soon as he starts looking good, the story goes down the chute. Reminiscent of "behind enemy lines" the snow chase sequence just didn't fit into the movie. Being glorified as a terrorist just didn't go down too well with me. The saving grace in the movie, and probably the only memorable scene after the interval was the one in which they have the small antakshari exchange, and he tells her who he is. The "climax" lacks impact, and simply fizzles out. It was a fitting end to a pretty much, forgettable movie. The background music was very powerful, and the songs fitted quite well into the movie. I enjoyed them a lot more than when I first listened to them My advise,watch the movie............only for the acting. Expect nothing from the story, and you won't be disappointed. ENJOY!!