Movie Review: Pyar ke Side Effects (Damn The Side Effects)

Had someone told me that one of the side effects of watching this movie would be my utter discomfort in asking a girl out for coffee (just in case she has also seen the movie) , I would have not taken the plunge. However, having taken the plunge, I did not regret any minute of it.

Pyar Ke Side Effects has an unusual star cast - the metrosexual Rahul Bose with an upmarket appeal, and can-it-get-any-shorter Mallika Sherawat (Fido- mujhe sabse jyada Curvy bana do!) with an amazing downmarket appeal. But as Shilpa pointed out after the movie- if you are in a relationship , you can relate to almost every scene of the movie.

I dont know where the movie started, because like every other movie, I was late for this one as well. Had to send out a client deck , and drive to the malls, park the car (thats one big piece of mess!), find Golu (Sulabh) and then wait for a family phone call to end before I could get in. But, from the point where I saw the movie (where RB is meeting his sister) , it was all about modern boy meeting girl, loving and regretting every moment of it all the time! :)

Its a hilarious comedy riot all throughout. The beauty of a good movie is that it leaves you with a few keywords - If Munnabhai had MAMU , PKSE has "Baby Girl Volume 3" and "Coffee".

Naam Gum Jayega, Poster Ye Badal Jayega

Mere keywords hi pehchaan hain.. gar yaad rahe

There was a time when people might have had to pay me for watching a mallika movie (yeah! yeah!! we know that one!). I have walked out of Murder , Shaadi se Pehle. I havent seen any other. But after this movie, I would say that she has definitely tried to act and not just play 'show'-biz!! And that reminds me of one of the high points of the movie -

Mallika (to Sophiya) - Nice dress! Main to himmat hi nahi kar pati aise kapde pehenNe ki. (I cant even dare try such clothes on me!) I can't carry them off, you know!

And the cinema hall went crazy after that! All this while we were thinking that poor kid must be stuffy in the kind of clothes she was wearing in this movie.

Rahul's expressions are 'fantabulous'! Thats a word that Scott uses quite often. However, the unsurety of Rahul's being is nothing compared to the surety of Scott's whims. We'll leave that aside and 'take it offline' <that damn phrase bugs me off more than anything else>.

Naanoo (that MTV VJ - I think Ranveer) is awesome in the movie. His treatise on how women train you for years, and how your leaving them mid-way wastes their time and energy , and how that is the reason why women would stick on to you, is a philosophy that every guy would want to hold on to. But guys are basically insecure. They always think that they are on the losing side of a relationship if it comes to an end.

Some more philo-gems from the movie

• Guys dont want to get married and girls dont want to remain unmarried (marriage is the end of all things fun!! Yea!)
• Guys dont want kids but girls do! (If a guy is a little organized , he is considered pansy/chom!)
• Tears/Extreme emotions are women's forte – Imagine yourself crying right in the middle of a heated argument. Guys would rather die than give up on a chance to have an argument
• You need sad songs in your life if you want to cry (applicable to guys only)- Now I know the origin/need for sad songs and why it is said that Sadness helps you discover yourself
• Whatever is going wrong with your life, blame it on the guy (And some moron tried to suggest that behind every successful man, there is a woman)

Watch it! It's a must watch movie. Especially if you are in love, or planning to be in love (forced, maybe).

Watch it, if you are Tushar Thakkar (You can always pity the guys who ran away with your "first" love).

Watch it if you are Mannu Bhai (One night-multiple affairs and non of them materializing is better than One that makes you go through all that!

Watch it if you are Buchi (I am sure he never played sad songs in his room after the fiascos!).

Watch it if you are Mama (new strategies – gals tend to dig you if you are already engaged! Whats the harm in claiming that you are engaged!).

Watch it if you are Gullu/Lala/Me/ Honorary Member of the Gossip Circuit (gives you ways of reading into whats happening in other people's life)

Watch it if you are Sarin – Baby Girl Volume 3. Yeah Baby! That's the way to go! Coffee please!!

Watch it if you are anyone else – Sooner or later, you will graduate to one of the earlier categories!

Movie Review: Dor - How far can you go.....

People keep asking me - what the heck is this analytics thingy that you do? How is the analytics done by you different from what we're doing and how we're doing it?

Dont expect an answer in this post. This post, however, is about what I think of the 2 recent movies I saw.

Lets start with "Dor" first.

I missed the first ten minutes of the movie, but my friends did not mind getting into the gory detail of what happened in those ten minutes. However, my comments would reflect the remaining part of the movie.




Its largely about Zeenat (Gul Panag) and a little about Meera (Ayesha Takia), and still lesser about Behroopia (Shreyas). But the man who does leave his mark is the 'man'- Shreyas. After a very silent performance in Iqbal, iqbal's delivery in this movie takes us through his imitations of bollywood icons and I must say that he has done a good job. His performance has a level of sensibility and timing that is very refreshing. Especially, the portrayal of conflicting emotions - smiling when doesnt want to, loving zeenat but realizing that he is helping her save her husband, restraint and effervescence. If history is the reflection of future, I think he is a good find for the industry, along with Shiney Ahuja.
I should not take the credit away from Ayesha either. With no makeup and the fact that half the world likes her because of her looks (that is, before this movie), it was a bold move to get into such a de-glamorized role. And she has pulled it off with consummate ease. She adds that element of freshness to an otherwise serious storyline, with her take on Kajra Re, and You are my Sonia.

Gul Panag, on the other hand, had the msot powerful character in the movie, and well, she hasnt done wonders to it. She hasn't spoilt it either. But its these roles that distinguish the goods from the me-toos.


Now lets talk about the defining things about the movie -

1. Direction - Very tight, crisp, and to the point. There isnt much beating around the bush, trying to create situations where a heavy dialogue is delivered by the protagonists, trying to glorify the goods or the bads. The characters are well defined, the music is in the background, not interferring with the movie.
2. Cinematography - I loved it. Widescreen, panoramic views. Rusty locales that speak of tradition, culture and heritage. Villages and kothis that look like they belong, and not pulled out of some king's palace. Long Shots that do justice to the sunset. Deserts that look intimidating, and at the same time, you can feel the comfort that someone who's been there for a long time would feel. In short, a beautifully done movie.
3. Music- nice and unobtrusive. You dont feel that you've already heard 3-4 songs.
4. Acting - good overall. Shreyas shines with his cameo. Ayesha looks pretty even without makeup and has done a fabulous job. Gul Panag - decent. Girish Karnad - wasted!
5. Script - nice dialogues. fitting the characters. Zeenat does not talk in long winded sentences. Meera has her initial confused statements where she finds it difficult to express her real emotions. Behroopia talks the sweet language of behroopias. Touch of Rajasthani accent. They could have added a bit more of rajasthani accent to Meera's family.

Part 2 of my blog, which is blog-in-waiting, will cover my serious take on Lage Raho Munnabhai