Movie Review: Mithya

Directed by Rajat Kapoor, Mithya is a little gem of a movie that plays as a tragic-comedy. A struggling actor is found to be the lookalike of a powerful don. The don's enemy wants to kill the don and let the impersonator take his place. Only things go awry. Though the primary premise resembles the Amitabh Bachchan starter Don (1978), the treatment and screenplay take a lighter route in comparison to the original. It is very much a variant and a must-watch for its performances. Ranvir Shorey is a revelation, Naseeruddin Shah is a wicked riot, Neha Dhupia gets to do a nice brief acting part, while Vinay Pathak fits right in. Recommended.        

Music review of JODHA AKBAR

Jodha Akbar
UTV music
Music: AR Rahman
Lyrics: Javed Akhtar

The music of the latest Ashutosh Gowariker film is finally here. Azeem-o-shaan Shenhenshah is an upbeat track, a ‘long live the king’ kind of song. A resounding chorus, a booming drumbeat, and a rhythmic clashing of swords too! A picture of a huge crowd collected before the king comes to the mind. The lyricist had tried to maintain a balance in the choice of words, hovering from Urdu words one wouldn’t find in a dictionary to plain Hindi vocabulary. Jaashne bahara is well, about the usual, the film hero yearning for the heroine’s love. The only difference, the concerned people here are the emperor and the princess. Javed Ali is a refreshing new voice, last heard in Jab We Met. Khwaja mere khwaja is a Sufi based qawaali. Unlike other film qawaalis, the instruments are to the minimum, accompanied with a gentle clapping of the hands, and Rahman’s vocals. Darmiyaan has Sonu Nigam singing an unusual duet with Madhushree. Yes, it is another love song, but the treatment is experimental. Kanhaa is a bit disappointing, yet another devotional song of Radha yearning for Lord Krishna, a repetition of a concept already tried in Lagaan and Swades – Gowariker’s earlier films. The instrumentals are a surprise too; Naveen’s flute improvises on jaashne bahar, and khwaja is recreated of all things with an oboe, a double reed musical instrument. The music may not be Rahman’s best, but will generally grow on you.
Additionally there is a bonus DVD, which has a four-minute trailer of the movie, about 10 film posters, film and character synopsis, all in text, but no video on the making on the movie.