Saturday reviews

Padre Nuestro is one of those films which rattle along at such a lick, that there8217;s little time to ponder the plot holes 8211; not that there are any. Yet, it is the director8217;s use of actors, locations and energy, and its buried theme, that makes Padre Nuestro one of the most potent cinematic experiences of our time.

Also notable is the director8217;s use of New York. It is a world where everybody has secrets, agendas, and a willingness to pull the trigger. And underneath their carefully composed disguises, all of them are hopelessly lonely beings pining for some human comfort.

And where is God, you may ask? Does the Almighty even care about the plight of the righteous man in this town anymore?

Roadside Ramblings
Film: Roadside Romeo
Director: Jugal Hansraj
Voice Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Javed Jaffrey, Tanaaz Irani
Rating:
Running at: Inox Forum, City Centre, Swabhumi
Roadside Romeo is not one of those melt-in-your-mouth animations that leave an aftertaste that figures among the few unapologetically sweet things in life. If a quirky Nemo, a bumbling Shrek or a robust Alex is your yardstick for an animation, Jugal Hansraj8217;s spunky hairstylist is in trouble.

They make him super cool, give him groovy Bollywood numbers to jive too, and give him a voice that is Bollywood8217;s stereotype for irreverent spunk. So Romeo is all set to rock. But then Bollywood takes over. And Romeo turns more into Saif Ali Khan8217;s hundred and one similar-looking characters than himself, his cronies just canine versions of silly, bungling filmi chelas, his villain a caricature straight out of a David Dhawan flick. At times, it is not funny.

But yes, Kareena Kapoor8217;s voiceover as a sultry seductress Laila does lend Hansraj8217;s heroine her character, but it surprisingly doesn8217;t get on to your nerves. So, with Laila and the film8217;s superior animation, Roadside Romeo does give us hope. The humour at times, seems too bawdy for an animation, but it does have the rough edge of Bollywood slapstick.

However, the film seems so smitten with Romeo that somehow it forgets that there has to be a story. And so it8217;s all up to Romeo, and yes Saif Ali Khan8217;s vocal emotive abilities to see the film through. While Khan does a good job of living his screen image once over again, Javed Jaffrey as Charlie Anna outdoes himself.

So, just before the animated canine Bollywood drove you nuts, the film ends, but with a funny tribute to this generation8217;s greatest romantic moment. If you have not already guessed the film in question, most of RR8217;s humour would be lost on you.

P.S: Sit through the credits. For a change it8217;s smart, funny and has a bit of the best thing about Roadside Romeo 8211; it8217;s title track.

Hero-less
Film: Heroes
Director: Samir Karnik
Cast: Mithun Chakraborty, Salman Khan, Preity Zinta, Sohail Khan, Vatsal Seth, Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol
Rating:
Running at: Inox City Centre, Forum, Swabhumi
You don8217;t have to be a soldier to love our country, says director Samir Karnik. You can be a screaming, howling caricature of an Air Force pilot Sunny Deol or a brave widow of a soldier Preity Zinta who drives a tractor through lush fields of Punjab to support her family, as long as you are serving the country in some way, your contribution counts. A noble thought indeed, but who will buy it when it8217;s peddled by a beefy Sohail Khan who is very appropriately named Saand and an insipid Vatsal Seth now where have we seen him before who try to pass off as fresh-off-the-oven film students?

Moreover, Heroes is as by-the-books formulaic as can be, and there8217;s not a surprise around that the corner that isn8217;t obvious immediately. Karnik tries to do a Rang De Basanti, but ends up making a watered down version of Border meets Friends instead if you think that8217;s a weird marriage of genres, so do we.

So these two are irresponsible film students, who would rather chase the professor8217;s daughter around the trees than attend classes. Since one can8217;t really get a degree for running around trees, the duo is assigned a project8212; a graduation film. Somehow, don8217;t ask us how the Saand and his sidekick decide to make a film on why youngsters shouldn8217;t join the Army. And they do so by delivering the last letters of three Army men to their respective families yet again, don8217;t ask us how the letters end up with these two.

A road trip is planned. Designer camps packed. And Ray Ban sunglasses worn. As they yoddle their way through picturesque Ladakh locales, you brace yourself for some high voltage jingoism. Instead, you are pleasantly surprised by a luminous Priety Zinta, who actually delivers a performance of a lifetime as a taciturn widow, struggling to keep her family together. No melodrama, no rona-dhona. Just simple heart tugging moments. So you sit up and look forward to the rest of the film. Thereon, much happens 8212;some of it incomprehensible, most of it pointlessly preposterous and all of it slightly less involving than watching algae grow on a stagnant pond.

Apart from Priety Zinta and the likable child actor who plays her son, none of the actors impress. Seeing Sunny Deol huff and puff his way through his allotted 10 minutes of screen time you wonder exactly how stilted our idea of a good performance was in the 1980s. He actually is a two-time National Award winner. Seriously8230;