Ek Tha Tiger? Or Ek Tha “Copycat”?

The most anticipated movie of 2012 “Ek Tha Tiger” is released with a bang. Before the release all the tickets were sold, it was hard to get tickets even for the 5^th day of the release. The reason behind it was nothing but Salman Khan’s box office power, which has yet again proved to be the ace in marketing any movie, and yes I mean “Any Movie”. YashRaj needs no introduction for those who are avid film viewers. Director Kabir Khan (Kaabul Express and New York) managed to justify his inspirations quite well. Here we all must know “inspiration” is just a modified name of “copying”.

The storyline of the movie is nothing that audiences haven’t witnessed before. It is about a RAW agent with a code name of “Tiger”, played by Salman Khan and an ISI agent named Zoya, played by “Katrina Kaif”. Tiger is sent on a mission to Dublin, just to observe the movements of Indian scientist (Roshan Saith) because according to Tiger’s chief Roshan might be involved in sharing some research finding with Pakistan’s defense. There Tiger meets Zoya and their romance starts to blossom. After that it’s a movie with lots of chase, lots of action and so many predictabilities.

ETT is a bravura combination of multiple movies, script wise along with action sequences hugely inspired from west. For instance the script of the movie is a combination of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, One of the movies from James Bond’s series and a few more (in bits and pieces). The most talked about action sequences of ETT are, also to huge extent, copied from 2 blockbusters “Fast 5” (starting scene and when Kat and Sallu escape from their hideout); the climax is again inspired from Expendable’s climax when local Sly jumps from bridge on to the jet plane.

As far as the performances are concerned, Salman is as usual – he is already a “STAR” and for stars performances are not benchmarks (on the basis of past release like Dabbang, Ready and Wanted). Salman Kan looks cute, sober and serious with this movie as well. Katrina is a complete performer now! She surprises everyone with her performance, dialogue delivery and hotness. Ranvir Shorey grabs the role exceptionally well, there are scenes where he doesn’t even speak but his presence is strongly felt – after a long time this actor is truly been utilized. Direction is good, better than other recent Bollywood movies (excluding GoW 1 and 2, Rockstar, Pan Sigh Tomar, Vicky Donor, Shanghai, Jannat 2,  and a few others).

Music of ETT is nice – nothing exceptional. Cinematography is worth experiencing – hats off to Aseem Mishra. 

Watch this film if you are a Salman Khan’s or Katrina’s fan; else there won’t be much for you in this fare.

Ratings:                                7/10

This Article is also Published at DAILY NATIONAL NEWS PAPER

The Expendables 2 Movie Review – Band Of Geriatric Goons

The Expendables 2 is definitely amongst the most anticipated releases of 2012, at least for those who are diehard fans of real action heroes like Sly Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger (Arnie), Jason Statham, Chuck Norris, Jet Li, Bruce Willis and last but not the least Jeanne Claude Vann Damme. For many viewers and movie buffs this movie would be a dream cum true to see all their action icons sharing one screen.

If we talk about the plot of the movie its not a rocket science in fact its quite simple. If you have watched Expendables 1 and know the storyline, Sly and his team blew up Willis plan. So, in second episode of Expendables, Willis wants to send Sly and his men to another mission to retrieve something of significance value before bad men can get their hold of. Willis introduces them with a female mercenary – Nan Yu, who can lead them in certain situations. Anyways, the team heads off for the mission, without knowing the seriousness caused by the Villain of the movie Jean Claude Van Damme. The rivalry turns into personal when Van Damme brutally murders one of Sly’s gang mates. From there the movie transforms into a new journey – journey of revenge!

The the plot does not make a bit of sense at many places, as it only involves explosions, chases and blood shattering scenes. “Track em. Find em. Kill’em”. Is what the movie is all about – Dialogue spouted by Sly for the bad guys.

This time the movie is focused more on fun and action. The chemistry between Statham and Sly is amazing. Similarly, Arnold’s presence is a treat. Chuck Norris Steals the show in a brief cameo. Bruce Willis is there for – making his presence felt, else he was not technically needed for more than one scene. Jean Claude Van Damme looks ruthless, acts much better and fights perfectly! The real action heroes of this ride are Statham, Van Damme and Sly. Those who bring smiles are Arnie, Sly and Statham. The ones whose presence catches you by surprise are Arnie and Chuck (in every scene).

This particular movie has received mixed responses from audiences. According to some geriatric goons are back, for others it’s a star packed salute to fans of action movies and for others its far too weak for its fury. It’s a pure 80’s and 90’s idea with same era’s super stars in new packaging. Director Simon West gives his best after almost fifteen years, which was Con Air.

Recommended to all those who want to watch their Action icons together. Bad-Ass Action flick with corny one-liners like
"I pronounce you Man and Knife", "Rest in Pieces", "Do you want to hit me like a Man or Shit" and last but not the least
Sly: "I think it belongs to a Museum"
Arnie: "We all DO"

Rating 7.5/10

EID MUBARAK

Eid Mubarak (Eid Greetings) to all my followers, readers and every person from all over the world!

I thank you all for being a continuous support!

Is Watching Movies In Ramazan a Sin?

Is it me or others as well, who at times burst out into laughing after focusing on a few facts preached to us by our elders, regarding Islam? We all know (in fact we are moralized) that in Ramazan it is simply not allowed to watch movies, especially Indian movies. But we can watch Pakistani dramas and morning shows where we (Pakistani audience) encounter some blooming faces (both genders), sugar coating their audiences with their charisma and bravura performances of being nice and sweet personalities – as if they are the best preachers of religion, humanity and human race.

I simply ask people with this mentality, why is that every one watches Olympics but strictly says a “No” for watching movies? Why is it that we (Muslims) can watch Ramazan’s especial transmission featuring our favorite celebrities all dressed up in branded / designer’s clothing (which are mostly body fitted nowadays)? We are not allowed to discuss movies and songs during “Roza”, but we thoroughly enjoy discussing actresses’ or presenters’ controversies by getting updates from Google.

I am sure this is nothing new, those individuals who have witnessed the era of 90’s, NTN’s and STN’s names still ring bells in their mind, they can easily remember that back in those days most of us were not allowed to watch movies on rent during Ramazan or Muharram, but it was completely acceptable to watch the movies which used to be telecasted on the mentioned channels. Even at that time it was quite paradoxical for me to understand. I just don’t get it why don’t we focus? Why do we always have to jump to conclusion?

I am not saying that watching a movie is not a sin but all I am trying is to ask "how long will we play with our religion? How long will we complicate it?" Why aren't we preached like

“Be it Ramazan or any other month of the year, watching a movie is prohibited in Islam”

It is not just that watching “Khuda Kay Liay” is permissible whereas watching “Dirty Picture” is “Al-Haram”. We can watch girls playing different games like beach volleyball, diving, swimming, synchronized swimming, and trampoline in skimpiest dresses, in the name of Olympic Games and art but we can not watch an actress’s interview on TV channels.

The problem with PBCM – (Pakistani Born Confused Muslims) is that they don’t ask questions. They will ask hundreds of question to their parents, teachers and friends related to career move, best educational institutions, etiquettes and fashion but they will not ask a simple question “Why” under the topic of religion. This is the reason why today, we have grown to accept the fact that

“Never ask a question related to Islam or Politics, it will only end up in an argument or clash”.

I am sure this is something which we all have heard at one or more than one places in our lives. Let us hope that we (Pakistanis and Muslims) start to ask questions, so that in future we can answer our children questions raised by them logically and not saying “Hush, don’t ask such questions, just follow what is being taught to you”. A slave is not allowed to ask questions, but in Islam mankind is allowed to ask as many questions as possible – to make others understand the crux of this beautiful and complete religion.

Finally, is watching movie in Ramazan a Sin? And Watching Dramas, Morning Shows, Cricket Matches or Olympic Games are all allowed?