Will You Marry Me? Review

Business rating: 0.5 /5 (Half star)

Star cast: Shreyas Talpade, Rajeev Khandelwal, Muzammil Ibrahim, Mugdha Godse, Tripta Parashar, Manoj Joshi, Paresh Rawal.

What’s Good: Hardly anything!

What’s Bad: The juvenile script; the poor performances.

Verdict: Will You Marry Me? will lose the box-office battle.

Loo break: Several.

Watch or Not?: Watch it if you want to know how things can go wrong with a film.

Ikkon Productions’ Will You Marry Me? (UA) is the story of three very close friends – Aarav (Shreyas Talpade), Rajveer (Rajeev Khandelwal) and Nikhil (Muzammil Ibrahim). The trio as also a group of more friends invest money to buy 1 lakh shares in a blue chip company with the express understanding that all the shares would finally go to the person who doesn’t get married. As the friends get married one by one, the competition narrows down till finally, only Aarav, Rajveer and Nikhil remain bachelors. Nikhil believes in love and marriage, Rajveer is a playboy and Aarav can never come around to wooing a girl although he is quite straightforward and respects women.

One day, Nikhil announces his intention to marry girlfriend Anjali (Tripta Parashar), leaving Rajveer and Aarav as likely candidates to win the shares which have, over the years, increased in value. Even as arrangements for Nikhil’s marriage are underway, Rajveer invests a gutkha baron’s (Paresh Rawal) money – Rs. 5 crore – which he holds in trust for a few days, in the shares of another blue chip company with the intention of making quick money for himself and returning the principal amount to the gutkha baron. As luck would have it, the value of the blue chip company’s shares nosedives in the share bazaar and Rajveer can’t recover anything of the Rs. 5 crore invested, leave alone making a huge profit. The businessman now threatens to not let Nikhil get married if Rajveer doesn’t return his money within a week. Alternatively, he would make any one of them eat his gutkha till the over-consumption killed him.

Rajveer and Nikhil are tense but don’t reveal anything to Aarav. Meanwhile, Sneha (Mugdha Godse), a friend of Anjali, has arrived for the wedding. Both, Rajveer and Aarav, are mad about her and, in a bid to woo her, do everything to win her attention and to keep her away from the other. Just a couple of days before the wedding day, Anjali’s father gives Rs. 2 crore in cash to Nikhil to pay for the hotel expenses, if the need arose, as he has to go out of town on an urgent business call. Rajveer’s manipulative mind starts ticking on seeing the cash and he forces Nikhil to let him bet on the ongoing cricket matches to multiply the Rs. 2 crore so that they can pay off the gutkha baron. Again, to their misfortune, they lose the Rs. 2 crore rather than multiplying the money.

The only alternative left to them now is to get Aarav married to Sneha so that the shares of the first blue-chip company would come to Rajveer; he would sell them and return the monies of the gutkha baron as well as Anjali’s dad. But there’s a twist there too as it is not so easy to get Aarav and Sneha married. As the wedding date is nearing, the tension is mounting. Nikhil and Rajveer stand exposed in front of Anjali’s father who then calls off the wedding. Aware by now of the chain of events, Aarav decides to act.

What does Aarav do? Does he succeed in ensuring that Nikhil gets married to Anjali? Or does Anjali’s father not let the marriage happen? What about Sneha? Does she marry Rajveer or Aarav? What happens to the shares of the blue chip company – do they go to Rajveer or Aarav? Do they come in handy to pay off the debts? What about the friendship of Aarav, Rajveer and Nikhil?

Shreyas Talpade does a fair job, Muzammil Ibrahim is wooden & Rajeev Khandelwal is strictly average in Will You Marry Me?

Will You Marry Me? Review: Script Analysis

Aditya V. Datt’s story and screenplay are so juvenile that it’s a wonder, anybody could green-light a film based on it. Why would friends invest money in a blue chip company with the express understanding that only one of them – who did not get married – would be the beneficiary? It is not as if people generally don’t get married, so why would anybody play a game in which his chance of losing was 99%? And what if everyone got married? Just like the silly game they play, the friends have also, quite stupidly, not been shown to be bothered about other eventualities.

The angle of Rajveer and Aarav trying to woo Sneha is kiddish. Also, it is strange how Aarav never thinks of the investment when he is planning to marry Sneha. For, if he had thought of the blue chip company shares, he’d have instantly understood why Nikhil was literally pushing him into the marriage. But as things stand, he keeps wondering why Nikhil is keen to get him married so fast. Also, once Aarav comes to know about the problem Rajveer has landed himself in, he goes to the gutkha baron to become the guinea pig for his gutkha. Instead, why doesn’t he simply sell off the company shares after taking Rajveer’s signature on them? Rajveer surely couldn’t have had any objection to the sale. Instead, Aarav is shown to be fighting with Rajveer for not having let him into the problems he had landed in, saying, he could easily have encashed the shares. But why, after learning of the problem from whatever source, did he not encash the shares?

The love triangle of Aarav, Sneha and Rajveer is weird. Also, it is not clear whether Sneha loves Aarav or Rajveer. The bond of friendship of Aarav, Rajveer and Nikhil is also quite strange because although they are supposed to be best buddies, they behave otherwise. For instance, Aarav and Rajveer can’t stand each other and call each other names. As for Nikhil, he even asks Aarav and Rajveer to get out of his house when his girlfriend’s parents are due to come home. Also, why Rajveer and Nikhil hide the fact about the loss of the Rs. 5 crore first and the Rs. 2 crore later is unexplained.

Another silly twist is about Rajveer trying to multiply the money of Anjali’s dad, given by the latter to Nikhil for a particular purpose, after burning his (Rajveer’s) fingers in a previous case (money of the gutkha baron). How Nikhil could allow him to try his (terrible) luck is a wonder.

All in all, Aditya V. Datt’s screenplay has so many holes in it that it is disturbing. Jay Master’s dialogues are as ordinary as ordinary can be.

Will You Marry Me? Review: Star Performances

Shreyas Talpade does a fair job. He is good in the scene in which he fights with Rajeev Khandelwal towards the end. Rajeev Khandelwal, looking terribly awkward in the wig, is strictly average. He should either take lessons in English pronunciations or avoid using English words! Muzammil Ibrahim is wooden. Mugdha Godse performs ordinarily and, like Rajeev Khandelwal, she too needs to greatly improve her English pronunciations. Tripta Parashar is poor; her English also leaves plenty to be desired. Manoj Joshi fills the bill, again pronouncing English words as if he were speaking in Sanskrit. Paresh Rawal fails to impress and looks completely disinterested in the drama. Celina Jaitley doesn’t have much to do. It appears as if her role has been cut short. Nishigandha Wad (as Anjali’s mother), Deepak Dadwal (as Nikhil’s father), Neeta Jhanji (as Nikhil’s mother), Bobby Darling and the rest of the cast provide ordinary support.

Will You Marry Me? Review: Direction & Music

Aditya V. Datt’s direction, limited as it is by his own script, is dull. His narrative style fails to involve the audience. Music (Sachin Gupta, Sharib-Toshi, Amjad-Nadeem and Gaurav Dagaonkar) is okay. No song stands out, neither for the compostion nor for the lyrics (Turaz, Kumaar, Shabbir Ahmed and Gaurav Dagaonkar). Song picturisations (choreographers: Remo D’souza, Shabina Khan and Pony Verma) are routine. Sachin Gupta’s background score passes muster. Stunts (by Javed Karim and Hanif Sheikh) are commonplace. Camerawork (Dwaraganath Rangaraj) is average. Sets (Sanjay Dhapade and Anjan Gajurel) are okay. Editing (Irfan Shaikh) needed to be much sharper.

Will You Marry Me? Review: Komal Nahta’s Verdict

On the whole, Will You Marry Me? is a dull fare with very little to entertain. Given the poor start on the one hand and lack of merits on the other, it will meet with unfavourable results at the box-office.

Will You Marry Me? releases in India on 2 March 2012.

Will You Marry Me? Trailer

Komal Nahta, the Editor of Koimoi.com, is Bollywood’s most trusted trade analyst & film reviewer. You can follow him on Twitter and check out his Video Blog.

Rayo Bhakirta, Sunny Sharma, Neha Ahuja, Ann Mitchai, Anish Khanna and Rajeev Khandelwal at the launch of When Love Happens.

After Soundtrack, Rajeev Khandelwal is going for a more romantic role with When Love Happens.

The film, about relationships, love and soul-searching, will be directed by Anish Khanna and produced by Sunny Sharma. Rayo Bhakhirta, who starred in Pyaar Ka Punchnama, former Miss India Neha Ahuja and Ann Mitchai a singer-actress from Thailand, will also be starring in the movie. Shooting will take place in Bangkok, Goa and Ooty and will go on floors from 5 March.

When Love Happens: Official Synopsis

Neha’s life takes a drastic turn when Rajeev appears in front of her just before her engagement with Rayo. Rayo is a venerable, suave and enormously eloquent business personality. On the other hand Rajeev is an inestimably susceptible, flamboyant seditious bloke who happens to be Rayo and Neha’s wedding planner.

Ann, Rayo’s childhood friend, is a strikingly provoked personality who does not certainly care about the world or anyone around but only for Rayo she is an all-embracing, different facade. Though Rayo is not at all fretful about her existence in his life but for Ann he is the one for whom she has already shaded all her innate inhabitancy which of course Rayo is not aware of.

Is there enough happiness in store in for them so that they can rely on their own fortune? Are they truly prepared to find their real identity and accept the facts and truths of life? With the ultimate crux of the film we will find all the answers to these questions.

Will You Marry Me? Preview

Will You Marry Me?: Box-Office Expectations

The cast of Will You Marry Me? does not have the star power to command an opening. Thus, the film will have to depend on post-release word of mouth publicity.

Will You Marry Me?: Star Cast

Rajeev Khandelwal, Mugdha Godse, Shreyas Talpade.

Will You Marry Me?: Plot

Will You Marry Me is a fresh, youthful story of three friends, Aarav (Shreyas Talpade), Rajveer (Rajeev Khandelwal), and Nikhil (Muzamil Ibrahim). All three boys have one thing common; their love for their bachelorhood. So much so they place a bet amongst themselves; whoever decides to marry first will lose a huge amount in shares that were contributed by all three friends and their gang of friends. All was well until a few years later; Nikhil decides to marry the love of his life, Anjali (Tripta Prashar).

Rajveer and Aarav cannot believe their best friend Nikhil is getting married however they put on a smile to attend his beach wedding in Dubai. During the wedding festivities, Rajveer and Aarav coincidentally fall for the bride’s best friend, Sneha (Mugdha Godse). To make matters worse in this love triangle, the kidnapping of Nikhil takes place by the powerful business tycoon (Paresh Rawal).

From there everything turns up-side down completely at Nikhil and Anjali’s wedding celebrations. Will Nikhil even make it for his own wedding? Who will Sneha choose; Rajveer or Aarav? Who will marry who; come find out in Will You Marry Me?

Will You Marry Me?: Release Date

2 March 2012

Watch Will You Marry Me? Trailer

Komal Nahta, the Editor of Koimoi.com, is Bollywood’s most trusted trade analyst & film reviewer. You can follow him on Twitter and check out his Video Blog.

The first half of the film is good. But the second half does not have as much an impact. Writer-director Neerav Ghosh has brought out the frustrations of Rajeev Khandelwal’s character, but not the emotions. The emotional scenes should have been tearjerkers, but are not. Rajeev Khandelwal’s performance is very good. Soha Ali Khan and Mrinalini Sharma act well. Though the music is very good, a film centred on music should have had super hit and popular songs. With the lack of face value and a weak second half, the film will not do well at the box-office.

Read the full review here.

Business rating: 1/5 stars

Star cast: Rajeev Khandelwal, Soha Ali Khan, Mrinalini Sharma, Mohan Kapur.

What’s Good: The first half; the acting of most of the artistes; the songs.

What’s Bad: The post-interval portion which is devoid of emotions.

Verdict: Soundtrack is a good film but the second half ought to have been far better. It will not do much at the ticket windows.

Loo break: None.

Watch or Not?: Watch Soundtrack for the performances and the pre-interval part.

Saregama India Ltd.’s Soundtrack (A) is the story of a musician and DJ, Raunak Kaul (Rajeev Khandelwal). He is a small-town man who comes to Bombay to pursue his dream of becoming a renowned musician. His father, Parth Kaul, was also a musician who had met with an untimely end because of his love for alcohol. Raunak’s mother fears that he, too, would go his father’s way and, therefore, is not happy about his coming to Bombay.

Raunak initially lives with his paternal uncle (Yatin Karyekar) in Bombay. Charlie (Mohan Kapur), the owner of a club in Bombay, where Raunak works as a DJ, sees the potential in Raunak and decides to make him a household name. He even gets Raunak a film assignment. Raunak, who now has a girlfriend, Shonali (Mrinalini Sharma), loves consuming alcohol, doing drugs and indulging in unsafe sex, besides making music. All his excesses and exposure to continual loud music lead to Raunak losing his power of hearing almost completely. Obviously, he can’t compose music because he can’t hear properly. He falls from the pride of place he enjoys as a DJ. He is also unable to fulfil Charlie’s commitment to deliver the film song.

Raunak consults a doctor who asks him to abstain from all his vices and warns him that he may completely lose his ability to hear because of damage to his inner ears. Frustrated and battling his internal demons, Raunak does all he can to get his power to hear back, including locking himself up in isolation for days on end. But he fails. He becomes completely deaf and accepts life without sound. He then consults Gauri (Soha Ali Khan) who herself is deaf but who teaches him the art of reading lips and comprehending what people are talking. He becomes very fond of Gauri. One day, he realises that he can sense music by feeling the pulsating beats via his hands. And from thereon changes Raunak’s life. He composes a song in spite of his disability and the album becomes a rage. He even presents a live show where he sings to the tune composed by himself, merely by putting his foot on the speaker which is blaring the music.

Soundtrack Review: Script Analysis

Remake of the Hollywood film, It’s All Gone Pete Tong, this one has a first half which shows the rise of musician Raunak Kaul. The post-interval portion is devoted to Raunak coming to terms with his deafness and how he strikes back.

The first half is engaging and interesting. It also has sex for the front-benchers. The second half, however, is not half as impactful. This is because although writers Neerav Ghosh, Rajiv Gopalakrishnan and Chintan Gandhi have captured the frustrations of a musician who loses his ability to make music because he goes deaf, they have not been able to bring out his emotions and the sentimental reaction of his family members and friends. In fact, the first half prepares the audience for a tearful second half but the emotions just don’t come through. Consequently, the viewer feels cheated after interval. Also, the drama, which had the potential of becoming an intense tear-jerker, remains an ordinary story of a musician who fought odds to continue his career. The hair-raising element is missing in his comeback. Likewise, the scene in which the public applauds Raunak when he performs live despite his disability, fails to draw tears from the viewers’ eyes. In short, the comeback of Raunak is not upto the mark. The track of Gauri teaching Raunak is weak. Perhaps, what goes against the drama is that after a point of time, Raunak and his near and dear ones easily accept his loss of hearing ability. Even Raunak’s fooling with his little cousin and with Gauri robs the drama of its emotional appeal in the second half. Dialogues, penned by Neerav Ghosh, Rajiv Gopalakrishnan and Chintan Gandhi, are alright.

Soundtrack Review: Performances

Rajeev Khandelwal does a very good job. He plays Raunak Kaul with understanding and projects his frustrations aptly. Soha Ali Khan acts ably and makes her presence felt in a brief role. Mrinalini Sharma also does well. Mohan Kapur is pretty effective as Charlie. Yatin Karyekar gives a good account of himself. Ankur Tewari (as guitarist) and Siddharth Coutto (as drummer) lend fair support. Surinder Rajan leaves a mark as Makarand Chacha. Manu Rishi Chadha is okay as the doctor. Anurag Kashyap makes his presence felt. Adhir Bhat acts well in the role of Johny Joker. Rekha Desai fails to impress as Raunak’s mother. Rajat Kaul is okay as DJ Sonic. Krutika Desai, Soni and Anisa add a touch of glamour as the three angels of Tango Charlie Club. Anu Malik, (VJ) Bani, (RJ) Malishka, (music director) Salim Merchant, (DJ) Aqeel and (singer) Kailash Kher play themselves well.

Soundtrack Review: Direction & Music

Neerav Ghosh’s direction is of a good standard. Although this is his maiden attempt at direction, he handles the film with the flourish of a seasoned director. However, he has faltered in exploiting the emotional potential of the drama. Music (Midival Punditz and Karsh Kale) is good and some songs are even very hummable but the requirements of the film about music and a musician were twofold – super-hit music and extremely popular music. Neither are the songs super-hit nor have they been popularised well enough. ‘Banao’, ‘Fakira’ (music also composed by Vishal Vaid), ‘Main chala’ (music also composed by Kailash Kher), ‘What the F’, ‘Jannat’ (music composed by Ankur Tewari), ‘Ek manzil’ (Vishal Vaid and Karsh Kale), and ‘Naina laagey (Midival Punditz and Papon) are all appealing numbers. Lyrics are fair. Jasmin Oza’s choreography should’ve been better. Anshuman Mahaley’s cinematography is appropriate. Saini Johray’s sets are alright.

Soundtrack Review: Komal Nahta’s Verdict

On the whole, Soundtrack has a good first half but a weak second half. With not much face value and given its poor start, it will be lost at the box-office in spite of appreciation from the discerning viewers.

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Komal Nahta, the Editor of Koimoi.com, is Bollywood’s most trusted trade analyst & film reviewer. You can follow him on Twitter and check out his Video Blog.

The promos of Soundtrack are good and have been liked. However, the film will have to depend mostly on word-of-mouth publicity after it opens in theatres on Friday, October 7.

Soundtrack: Star cast

Rajeev Khandelwal, Soha Ali Khan, Mrinalini Sharma, Mohan Kapoor, Yatin Karyekar, Ankur Tewari, Anurag Kashyap, Siddharath Coutto, Manu Rishi.

Soundtrack: Plot

Soundtrack is the journey of the supremely talented DJ and musician, Raunak Kaul (Rajeev Khandelwal). He lives life in extremes until it all starts to go south when he is diagnosed with a hearing disorder that ultimately leads to him going completely deaf. Then Gauri (Soha Ali Khan), herself born deaf, enters his life, and leads him from his dark state to a happier place where one day, miraculously, he finds a way to make music again.

Soundtrack Trailer

Soundtrack Release Date

October 7, 2011

Watch Rajeev Khandelwal and Soha Ali Khan in the song Ek Manzil from Soundtrack.

Director Neerav Ghosh

Three Films That Never Happened

Ghosh started out early at the age of 23 years, when he shifted from Delhi to Bombay. However, Ghosh soon realized that making a full-length feature was a different ball game altogether. He spent the next few years learning the ropes of filmmaking and even earned a few credits in writing, editing and sound design. He also learnt the sad fact that some films never get made. “I signed up for three films but none of them even got to the production stage.”

Pete Tong or Soundtrack: What Came First?

So how did Soundtrack happen? “I had this idea of a musician who goes deaf. I even wrote a first draft of the script.” But then, Ghosh came across a Hollywood film, It’s All Gone Pete Tong, which was based on a similar premise. He ended up adapting the foreign film for the Indian audience, which is now releasing as Soundtrack. Was getting the remake rights difficult? “Not at all,” Ghosh says. “I just made a quick call to James Richardson (the producer of the Hollywood film) and he, equally quickly, agreed to part with the rights for a Bollywood remake of his film. Of course, the legal process took a lot of time.” Ask him if he has any issues with the fact that his first film as a director is a remake, and he replies nonchalantly, “I had written an original story, a better version of which I found in It’s All Gone Pete Tong. So what’s wrong in making a better movie, especially when I’m doing it legally?

It’s Rajeev Khandelwal’s Film

“It is Rajeev’s Khandelwal’s film all the way,” Ghosh explains, “with Mrinalini Sharma playing the fun, hip and crazy girlfriend, and Soha Ali Khan essaying the role of the heartwarming, sweet and inspirational companion.” Ghosh recalls how Soha had come on board without creating any fuss when his first choice for Soha’s role in the film, Konkona Sen Sharma, opted out because of her pregnancy.

Sex, Drugs & Alcohol

But why make a film with so much sex and drugs, as is evident from the film’s trailer? “That’s the milieu my characters live in. In fact, Rajeev’s rise in the film is, in a way, fuelled by alcohol, sex and drugs. Of course, he meets with disaster when he loses his sense of hearing. From here, the movie takes a more serious turn and ends on an inspirational note. Because it is a film about a DJ, the music had to be peppy and cool. Plus, my background as a member of a rock band forced me to push the envelope when it came to the score.” Ghosh chose Midival Punditz and Karsh Kale as the music composers of the film because they are known for their unconventional music sense.

Level Of Emotion Is Zero

“My level of emotion is zero right now as all of it has been drained during the making. I am functioning at a purely cerebral level. But I am sure I will be very nervous as the release date (October 7) nears. After all, it’s not just my labour of three years, it’s my first movie… it’s a dream come true!”

Soundtrack also stars Soha Ali Khan and Mrinalini Sharma. The film releases on September 30.

One other reason being cited for the postponement is the slew of films releasing on October 30. Even after the postponement of Soundtrack, as many as 6 films are releasing next Friday (September 30). They include Chargesheet, Force, Hum Tum Shabana, Na Jaane Kabse.., Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster and Tere Mere Phere.

Starring Rajeev Khandelwal, Mrinalini Sharma and Soha Ali Khan, Soundtrack is the edgy, modern day portrayal of a prolific musician and DJ. It traces his alcohol, drug and sex fuelled meteoric rise, as he battles his internal demons and a damaging handicap that slowly causes him to lose his hearing.

Business rating: 2/5 stars

Star cast: Rajeev Khandelwal, Kalki Koechlin, Gulshan Devaiya, Neil Bhoopalam, Shiv Pandit, Kirti Kulhari, Rajkumar Yadav, Pawan Malhotra.

What’s Good: The racy screenplay; the stylised making of the film; the acting; the background music.

What’s Bad: The story is routine; the film has sectional appeal only.

Verdict: Shaitan will work for the city youth.

Loo break: None really.

Watch or Not?: Watch it for the stylish making and the terrific background score.

Viacom 18 Motion Pictures and Getaway Films’ Shaitan (A) is the story of a group of friends who live life on the edge. Amrita Jayshankar a.k.a. Amy (Kalki Koechlin), Karan Chaudhary a.k.a. KC (Gulshan Devaiya), Zubin (Neil Bhoopalam), Dushyant Sahu a.k.a. Dash (Shiv Pandit) and Tanya Sharma (Kirti Kulhari) are friends who are young and ultra-cool. They seek fun and excitement all the time. And one day, a moment changes everything. Karan is on the wheel of a car in which the friends are having fun. He is driving recklessly and he accidentally kills two people under the car.

The five friends are, obviously, terrified. To cover up this one crime, they commit further crimes. A police officer (Rajkumar Yadav) gets wind of their involvement in the road accident and demands Rs. 25 lakh to close the file. The question now is: from where will they get the money to bribe the police inspector? Even as they go in hiding and go on committing crimes to get the money so that they can pay off the police officer to shut the police case, Inspector Arvind Mathur (Rajeev Khandelwal) is entrusted with the task of tracking the youngsters down. Mathur is himself in the process of divorcing his wife. In his investigation, he realises that in exposing the criminals, he would also have to lay bare the underbelly of the police system.

Shaitan Movie Stills

Shaitan Review – Script Analysis

The story (Bijoy Nambiar and Megha Ramaswamy) does not boast of much novelty as thrillers with similar story-lines have been seen in the past. But what is new is the stylised presentation of the story. Bijoy Nambiar and Megha Ramaswamy have penned a screenplay which is fast-paced and which keeps the interest of the audience alive. There are twists and turns galore in the drama, adding to the intrigue value of the subject. A couple of things do get confusing in the second half but the grip of the film on the viewers doesn’t reduce. No doubt, the making of the film and the takings are of the kind that would appeal only to the youngsters in the cities but that could be a sizeable audience for a film of this kind made on a modest budget. The climax may not be as exhilarating but it is, nevertheless, interesting. Dialogues, written by Abhijit Deshpande, are effective.

Shaitan Review – Star Performances & Direction

Rajeev Khandelwal lives his role. He plays the character of Inspector Arvind Mathur with perfect understanding. Gulshan Devaiya is impressive in the role of Karan Chaudhary. Shiv Pandit is effective as Dushyant. Kalki Koechlin performs with admirable ease. Neil Bhoopalam is fine as Zubin. Kirti Kulhari, as Tanya Sharma, does a good job. Rajit Kapoor is natural to the core. Pawan Malhotra is superb. Rajkumar Yadav makes his presence felt with his supremely natural acting. Rajat Barmecha shines in a cameo appearance as Shomu. Rukshar lends good support. Nikhil Chinnappa leaves a mark. Abhijit Deshpande is good.

Bijoy Nambiar makes a dashing debut as director. Given the thriller genre of the film, he narrates the drama with style and pace to keep the audience engrossed. Music is good but ought to have been better. The Pintya song (composed by Ranjit Barot) is mass-appealing. The Hawa hawai and the Khoya khoya chand song remixes (by Mickey McCleary) are excellent. Ranjit Barot’s background score is extraordinary. Kunal Sharma (sound) deserves the highest praise for a job wonderfully done. R. Madhi’s camerawork is splendid. Editing (Sreekar Prasad) is sharp.

Shaitan Trailer

Shaitan Review – Komal Nahta’s Verdict

On the whole, Shaitan is a well-made film with a rich background score, stylised cinematography and efficient performances as its high points. It may not have taken a good start but it has the merits to pick up in the good multiplexes of the cities on the strength of the youth audience. Considering its modest budget on the one hand and the dull start on the other, it would prove to be an average fare after collections pick up.

Shaitan – Star cast:

Rajeev Khandelwal, Kalki Koechlin, Shiv Pandit, Rajit Kapoor, Gulshan Devaiya, Kirti Kulhari, Rajat Barmecha, Neil Bhoopalam, Nikhil Chinnappa, Rukhsar and Raj Kumar Yadav.

Shaitan – Promotion: Good

Shaitan – Komal Nahta’s Box-Office Prediction:

The promotion of Shaitan has been good but since it is a non-star cast film, do not expect a very good opening. It will have to depend on word-of-mouth publicity.

Shaitan Plot:

Five youngsters – Kalki, Shiv, Gulshan, Neil and Kirti – are young, smart and out to have the time of their lives. With no hang ups and no boundaries, excitement is what they seek till a ‘moment’ changes everything. An accident and their actions to cover up lead them through a series of incidents across the roads, streets and by lanes of Mumbai and into the dark side that lurks within all of us – The Shaitan. Rajeev Khandelwal, entrusted with the unenviable task of chasing the youngsters down, exposes the underbelly of the Police system and crime while grappling with his inner Shaitan.

Shaitan releases in India on 10^th June, 2011.

Shaitan Trailer

On an impromptu decision, director Bejoy Nambiar decided to keep the cameras rolling-“Bijoy thought the scene looked real and vibrant and hence let the camera roll – the bunch literally interacted with random people on the streets and celebrated the festival with them,” adds the source.

Kalki Goes Skin Deep

But it’s not only the director who decided to go one step further for his film. Kalki found a novel way to get into character for her role as a spoilt brat in the film. Prior to the shooting of the film, she got rid of her current play list on her ipod and replaced them with dark and morbid music to get under the skin of her character. She kept listening to gloomy goth songs right until she finished shooting and dubbing for the film.

Produced by Anurag Kashyap and co-produced by Tipping Point Films, ‘Shaitan’ is a film on teenage angst and the rebellious attitudes of youth in metropolitans, where one night of drunken partying leads to twists in events. The thriller is set to hit theatres on 10th June, 2011.

Director Bijoy Nambiar says, “The idea was to translate the edginess of the film into the trailer. Today’s youth is aggressive, sexual, violent, edgier and aware of everything happening around. They like to explore the darker side and push the envelope till they can be brought in check by authorities. The film is basically about how well you deal with the shaitaan (demon) within you.”

Adds producer Anurag Kashyap, “Shaitan is like a David Flincher film set in Mumbai made by an Indian filmmaker. It completely blows you away.” ‘Shaitan’ stars Rajeev Khandelwal ,Kalki Koechlin, Neil Bhoopalam, Shiv Pandit, Kirti Kulhari and Gulshan Devaiah.

Luv Ka The End Movie Poster, Shaitan Movie Poster

Like Yash Chopra and Aditya Chopra, the TV 18 group also has a separate banner devoted to youth films. Tipping Point Films is the name of the youth film arm of Viacom 18 and the first film under the new banner – Shaitan – will be released on 10th June. Anurag Kashyap is the joint producer of the film with Tipping Point Films. He describes ‘Shaitan’ as being like a David Flincher film set in Bombay and made by an Indian filmmaker. Bejoy Nambiar’s ‘Shaitan’ stars Rajeev Khandelwal, Kalki Koechlin, Neil Bhoopalam, Shiv Pandit, Kirti Kulhari and Gulshan Devaiah. Even before Tipping Point’s youth film hits the screens, Aditya Chopra’s first youth-oriented film, Luv Ka The End, will release this week (6th May). This one is directed by first time director Bumpy.

Soundtrack Movie First Look Poster

Rajeev Khandelwal plays a music lover in Soundtrack. He comes from a small town in India to Mumbai carrying just three things- a guitar, a pair of head phones and a dream. Soon, he’s living his dream as a DJ at the city’s most rocking night club – Tango Charlie. His dream to be a composer becomes real when celebrated film maker Anurag Kashyap gives him the break to compose music in his forthcoming film and Rajeev gives it his best.

But life has other cards to hand him. Tinnitus coupled with an over exposure to loud noise takes away – his hearing. With him going deaf, his dreams are shattered and he ends up going into a very dark and lonely place.

In this depressed state and battling internal demons he meets his antithesis Soha Ali Khan, a beautiful free spirited, bohemian, speech therapist for whom life is treasure, and every minute is worth living to the fullest. Rajeev and Soha come together with just one common thread – both of them can’t hear a thing. Soha coaches Rajeev to get started with his communication and helps him pick the pieces in his life. In his new found love for life, Rajeev chances upon a kathak performance, which makes him, feel the vibrations of music. His body slowly but surely starts begins to do what no other musician can do. Rajeev now begins to feel the music but still can’t hear. It sets off a whole chain reaction to his life, and now, he feels music everywhere.

Will Rajeev, now get his chance to get people to hear what he has for them, and compose his masterpiece?