Talaash : eh,that's the answer ?

Watching Talaash is like being sucked into a new dark love affair only to be sourly disappointed with how things end.If i sound annoyed that is because considering it is an Aamir Khan film,the climax is not what you associate with a powerhouse like Khan. He is probably the only superstar who can still deliver a blockbuster without dancing in the fields of Punjab with his lady love or tearing his shirt to reveal rippling biceps as he beats up all the bad guys with bare hands. Not that Talaash is to be missed.On the contrary it is one of the most well crafted (except for the end) and well directed hindi movie in recent times that keeps you hooked as the mystery and the eerines slowly builds to a pitch.

The first half is brilliant. Director Reema Kagti skillfully creates the atmosphere of the other side of Mumbai after dark,moving through the dingy,seedy lanes,lingering on the brothels and the street corners where the prostitutes with garish make-up come out looking for prospective clients along with the pimps.This part of any city is always insignificant to people like us and the people living there even more so. What is being portrayed here is that there is another strata of society where the people,despite their profession,deserve respect and humanity.

Part of Talaash's lure are the actors and their characters. Rani Mukherjee as Roshni does very well as the mother who tries to cope with the death of her son without being reduced to a perpetually sad and lost character. Aamir Khan plays the tough cop,Inspector Surjan Singh Shekhawat, battling his inner demons.He does it well enough though I expected something a little more from him, maybe because with each passing film you expect Khan to surpass his previous one. However the stars of the movie in my opinion were Kareena Kapoor as Rosy, a street walker and Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Temur, the man with the limp at the brothel who does odd jobs for a living. Kareena Kapoor mouths her cheesy and corny lines with oomph and naughtiness,making Rosy extremely likable and mysterious at the same time. Siddiqui, as usual,is nothing short of brilliant.

The supporting cast,too,held their own. Rajkumar Yadav as Surjan Singh Shekhawat's junior officer is a perfect fit as is Shernaz Patel as the psychic who helps Rani Mukherjee find some solace and peace and Sheeba Chadha as the sex worker past her prime.

The movie starts with the murder of a young star who dies in a freak car accident. Inspector Shekhawat is in charge of the investigation. As the mystery deepens,his professional and personal life get entangled. He drifts apart from his wife only to comes across a very inviting Rosy who drops hints about the case. Meanwhile on the other side Temur accidentally finds himself in the middle of the murder and tries to make money out of it.Its all rather intriguing and keeps you guessing who know how much and who is playing what game.

Everyone enjoys Talaash till the twist. But what happens after that ?

The answer lies in the theatre near you.

Review : Paanch Adhyay

"'Paanch Adhyay' is like five states of relationship" said director Pratim D Gupta.

"'Paanch Adhyay' is like five states of slow torture" said yours truly after being subjected to 120 minutes of Priyanshu Chaterjee's absence of decent acting skills (read:overacting),Dia Mirza's two facial expression (happy and sad) and Sampurna's atrocious delivery of dialogues in a very whiny voice.

The story is simple.The movie is split into 5 phases,hence the name. Arindam Roy Choudhury (Priyanshu Chaterjee) falls for Ishita (dia mirza) and chases her. Then they get married. In due course Ishita gets pregnant but she looses the child. Arindam and Ishita grow distant. During that time he scouted a new face to be the heroine in his movie, Ranjabati Sen (Sampurna). One stormy night Arindam takes the responsibility to drive Ranjabati home,but since she is new in town she doesnt remember exactly where her house is. So they decided to make the best out of a rainy night in the car. Next morning it is revealed that Ranjabati did know the way to her house but she had fallen in love with Arindam and wanted him so she tricked him into sleeping with her. Arindam is furious when he comes to know that,and he feels guilty for cheating on Ishita. After sometime he decides to come clean to Ishita about his secret affair. Turns out Ishita,too,had some secret which she wanted to come clean with. Ishita goes first and tell him that she has cancer and she will die in a few months. Arindam then decides not to tell her about his affair. They go back to being happy husband-wife. Ishita dies. Arindam gravitates towards calling ranjabati "tui" from "tumi". Ranjabati is still hung up on Arindam.

Many movies are slow,specially movies on love and relationships.those movies make up for the slow pace through class acting,sparp dialogues,crisp direction,smart editing etc. Paanch Adhyay has none of these.