Raja Sen

Stories by Raja Sen

Emraan Hashmi makes Jannat work

Emraan Hashmi makes Jannat work

Rediff.com   16 May 2008

Jannat all comes down to the romance. It's the kind of simplistic storyline that could have been wrapped up in half the time.

Review: Bhoothnath cries too much

Review: Bhoothnath cries too much

Rediff.com   9 May 2008

In sum, Bhoothnath is more than a bit of a drag, despite the lead players trying hard to make it stick. The rest are just okay: Satish Shah makes white-bread sandwiches look yummy, Rajpal Yadav appears to be playing himself, a simpering Shah Rukh Khan looks like he's just bid Knight Riders players Brandon McCullum and Ricky Ponting goodbye, but it is Juhi Chawla whose performance ends up as the most laboured.

Where have all the stoner movies gone?

Where have all the stoner movies gone?

Rediff.com   7 May 2008

It's been a disastrous year for Hindi cinema, what with us in Month 5 and not one unanimously loved film among the lot. What we do have, however, are films of unparallelled idiocy, comedies each more harebrained than the other, thrillers that plumb the depths of low farce.

The Tashan The Timepass

The Tashan The Timepass

Rediff.com   25 Apr 2008

As said, Tashan works in fits and starts. There are some genuinely creative moments, a few fantastic lines of dialogue, and some shots that make you go wow. And while the film starts off blissfully cheeky, it gets more and more serious as it goes along, suddenly mistaking itself for a ridiculous action film.

We want cricket, not cellphone commercials

We want cricket, not cellphone commercials

Rediff.com   23 Apr 2008

Raja Sen rants against the unending ads that spoil our cricket games.

Written By... some guy sitting abroad

Written By... some guy sitting abroad

Rediff.com   15 Apr 2008

It really hurts that the very act of writing the Friday reviews has been reduced to a sort of pattern these days. We talk about the stars, the director, sum up the effort in a few brief lines, and then, almost inevitably, go on to discuss exactly which DVDs the spanking new film has been filched from. It's disgraceful, and, frankly, rather tiresome.

Krazzy 4 is not funny

Krazzy 4 is not funny

Rediff.com   14 Apr 2008

You can watch the film without cringing, and indulgently smile at where what is going wrong and, figuring out how the real joke might have sounded as intended, chuckle a bit. And honestly, this isn't a film we're trying to make sense of, or nitpicking about plot detail: make it loony, for god's sake, go wild but try and make it funny, instead of hoping Irrfan's and Rajpal's faces do the trick.

Ajay Devgan does well in U Me Aur Hum

Ajay Devgan does well in U Me Aur Hum

Rediff.com   14 Apr 2008

Devgan decidedly has some way to go as a director, especially visually. There is no consistency to the basic style of the film as split-screens and transitions happen at will, as do suddenly stylised establishing shots. Yet look at the content: this is a sensitively handled film, using actors with well-herded restraint. And if a director can make you tear up with this much sincerity, he must be on the right track.

Bravo Fisichella, Force India!

Bravo Fisichella, Force India!

Rediff.com   7 Apr 2008

Felipe Massa and Ferrari won the race and deservedly so but we were clapping for India. And it felt incredible.

Review: Shaurya

Review: Shaurya

Rediff.com   4 Apr 2008

Rob Reiner's superbly written A Few Good Men gets a Bollywood treatment. That is what Samar Khan's Shaurya -- a watered-down, over-dramatised version of Reiner's 1992 film is all about.

The Age Of The Couch Potato

The Age Of The Couch Potato

Rediff.com   1 Apr 2008

American television today, thanks to edgy networks like Showtime and HBO, is producing intelligent, mature, adult content that is far superior, especially in both character development and consistency, to most anything out there on the big screen. This week, then, we'll take a look at a few shows you should hunt out DVDs for, or use your broadband connections to acquire.

Once, Twice, Three times a dud

Once, Twice, Three times a dud

Rediff.com   28 Mar 2008

Ashwini Dheer and his gang decided to play the old mistaken-identity game, and placed three diverse characters together in the same hotel and waited for obvious chaos to ensue. Unfortunately, beyond a weak two-para summation of the premise, not much else seems to have been written -- which is why the pained gags set up in the first few scenes by narrator Irrfan Khan continue to play out, again and again, right to the very climax.

Why I gave away the Race ending

Why I gave away the Race ending

Rediff.com   27 Mar 2008

Ever since it was published on Friday, the 1.5-star review for Abbas-Mustan's Race has generated considerable curiousity in terms of my revealing the film's ending. The film's makers have been constantly hounding me since late Saturday night, demanding that I take off the spoiler, simply because they just don't see the point.

Too many twists spoil this <I>Race</I>

Too many twists spoil this Race

Rediff.com   24 Mar 2008

Watch it if you must; it's not objectionably bad. But there really is nothing at all good about this Race either. Heck, even the horses seem sleepy.

Black & White is a relevant watch

Black & White is a relevant watch

Rediff.com   7 Mar 2008

This is a film of urgency, make no mistake, and both protagonist and screenplay talk only as much as is required. As for the director himself, he doesn't even make the obligatory cameo. It is the sentiment that plays hero.

Oscars 2007, in review

Oscars 2007, in review

Rediff.com   26 Feb 2008

It's been the best Oscar year in ages, and here's why we should be toasting the golden boy.

U Me Aur Hum will make you smile

U Me Aur Hum will make you smile

Rediff.com   19 Feb 2008

Vishal Bhardwaj comes up with a modest, lovely soundtrack for Ajay Devgan's directorial debut.

Jodhaa Akbar is okay, but overlong

Jodhaa Akbar is okay, but overlong

Rediff.com   14 Feb 2008

Ashutosh Gowariker's new film has a nice romance, but the history seems to get in the way.

Review: Mithya works

Review: Mithya works

Rediff.com   8 Feb 2008

Mithya is an unpredictable ride, a rare film that authentically extracts most of its pleasure from all that you don't know just yet.

Applause to a great mag

Applause to a great mag

Rediff.com   7 Feb 2008

In a show of solidarity with the striking writers, Vanity Fair has withdrawn its annual bash.