Meenakshi Rao's Bollywood and Hollywood movie reviews

*ing : Abhay Deol, Patralekhaa, Reshma Khan Rated : 6/10 Iconic Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi’s inaugural Bollywood film was the centrepoint of discussions at the International Film Festival of India this year. A theatrical release of the film may not create the same waves for a number of reasons, the first being its parallel cinema makeover. Set in the bad lanes of crime-ridden Mumbai slums, Beyond The Clouds is expectedly seeped in poverty, crime, angst, sexual harassment, exploitation and all those emotional realities that visit any slum dweller. For one, Majidi’s Spartan sense of cinema encases this aspect with minimum fuss but maximum impact. The unkempt, tousled haired Ishaan at the centre of this journey through life is apt, intense and a perfect fit of the character he plays. A hustler who is learning to live in the mean streets of the slum, indulging in petty crime. For end of day solace, he does turn to his loving elder sister who tries her best to keep him...

*ing: Abhay Deol, Patralekhaa, Reshma Khan Rated: 5/10 The last spooky comedy the Indian audience enjoyed was Go, Goa Gone in which the Over The Top Saif Ali  Khan had quite a romp. Ever since, there has been little to cheer about in this genre which, incidentally, is full of potential. Nanu Ki Janu amply proves that you can have quite a laugh when the spirits are moving around. Much like the main protagonist Abhay Deol the movie, too, is a rare one. It is hilarious but in parts. It is fun, but in parts. It was, indeed, full of possibilities which it fails to exploit to the hilt. But then when was it that we had a full-blooded hearty comedy coming out of the Bollywood coffers? Not that one can remember, so this attempted one comes across as a scatter-brained, meandering, sometimes directionless but funny nevertheless film which could have been oh so better. Abhay Deol as an aspiring goonda with a band of sidekicks does well, as always. He is a master of two-bit roles b...