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Non-stop fun inside a funny little fellow's universe...
Scenes from "Stuart Little - II", now showing at cinema halls across Delhi.
STUART LITTLE-II
(At PVR Priya and other theatres)
THIS ONE got the child in me alive and kicking. Delightful without being irreverent, funny without being frivolous, this is just the kind of film you should see and get the little ones to see. It is witty, it is winsome, it is a winning proposition all the way. So what if you are over 40 and slightly bent, grey around the ears and round around the belly, you will enjoy this one if you are still young at heart. It takes you back in time in its own way. Not so much to wallow in nostalgia but to remind us of the small, small delights we had along the path to adulthood.
It opens as the tale of a pint-sized hero Stuart, Little by name alone for actually he can play football - well, almost - pilot a plane - never mind the consequences -- and is said to be suitable for painting and dancing! "You are only as big as you feel," he says in a moment of profundity. Or as small, one may whisper. Fine, but he is no child. Not even a prodigy. He is actually a spunky rat who lives with a cat, has a boy for a best friend, sleeps in a bed and does everything you and I would have loved to do when quite young. He is white, he is smart, he is caring, he enterprising and also recklessly brave. He is almost loveable.
Here he undertakes a rescue mission - to rescue his little friend Margalo - a bird as beautiful as they come, as fragile as they are - from a falcon. Across the city, over skyscrapers the little rat - aptly voiced by Michael Fox -- travels to save his little partner. Along his journey, you and I get some real heart-warming moments, some of which also question the percolated wisdom - Snowbell, the reluctant cat, wonders about the good of it all: If more people gave up, there would be fewer wars! Indeed.
Chin up, back straight, heart open. Just enjoy this one. No mesmerising special effects, no preaching, no whining, this one is as straight and simple as it can get. It comes packed with superb dialogue, crisp editing and some subtle moral lessons.
"Stuart Little" promises to go a long way at the box office, join the bandwagon. You read the book when quite young, now with the film the fun continues when you are, well, not so young. It is yesterday once more.
JEENA SIRF MERRE LIYE
(At Chanakya and other Delhi theatres)
ONCE WE were thrilled by "Hawa Mein Udta Jaye, Mora Lal Dupatta Mal Mal Ka". A little later Meena Kumari enticed us all with "Inhi Logon Ne... ." in "Pakeezah". Both the songs are hummed to this day. Now we have Nadeem-Shravan's "Dupatta Hai Dupatta", melodious in its own right but unlikely to have any repeat value, making us wonder if God has been really parsimonious in unveiling the delights of the covered face with the new generation! Instead of a Meena Kumari or Nimmi we have Kareena Kapoor slithering, swaying and doing everything possible except wearing a dupatta here. Bare arms, bare shoulders, bare midriff, bare back. All this in a song sequence on dupatta! If director Talat Jaani did not goof it up here, he probably never will!
Scenes from "Jeena Sirf Merre Liye" now showing at cinema halls across Delhi.
As for the film, well, the dupatta song is supposed to be the highlight. Need one say more about this moth-eaten tale of a poor boy and rich girl in love with each other from years of innocence, only for them to go their different ways before the first flush of youth. And to come back with all the parental opposition to their quite obviously ill-matched bond.
Come on, haven't we seen all this before, and in a better form too? Mehboob's "Anmol Ghadi" on which "Jeena Sirf... " is based was better. We still long for those days of leisure and languor as this film is just a progressively difficult test of patience. One hopes it will pick up. With each minute hope recedes, disgruntlement sets in. The film fails.
ANNARTH
(At Delite and other theatres)
FINALLY, HERE is a cure for insomnia. If you have missed out on last night's sleep because the kids in the neighbourhood decided to celebrate Diwali a shade ahead of time or there was a power breakdown that left you fuming, sweating, swearing, drive down to a cinema hall near you playing Sunil Shetty's "Annarth". And in the air-conditioned comfort of the insides of a cinema hall not likely to be populated by very many, just drive away your blues, your tiredness. And maybe start afresh a couple of hours. That's the way to go about this one.
The only redeeming feature about this latest word on the underworld is cricketer Vinod Kambli's debut. He is clearly more at ease in front of the camera than he was fending off the bouncers of Courtney Walsh and company.
Scenes from "Annarth" now showing at cinema halls across Delhi.
It also stars Sanjay Dutt in yet another stereotype presentation of bhai. He is a sulking romantic too. And Preeti Jhangiani, who does a good job of looking good without attracting attention.
ZIYA US SALAM
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