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Reviews
The Fakir of Venice (2009)
interesting in parts but misses the mark overall
I saw this film at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles. Annu Kapoor was excellent and the film definitely has some nice moments, but overall the film lacked a cohesive direction and suffered from a poor sound mix and sloppy editing. I understand that the film's producers were not working with the largest of budgets, but one would think that a portion of the money which must have been spent to shoot on location in Venice would have been put towards hiring decent film and sound labs. I also thought that many of the supporting characters and subplots were poorly developed and in some instances, simply mistreated by the director. An example is the two "boy/girl" Italian art fans who play an important role in the film but are characterized in such an over-the-top manner that the audience cannot take them seriously.
Devdas (2002)
Not only lived up, but surpassed the hype...
One of the greatest problems plaguing the history of Hindi movies has been the lack of attention paid to detail and post-production. DEVDAS is truly a gem with every detail and shot meticulously setup and executed to perfection. There are none of those typical continuity and plot errors in this film and unlike with other huge Hindi movies, the viewer does in no way have to suspend disbelief. Performances are all top notch, as is by now expected of Shahrukh, Aishwarya, and Madhuri. The casting is perfect and the star power is truly amazing. Any fan of cinema, not only Hindi cinema, must see this film. There should now exist no doubt that behind Amitabhji, Shahrukh Khan is the most talented actor in the history of Hindi leading men. Dilip Kumar should be very proud. "YEH FILM BAHUT SUNDAR THAA"
Asoka (2001)
Good acting and great songs, but a questionable plot...
The fact that ASOKA did not fare all that well when it came out is a little disheartening....the acting is top notch (what do you expect from SRK and Kareena?) and the songs are excellent (Alka sounds great as always) and I must say that this was a valiant cinematic effort. The trouble is, how can one make a 3 hour movie based on the personal life of a king who's personal life is unknown? This film would have worked better as a fictional epic, rather than the historical, patriotic, biopic it attempts to be.