The Xpose, Bollywood Hindi film Movie review, Johnson Thomas, rating: * * 1/2
<a href="http://www.mrqe.com/"><a
href="http://www.imdb.com/"><a href="http://www.wikipedia.org/"><a
href="http://www.aasra.info/"><a
href="http://www..com/"><a href="http://www.thepioneer.com
efilmcritic.com/"><a
href="http://www.talkingpix.co.uk/"><a href="http://www.newyorktimes.com/"><a
href="http://www.timesofindia /"><a href="http://www.tirbuneindia.com/"><a
href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/"><a
href="http://www.dnaindia.com/"></a></a></a></a></a></a></a></a></a></a></a></a><a
href="http://www.internationaltribune.com/"><a
href="http://www.efilmcritic.com/"></a></a>
<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/"></a>
The Xpose(Hindi) Rating: * * ½ It’s an entertainment generate
‘karne ke liye kuch bhi karega’ types -
a flash into a largely fictional past, this whodunit set in the film industry
uses well-known incidents and R.D.Burman style music as catalyst for it’s
feckless story-telling. It’s weirdly wired but entertaining
nevertheless-Especially the hair-raising dialogues uttered by Himesh in typical
Raaj Kumar fashion.
Hindi film review
Johnson Thomas
Weirdly wired yet entertaining
Film: The Xpose
Cast:Himesh Reshammiyan, Irrfan Khan, Adil Hussain,
Ananth Mahadevan, Nakul Vaid, Sonali Raut, Zoya Afroze, Yo Yo Honey Singh, Jessy Randhawa
Director: Ananth Mahadevan
Rating: * * ½
This is an entertainment generate ‘karne ke liye kuch bhi karega’ type - a fictional
detour into bollywood lore, this whodunit set in the film industry uses R.D.Burman
style music accompanied by Himesh and Yo-Yo’s combo beat as a catalyst for it’s feckless story-telling.
It’s weirdly wired but entertaining nevertheless-Especially the hair-raising
dialogues uttered by Himesh in typical Raaj Kumar fashion.
Alec D'costa(Irrfan
Khan in a role that is hardly befitting his International star stature) is the black marketer, sutradhar - he's
telling the story of 60's bollywood. An Xpose of sorts of the shady
behind-the-scenes shenanigans of the wannabe stars and their ruthless easily
corruptible Svengalis. Zara( Sonali Raut) and Chandni(Zoya Afroze) are rivals
to the hottest Bollywood newcomer post. Zara is well set in the race thanks to
the favors-for-film route she takes, while Chandni , a small-town girl involved
with an actor(Nakul Vaid), doesn’t want to expose for the camera. A chance barb
from Zara and her boyfriend’s arrogant reaction to that, pushes Chandni off the pedestal she put
herself on. She goes skimpy on camera and her film , Directed by Bobby
Chadha(Ashwin Dhar) and thanks to some behind-the-scenes shenanigans, manages
to score a grand opening. Zara’s film ‘Ujwal , Sheetal, Nirmal’ produced and directed
by Subba Prasad (Ananth Mahadevan) starring Chandni’s boyfriend and co-starring
south superstar Ravi Kumar(Hinmesh), on the other hand, is close to bombing
badly. Then comes Zara’s sudden death
and the equations change big-time. First denoted a suicide and later on as
murder, with fingers conveniently pointing towards Chandni’s boyfriend as the
killer, the narrative takes a turn for the worst. Of course there has to be
other guests at the post award show party, who may also be involved in Zara’s
death. How else will this be a whodunit?
A large portion of the
first half is about the pulling-each-other-down filmy machinations that
characterize mainstream Bollywood cinema lore. Once the characters are
established, the story takes a different turn. The rivalry between Zara and
Chandni, leads to an establishment of rival camps. But Zara is not to be
thwarted and sets her own rules while staking claim for the big chance only to
end up losing her life in the process. Ravi Kumar who is a disgraced cop turned
south superstar gets back into investigative sleuth mode and ferrets out the
real culprit. While he does that he also manages to capture Chandni’s
heart. So romance also finds space in
this telling.
The film is replete
with references (both musical and scripted) from the past- mainly 60’s and 70’s
bollywood. Zara appears to be loosely modeled on Zeenat Aman, though her
suicide/murder has that Divya Bharati tragedy indent. Chandni, is an
amalgamation of several heroines who start off their careers unwilling to
expose and then break that vow at the slightest provocation. Ravi Kumar is truly the pick of characters
here. Not for it’s realistic bent but for the near toonish trait-combo of Raaj Kumar and Rajnikanth. The dialogues he
utters( and credit must go to Himesh’s deadpan earnestness and the dialogue
writer Bunty Rathore’s wild creativity) are so weird it’s just too funny. The
two actresses are fairly adequate while Ananth Mahadevan, Irrfan Khan, Adil
Hussain, Jessy Randhawa, Aryan Vaid, Ashwin Dhar and Honey Singh ( yes Yo-Yo)
give us some interesting takes.
The dialogues are
audience rousing no doubt and the music inveigles it’s way into your mind(even
if you don’t want it to). The first half tries to emulate the flamboyance and
color of Baz Luhrman’s ‘the Great gatsby’ but can manage only an insipid,
artifice laden visual engagement. Mahadevan is deft in his craft and doesn’t
allow time for any questioning of logic. There’s are plenty of loopholes
scattered around the narrative but the high entertainment levels keep you
engaged enough to overlook them. This is not a masterpiece or even a great
thriller-romance. It’s just a passably entertaining one!
