Aladin - Movie Review

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Fantabulous

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Posted: 15 years ago

By Taran Adarsh, October 30, 2009 - 08:28 IST

Most stories sound interesting on paper or when narrated in 10/15 minutes flat. But when you watch the full-blown cinematic version, you realize why most Hindi films fall flat on their face.

Sujoy Ghosh's ALADIN promises the moon, but what you get is a mere flicker. This fantasy had the trappings to transport you to fantasyland, but... Seriously, Sujoy could've run his imagination wild and come up with a film that would've made the child in you jump, scream and clap with glee. But 15/20 minutes into the film and you realize that ALADIN is merely a visual spectacle. A film that lacks soul!

After having watched ALADIN, I too desire three wishes...

Wish 1: Henceforth, actors shouldn't ask for scripts before they sign on the dotted line;

Wish 2: Producers should act more responsibly. They shouldn't be mere moneybags, but have creative control too;

Wish 3: Directors and writers should stop taking the intelligent viewer for granted.

Will a genie appear and fulfil my wishes? I doubt!

Aladin Chatterjee [Riteish Deshmukh] lives in the city of Khwaish, an orphan who has been bullied since childhood by Kasim [Sahil Khan] and his gang. But his life changes when Jasmine [Jacqueline Fernandez] gives him a magic lamp because it lets loose the genie Genius [Amitabh Bachchan].

Desperate to grant him three wishes and seek the end of his contract with the Magic Lamp, Genius makes Aladin's life difficult until the real threat looms on the horizon: the ex-genie Ringmaster [Sanjay Dutt]. Why does Ringmaster want to kill Aladin? What is the dark secret about Aladin's past that Genius is carrying?

Let's give the credit where it's due. ALADIN starts with a bang, with the initial portions holding a lot of promise. But no sooner does the genie appears, he breaks into a song and you realize that ALADIN is no different from those mundane films churned out week after week. Sadly, ALADIN only slides downwards after this point. Sure, there're some interesting moments, but you can actually count those sequences.

The problem is not with the story, but the screenplay [also penned by Sujoy Ghosh]. It rests on absurdities. Okay, one expects absurdities in a fantasy, you can be pardoned for it, but at least they should have the power to keep you hooked. In this case, they don't!

You can't overlook two major flaws in the writing...

One, Amitabh refrains from revealing the past to Riteish, till Sanjay Dutt arrives on the scene and spills the beans.

Two, the flashback portion - which resulted in Riteish's parents losing their lives - is haphazard. It's not easy to comprehend.

Also, the entire track, when Amitabh loses his powers and becomes an ordinary mortal, looks gimmicky. At the same time, it looks weird when Amitabh fights an entire army of Sanju's henchmen in the end. It gets very formulaic at this point. Not just that, even the climax is ridiculous.

Sujoy Ghosh's screenplay is bad, to put it bluntly. Given the kind of stars and budget at his disposal, the director should've come up with a slick entertainer, but ALADIN comes across as a feeble clone of a poor Hollywood film. Like his last outing HOME DELIVERY, this one too is high on gloss, but low on content.

The visual effects are excellent at places, but tacky at times. Vishal-Shekhar's music is strictly okay. However, too many songs in the initial reels act as roadblocks. The cinematography is top notch.

ALADIN belongs to Riteish, who's easy on the eyes. The best part is, he looks the character and enacts it without going overboard. He's at his natural best here. Surprisingly, Amitabh Bachchan is over the top this time, which puts you off after a point. Sanjay Dutt has two standard expressions from start to end. Jacqueline Fernandez gets no scope, but she looks gorgeous nonetheless.

Ratna Pathak Shah is wasted. Ditto for Victor Banerjee. And what is a wonderful actor like Mita Vashisht doing in this film? Saahil Khan and Arif Zakaria are okay.

On the whole, ALADIN is a terrible waste of a terrific opportunity. Hugely disappointing!

http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/review/12990/index.html

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Fantabulous

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Posted: 15 years ago

Movie Review: Aladin

30 Oct 2009, 1237 hrs IST,

Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh, Jacqueline Fernandez, Sanjay Dutt
Rating:

In accordance with a prominent line from the film " Buri aadat badal daalo, Aladin ko maar daalo ", director Sujoy Ghosh kinda kills the magic of the legendary fairy tale character in his contemporary adaptation of the Arabian Nights account. Certainly the inspiration is interesting but the execution tends to become formulaic.

Aladin Chatterjee (Riteish Deshmukh) is bullied in school for being namesake of the fairy tale character. Classmates often ridicule him by making him rub lamps through which no genie emerges. And one fine day, Genius, the Genie (Amitabh Bachchan) does come out of the lamp, much to Aladin's disbelief. Genius is on the verge of retirement and has his last three wishes to grant to his final master Aladin.

In such state of affairs, what could have shaped up as a fantastic fantasy ride from hereon, merely ends up being a formula-driven love story

. Ideally the viewer expects Aladin to make magnanimous wishes from the Genie to add a new flamboyant flavour to the revisited fairy tale. Unfortunately all of Aladin's wishes are expended only in winning his ladylove Jasmine (Jacqueline Fernandez). Jasmine is predictably the new entrant in college who Aladin dreams of but doesn't dare to propose.

Much like Aladin realizes he doesn't want to win his love through downright magic despite having the choice, this is one Bollywood plot that resorts to minimalism (in storytelling) when it had absolute scope to get larger than life.

Then there's also a villain in the form of Ringmaster (Sanjay Dutt) who keeps clowning around with his team of circus extras. An ex-genie, he wants to use the magic of lamp for himself over humankind. There's also a comet whose reflection is to be captured through the conventional climax combat.

Sujoy Ghosh does make a decent attempt to interpret the anecdotes of Aladin in his own cinematic language. Characterizations of Marjina and Qasim are loosely derived from another popular Arabian Nights story Alibaba and the Forty Thieves . A female frog serves as a reference to the fable of The Frog Prince . Ghosh has a vibrant vision in depicting scenes where the Genie opens doors to Aladin's dreams. Some characters of the Ringmaster's crew are creatively caricatured like a Wolverine-nailed sidekick and a masked sexy figure without a face.

But soon enough the bound script (that's Sujoy's banner name) writing by Sujoy Ghosh, Ritesh Shah and Suresh Nair opens up to an assortment of Bollywood clichs. The basic romance plot reminds of Rakesh Roshan's Koi Mil Gaya with Riteish playing the underdog and Genie replacing Jadoo who helps him woo the girl. Sadly Sahil Khan can't even match Rajat Bedi in being the bad bully guy.

The scene where Ringmaster reveals the secret past to Aladin and creates a rift between him and Genie seems distinctly derived from a similar scene in Main Hoon Na where Suniel Shetty divides step-brothers Shahrukh and Zayed. Also the pre-climax song has an exactly analogous setting as the prom-night Gori Gori track from Main Hoon Na . The screenplay also turns back to DDLJ for the trademark ' agar ladki palat ti hai, toh pyaar karti hai ' scene.

The VFX effects supervised by Charles Darby ( Matrix, Harry Potter ) comprise of some decently done sequences. But the director can't ignore the inclination to include some tacky juvenile jugglery on screen like the archaic electrocution sequence catering strictly to the kids. Sabu Cyril's art direction gives a fantasy feel to the hill-station town. There's too much of song and dance and Vishal-Shekhar's musical score is just passable.

One can perfectly envisage Riteish Deshmukh for the character of Aladin for the kind of expressions he is capable of. But he doesn't go beyond your imagination. Amitabh Bachchan is vivacious as the Genie but gets loud and animated at times. Sanjay Dutt amuses to an extent through the buffoonery of his character. Jacqueline Fernandez looks absolutely stunning and can give the Kareenas and Katrinas a run-for-money through her gorgeous looks. The immensely talented Ratna Pathak Shah is wasted in an inconsequential role. Mita Vashisht almost apes Archana Puran Singh's character from Masti but hams it up badly.

Just in case a Genie ever emerges out from your lamp, for Aladin's sake, wish for once that our filmmakers come up with better 'bound scripts' and more enthralling adaptations. Till then all flights of fantasy should go on strike.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/media/entertainment-/entertainment/Movie-Review-Aladin/articleshow/5179496.cms

Edited by Fantabulous - 15 years ago

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Fantabulous

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Posted: 15 years ago

Aladin - Movie Review

Nikhat Kazmi, TNN 29 October 2009, 07:30pm IST

Okay, so the film makers wanted to recreate the popular fairy tale as a modern day fantasy, replete with real life

characters.

Film: Aladin (Drama)
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh, Jacqueline Fernandes, Sanjay Dutt
Direction: Sujoy Ghosh
Duration: 2 hours 10 minutes

Critic's Rating:

Readers' rating :		You have already rated this movie.
Review this movie

But truly, we fail to get the point because the film doesn't work at any level. Neither do the genie (Amitabh Bachchan) and the Ring Master (Sanjay Dutt) create magic with their over the top acts, nor does the Riteish-Jacqueline romance strike a chord. In fact, for the two veterans, Amitabh and Sanjay Dutt, this might be one their most bizarre performances. If Amitabh suffers a bad hair day with his unbecoming wigs and is sartorially challenged throughout the film with his sequined jackets, red waistcoats and white sneakers, then Dutt ends up as a shabby blend of Heath Ledger's Joker and his own Khalnayak. Riteish, meanwhile, shuffles through the film with a hangdog expression, woozy and woolly-headed for most of his I'm-the-archetypal-loser act. Debutant Jacqueline too fails to prove she's more than a pretty face, ending up as mere eye candy in a film that scores mostly in one department: the art direction (Sabu Cyril). Yes, it is the sets of the film alone, comprising a fictitious township called Khwaish, which evoke some interest.

Saddled with a name like Aladin, orphaned kid Riteish Deshmukh spends most of his school and college days bearing the brunt of bullies who force him to rub lamps at odd junctures in order to produce the famed genie. Of course, the wimpy kid fails to create magic most of the time, ending up as the unfriendly neighbourhood's favourite punching bag. The jaadu works just once when Jasmine (Jacqueline), the college hottie presents a lamp to the oddball on his miserable birthday. The gift is actually a prank again, but ends up as the beginning of a new, charmed life for the proverbial loser after he is forced to rub the decrepit object. This time, the rubbing actually has results: a not-so-funny Mr Bachchan apparates with his zestless monologues and mantras, urging Aladin to make his three wishes. And believe it or not, when Aladin mumbles something about not believing in magic, the genie who call himself Genius, performs the dumbest act. He enters our hero's khayals (thoughts) through his ear and ferrets out his hidden passion for classmate, Jasmine. The rest is easy and quite unfunny, with Bachchan trying to play matchmaker and Dutt trying to play comet catcher.

Comet, did we say? Yes. The plot gets more puzzling with the story tellers trying to connect the implausible occurrences on screen with the movement of a comet that promises to make anyone who touches its shadow indestructible. Enter Sanjay Dutt, with his ragtag army of jokers, giants, fire-eaters who fail to tickle your funny bone, nor do they shock and awe with their killing machine tactics. In fact, the special effects of the film are so pathetic, they make you wince...like Mr Bachchan turning into a lion, Riteish mutating into a donkey and an inflated rubber doll, Dutt emasculating into a face in the mirror and leaping up to clench a comet. So where did the visual effects supervisor -- the core of a fantasy film -- learn his pyrotechnics and whatever happened to Vishal-Shekhar, the currently in-form music duo who churn out one of their most forgettable music score in Aladin. Can't hum home a single track. As for the dialogues, sample this: Dutt gleefully rubs the magical lamp and says 'main dardi rub-a-rub karti'. Tee-hee, anybody!

To sum up with the refrain (Aladin, Aladin, kahan hai tera jinn) of the film: Aladin, Aladin, kahan hai tera sheen? Truly, a big let down from director Sujoy Ghosh who lost both his jhankar and his beats after 'Home Delivery' and 'Aladin', his films following a scintillating debut with 'Jhankar Beats'.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/moviereview/5176647.cms

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Niharika Jain

@Ultimate_Shadow

Sparkler

+ 2

Posted: 15 years ago

BAKWAAS film i already said flops big time

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Hira

@friends_rock

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+ 2

Posted: 15 years ago

i kinda knew it from the promos

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rishani

@rishani

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Posted: 15 years ago

Great,it's good!!!

I knew that it will be a great movie.😛

can't wait to watch it

thanks

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Fantabulous

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Posted: 15 years ago

Aladin Movie Review

Indicine Team | October 30th, 2009

We all know the story of the classic Disney character, don't we? Aladin, the magic lamp and those 3 wishes. In a conscious effort to make it different from the original animated film, Sujoy Ghosh the director of our very own version of Aladin, has changed the storyline. Here Aladin (Ritesh Deshmukh) hates his name, hates lamps and doesn't make any wishes i.e until he falls in love, typical Bollywood style, with Jasmine (Jacqueline Fernandez). Genie is now Genius (Amitabh Bachchan) and we also have a vicious villian - The Ringmaster (Sanjay Dutt).

Produced on a huge scale with talented actors and a good director at the helm, we expect a fantasy thriller from Bollywood that not just tries to match Hollywood standards in Visuals but also in content. Does it? Read on

Aladin Review

Some positives

The visuals are good. Not the best we have seen from Bollywood, but one amongst the best.
Amitabh Bachchan is slightly over the top in the first half, but at this age, to have done everything that he has done in Aladin, requires a lot of energy and passion.
Ritesh Deshmukh - Whether its the role of the under-dog Aaloo, or while romancing the ravishing Jacqueline.. Ritesh in a lead role as Aladin is fantastic.
Jacqueline Fernandez looks stunning, throughout apart from the introductory scene. The girl from Sri Lanka has enough potential and screen presence to be the next big thing after Katrina Kaif.
Kids would enjoy some parts of the film.

Negatives

The director seems confused. Neither does the movie have enough to appeal to the kids, nor is it gripping enough for the adults. While a combination of romance, thrill and fantasy in an underdog tale - in short, masala - is too hard to resist for a Bollywood director, its the faulty execution of the already flawed script.. that makes it such a disappointing experience.
Too many songs - 3 in the first half alone. Do we still need 5 - 6 songs in each film? What a waste of time and money!
The second half including the climax is yet another perfect case of the writers taking the viewers for granted. Sequences like Sanjay Dutt in disguise revealing the secret behind the death of Aladin's parents, followed by Ritesh confronting Bachchan to the climax when Bachchan looses his power only to eventually get it back.. isn't convincing and frankly, quite stupid.
The movie gets too predictable too soon, and just when you gear up for the last action filled battle, the director disappoints you with a lame ending. Wish the money and runtime wasted on songs, would instead have been invested on more action.
Sanjay Dutt is wasted.

Overall, Aladin disappoints big time, if you must watch it for the VFX and good performances. We recommend you skip this and if Hollywood isn't your cup of tea, watch Koi Mil Gaya and Mr India instead.

Rating:

http://www.indicine.com/movies/bollywood/aladin-movie-review/

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Fantabulous

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Posted: 15 years ago

Big B makes 'Aladin' a cool family entertainer (Film Review - Rating: ***1/2)

2009-10-30 19:00:00

: 'Aladin'; Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Riteish Deshmukh, Jacqueline Fernandes, Saahil Khan, Ratna Pathak; Director: Sujoy Ghosh; Rating: ***1/2

'I am still a teenager', says Amitabh Bachchan right at the beginning of 'Aladin', setting the mood for the film to follow. Young at heart and fresh in treatment, 'Aladin' wouldn't have been possible without him.

Playing Genius - The Genie could have gone either way since he is expected to be whacky, quirky, a little eccentric, a bit mad and hugely lovable.

The narrative is clearly divided into two sections. If the first half is more children friendly, the second half has a lot going for teenagers and above.

There is some fun in store for children with a donkey's head replacing Riteish's, his guitar turning into a frog and him being thrown in the air after being turned into a balloon. The funny antics that follow may not have grown ups rolling with laughter, but should surely keep the smiles on.

Amitabh's 'Yo dude' act keeps the fun going. He adopts a completely different body language as the flamboyant genie, who is happy moving on with the times, and could give the younger generation a run for its money.

Meanwhile, Sanjay Dutt's Ringmaster character makes on and off appearances, though one would have expected to see more of him.

The entire past about Aladin and the Genius gets a little confusing.

The real fun begins in the second half with the battle between good versus evil. Sanjay becomes more prominent on screen, the past is unearthed, action and thrills take centrestage and the best of VFX is unveiled.

The visuals belong to the never-seen-before variety, especially the ones where Big B is shown repenting about his misdeeds. The flashback sequence is extremely well done too.

Sujoy Ghosh does well in conjuring the imaginary world of 'Khwaish' that gives the film a visual appeal. This is further enhanced by the presence of newcomer Jacqueline Fernandes. Riteish is likeable as the young man who gets superpowers towards the film's end, hence keeping an option for a sequel.

Sanjay is good but how one wishes that he had at least a couple of dramatic scenes with Amitabh.

However, the film completely belongs to Amitabh who totally steals the show. Watch him in 'Genie Rap' and you'll know why.

The story of 'Aladin' is legendary and Genie and Jasmine are known worldwide. This is why it requires courage for a filmmaker to set the film in contemporary times and come up with his own take on a well loved tale.

Ghosh does exactly that as he lets his imagination go wild and spins a tale that ends up relating the past, present and future of these characters. This VFX filled entertainer is just the right recipe if one is looking for a family entertainer.

http://sify.com/news/Big-B-makes-39-Aladin-39-a-cool-family-entertainer-Film-Review-Rating-1-2-news-National-jk4tamihdig.html

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Fantabulous

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Posted: 15 years ago

Movie Review: Aladin (2009)

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Riteish Deshmukh, Jacqueline Fernandes, Saahil Khan, Victor Banerjee, Ratna Pathak, Joy Sengupta, Juhi Chawla, Sameera Reddy

Producer: Sujoy Ghosh, Sunil .A. Lulla

Director: Sujoy Ghosh

Music Director: Vishal-Shekar

EXCLUSIVE REVIEW BY HANUMANT BHANSALI

Eros International and Boundscript Production brings you Aladin in Bollywood style, directed by Sujoy Ghosh, from the classic tale of 'Aladin and The Magic Lamp'. The film stars the finest actor of the industry Amitabh Bachchan along with Sanjay Dutt, Riteish Deshmukh, Jacqueline Fernandes, Ratna Pathak, Juhi Chawla and Sameera Reddy.

The movie revolves around an orphan Aladin Chatterjee (Riteish Deshmukh), living in the city of khwaish. Aladin has been frightened and threatened since childhood by Kasim and his gang, until he finds Jasmine (Jacqueline Fernandes) who gives him a magic lamp.

The speciality of the lamp is that it lets loose genie Genius (Amitabh Bachchan). Genius is frantic and anxious to award three wishes to Aladin and finish his indenture with the lamp. Moreover to get free of Aladin, Genius the Rock-Star troubles him and makes Aladin life complex and difficult to live.

This continues until the ex-genie Ringmaster (Sanjay Dutt) gets behind Aladin's life to kill him. This kicks a series of happenings and high melodrama between Genius and Ringmaster.

Aladin takes a kick start and promises to deliver the best of cinematic journey in over two hours. But all that begins well doesn't end well and same holds true for Aladin. After an impressive start the movie dips with the entry of the Genie. Sujoy Ghosh's screenplay is extremely disappointing. The film lacks the story and the fantasy which is highly shown in the trailers. Vishal-Shekar's music is average.

The only good thing about the movie is it's cinematography. Riteish does justice with the role but Amitabh Bachchan fails to impress. Sanjay Dutt also crashes to make an impact. Jacqueline Fernandez has little to do but looks gorgeous.

On the whole just avoid the movie.

Radiosargam Movie Rating: 3/10

http://www.radiosargam.com/films/archives/55470/movie-review-aladin-2009-starring-amitabh-bachchan-and-sanjay-dutt.html