Cinema Paradiso
Film: Filmistaan
Cast: Sharib Hashmi, Inaamulhaq, Gopal Dutt
Directed by: Nitin Kakkar
Duration: 1 hr 56 mins
Rating: * * * 1 / 2
There is something eminently likable about Filmistaan, it is an earnest and sincerely made film on a modest budget sans any big stars. There is a political India–Pakistan peace message thrown in and how Bollywood can transcend all boundaries, with a somber finale. Moreover, it is about two characters who are truly madly and deeply in love with cinema. More power to such films.
Sunny Arora (Sharib Hashmi) is a film buff who can recite the dialogues of Bollywood films, ab-initio. While working on with a film crew near the Indo-Pak border he is kidnapped by militants and soon finds himself on the wrong side of the LOC. The militants (Kumud Mishra and Gopal Dutt) were hoping kidnap an American but end with this Bollywood devotee. They keep him captive in a village house but he finds a friend in a Aftab (Inaamulhaq) who pirates DVD’s and is movie crazy himself. With a common passion, the two of them hit it right away giving us a lot of fun moments.
With Sunny making every attempt to cross the border and come back, towards the end the plot hits a few serious notes instead of continuing in the lighter tone. In the climax, the famous freedom speeches of Jinnah and Nehru are cleverly juxtaposed but the point leading up to it could have been snappy.
The best parts of Filmistaan are when it focuses on cinema and the love of it. A scene involving Maine Pyaar Kiya is a hoot and though there is no heroine, the cast is fabulous. Sharib Hashmi and Inaamulhaq are both utterly convincing in their respective.
Filmistaan has a few flaws but if you love movies, you will come out satisfied after watching this zany film.
Sunny Arora (Sharib Hashmi) is a film buff who can recite the dialogues of Bollywood films, ab-initio. While working on with a film crew near the Indo-Pak border he is kidnapped by militants and soon finds himself on the wrong side of the LOC. The militants (Kumud Mishra and Gopal Dutt) were hoping kidnap an American but end with this Bollywood devotee. They keep him captive in a village house but he finds a friend in a Aftab (Inaamulhaq) who pirates DVD’s and is movie crazy himself. With a common passion, the two of them hit it right away giving us a lot of fun moments.
With Sunny making every attempt to cross the border and come back, towards the end the plot hits a few serious notes instead of continuing in the lighter tone. In the climax, the famous freedom speeches of Jinnah and Nehru are cleverly juxtaposed but the point leading up to it could have been snappy.
The best parts of Filmistaan are when it focuses on cinema and the love of it. A scene involving Maine Pyaar Kiya is a hoot and though there is no heroine, the cast is fabulous. Sharib Hashmi and Inaamulhaq are both utterly convincing in their respective.
Filmistaan has a few flaws but if you love movies, you will come out satisfied after watching this zany film.
Published in The Navhind Times on 8th June 2014
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