Monday, January 10, 2011

Random review: No one killed Jessica

Ah. First Hindi movie of the year in the theatre. I didn't want it to be a serious one, but I did want to catch 'No one killed Jessica' just because Raj Kumar Gupta's first movie 'Aamir' was just so mind-blowingly awesome. So, there we were, the usual trio of Pizzadude, Viv and me at Jade yesterday. And here, as usual, are my random thoughts about the movie:

  • I always wondered why the movie was titled 'No one killed Jessica'. Why didn't they pick a Hindi title, or simply 'Jessica' (to follow 'Aamir')? Then I read that after the accused got off scot-free to everyone's shock, newspapers reported the news with the headline 'No one killed Jessica' to show the irony. Hmmm. Interesting and creative. Now I really like the title.

  • Most reviews I read have raved about Vidya Balan's restrained performance in the movie. I, however, felt that perhaps it was a bit too restrained. My image of Sabrina Lall was of a fiery, spirited, brave and relentless woman who never gave up, even though it took her years to get justice. Vidya's character, however, seemed kind of passive and boring. I read that Vidya never met Sabrina, maybe she should have?

  • It was refreshing to see Rani Mukherjee get away from the mould and try her hand at playing such an interesting character. I thought she pulled off the fearless, swear-word-spouting reporter role quite well, even though it's not her home territory.

  • Rani looked thinner than usual in the movie. But when she went on Bigg Boss to promote the movie, she looked her plump self.

  • Speaking of Bigg Boss, did anyone catch that episode? Salman invited Raj Kumar Gupta on stage and said, "Aapne Aamir banayi, bahut achhi thi. Ab Salman kab bana rahe ho?" Hey bhagwaaaaaaaan. Like one of my friends said, Sallu is so bad he's good.

  • Speaking of interesting characters, the policeman played by Rajesh Sharma was amazingly written. Very intriguing.

  • The actress Myra, who played Jessica, was hot and pretty at the same time. A rare combination. And she looks a lot like the real Jessica Lall.

  • I kept wondering why they gave Vidya such dowdy clothes, and how come the two sisters in the movie looked and dressed so very differently. Until I saw pictures of the real life Sabrina Lall. Google her. You'll also go "Ah ok." like me.

  • Okay I need to ask you this if you watched the movie in the theatre. Did everyone in the audience burst out laughing every time Monu's mother appeared on screen? We did! She was ridiculous!

  • I wondered why they only kept the original names of Jessica and Sabrina and changed the others like Bina Ramani, Malini Ramani, Sayan Munshi and Ram Jethmalani (Shyam Tolani?? ROFL!). And Vikram Jai Singh doesn't even sound like a Bong name.

  • Also, why didn't they stick to the original investigators Tehelka and Star News instead of giving all the credit to NDTV?

  • The music is really nice, especially the song 'Yeh pal' by Shilpa Rao. She has such an awesome voice, I loved her 'Ek lau' in 'Aamir' too. Oh, don't listen to 'Dilli' too many times, you will get so addicted it will drive you nuts.

  • Loved the guys who played APJ Abdul Kalam and Manmohan Singh. The heads (no pun intended) were spot-on!

  • The dialogue was really good. I liked this one in particular. "Mujhe ek karod nahin chahiye they. Lekin mujhe ek goli bhi nahin khani thi." Though he became the laughing stock of everyone with his 'I don't know Hindi' statement, he did give us something to think about. What would we have done in his shoes?

  • Overall, I hope the movie becomes a huge hit, not because it's better than 'Aamir' (it isn't), but because 'Aamir' didn't get its due and at least Raj Kumar Gupta should.



19 comments:

Arun said...

New Year's first gold!

Sneha Acharya said...

Nice review ... planning to watch it this weekend :-)


ooops Silver btw ;-)

Buls said...

Hey... I found Monu's mother hilarious. And Shyam Munshi's character made me think... Jessica died... would he have lived if he had spoken the truth?

Buls said...

http://www.tehelka.com/story_main20.asp?filename=Ne100706The_Sharmas_CS.asp

Maybe this will clear up a few things

Neha said...

hey!! saw the movie yesterday!! I liked it, except for a few melodramatic scenes..
Monu's mom was sickeningly hilarious..pathetic character :D
Yea, I loved that line too.. We were discussing at the end of the movie that what would we have done in his shoes.. forget about the money, but it was a question of life or death. And I guess the answer lies in providing protection to the key witnesses.
Love the character of the inspector..very well written.

How do we know said...

ur review is spot on! if i'd reviewed, i wld have written just this - EXCEPT the Vidya Balan point. And i was blown to bits by Rani. The babe looked hotter than usual and also managed to act really well.

How do we know said...

ur review is spot on! if i'd reviewed, i wld have written just this - EXCEPT the Vidya Balan point. And i was blown to bits by Rani. The babe looked hotter than usual and also managed to act really well.

Taurus Girl said...

Nice n to the point..
The mom was hilarious each time.. Rani was looking chic n was a delight to watch.. Some brilliant dialogues.. I loved the movie..n ur review.. :)
P.S. I claim Bronze.. :D

R said...

spot on with your review bahin! and yes, here in London too everyone burst out laughing when Monu's amma spoke.

Arun said...

Recent r. mukherjee photo Dark circles around the eyes. Hope she was better in the movie?

Two Friends said...

Hi Sayesha
new to blogs.. just stumbled upon the bar..loved it.. great place
And if u r looking to step out for some coffee do come into our cafe and leave us a word:)hope to see you there

Obscure Optimist said...

Monu's mom spoke and we laughed. You got that right!!
:)
About Vidya, I think she did great justice to the role.
Awesome review, nonetheless.

Pritam said...

May be I should watch the movie too.. I liked the Salman joke btw :D

Bivas said...

some random observations on the random thoughts ;-)

***"Aapne Aamir banayi, bahut achhi thi. Ab Salman kab bana rahe ho?"***
Really?...missed that episode :(

***Ram Jethmalani (Shyam Tolani??***
Naam to badalna hi tha...Agar Jethmalani ne sue kiya to picture box office record bhi tod de to bhi producer ko paisa nahi milega :P

***What would we have done in his shoes?***
Probably the same thing :D

Arun said...

What would we have done in his shoes?

Changed our socks?

Sayesha said...

#Arun,
:)

#Sneha,
Thanks. :)

#Buls,
Thanks for the tehelka link! :)

#Nepo,
//the answer lies in providing protection to the key witnesses.

Yeah, but the question is -- can they really be protected? :(

#How do we know,
Thanks. :)

#Taurus Girl,
Thanks. :)

#Raam Pyari,
Poor Monu ki Amma! Laughing stock of the whole world! :D

#Arun,
LOL! Arun, this is Rani with inches and inches of make-up!! This is how she really looks without it: http://www.extramirchi.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/rani-mukherjee-without-makeup-3.jpg

#the girls from the land of dreams,
Welcome and thanks! :) I'll pop by the cafe. :)

#Yamini,
Thanks. :)

#Pritam,
Salman is totally hilarious, in his own weird way. :D

#Bivas,
//Really?...missed that episode :(

Youtube par dekho na! :)

//Agar Jethmalani ne sue kiya to...

LOL!! So true! :D

#Arun,
You make Viv's jokes sound so awesome, you know. :)

#Amal,
Phew, I skipped TMK and G3. :P

Arun said...

You make Viv's jokes sound so awesome, you know. :)


Helping you appreciate what you have :)

----

That makeup-less Rani M. is from 2003 (2003:02:06 22:56:47) to be precise. She still had dark circles under her eyes.

Granger Gab said...

Sayesha,
Loved your review. Agreed with most except Vidya Balan - I actually loved her portrayal of Sabrina. Rani I felt was trying too hard.
Oh Monu's mom was so ridiculous I could have got up and slapped her!

And your warning came late - I'm addicted to Aali Re and Dilli. Day begins and ends with those two songs currently playing repeatedly on my iPod @ full blast! Damn!!!

Sudeep said...

Mere monu ko kuch hona nahi chahiye might be the most laughed at dialog of the year.
A good movie to start the year I must sa, and I still love to watch Aamir when it is shown on TV.