Dhoom (2004)

Star Power: Abhishek Bachchan, Esha Deol, John Abraham

Overall Rating: 4 out of 7 chilies

Music: 4 out of 7 chilies

Choreography: 3 out of 7 chilies

Synopsis:
Mumbai is in the grip of a wave of robberies commited by a gang of thieves riding high-speed motorcycles and ace investigator ACP Jai Dixit (Abhishek Bachchan) is called in to find them and bring them to justice. Tearing himself away from his beautiful wife, Sweety (Rimi Sen), Jai begins to investigate the bike-racing world and soon meets up with Ali (Uday Chopra), a happy-go-lucky racer who's not above bending a few laws to make a buck. After Jai puts the pressure on, Ali agrees to help him catch the thieves, but catching up to them may take more than just speed...

Comments:
This first installment of the Dhoom series is a good introduction to both of the main male characters, but there's not a lot of substance to this film. There's just a few too many scenes spent in closeups on the female leads' hips and not enough time spent really getting to know the characters. The dynamic between Jai and Ali is quite well developed and we get to understand Ali quite well, but no one else has much of a personality. Little attempt is made to humanize the thieves or the hero - Jai wants to catch them because it's justice, and the thieves steal because they want money - no backstory, no motivation, they just do. The songs are good, but not really outstanding - "Dilbara" is cute and sweet, and "Dhoom Machale" has a good beat. Basically, if you're looking for a fun action flick, I would recommend you give this one a pass and go for Dhoom 2 instead.

Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna(2006)

Star Power: Shahrukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, Preity Zinta, Abhishek Bachchan, Amitabh Bachchan, Kirron Kher, Arjun Rampal

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 7 chilies

Music: 4 out of 7 chilies

Choreography: 5 out of 7 chilies

Synopsis:

Dev Saran(Shahrukh Khan) is a rising soccer star living in New York with his wife, Rhea(Preity Zinta), a hardworking fashion magazine employee. His mother (Kirron Kher) is catering a wedding, and when Dev goes to meet her, he has a chance encounter with the bride, Maya(Rani Mukherji). The two connect, but when Dev leaves he is hit by a car while glancing back at her, leaving Dev unable to play. Four years later, we see that Dev has become embittered by the loss of his career, while Rhea is rising in the fashion world. Maya and her husband Rishi (Abhishek Bachchan) are also having problems, as she finds excuses to pull away from him. Dev and Maya meet again, (under rather unusual circumstances) and become friends, trying to help each other work out their problems, but gradually their friendship becomes something more...

Comments:

This movie has some problems, not least of which is the fact that the uneven storyline doesn't really live up to the incredible star power invested in it. The tone seems pretty erratic, with broad comedy moments and upbeat fluffy songs followed almost immediately by bitter recriminations and emotional scenes. I think they were trying to give the film a bolder, more realistic feel, addressing marital strife, but instead they mostly just end up sending mixed messages. The characters seem inconsistent as well. For example, Amitabh Bachchan plays Samarjit, (aka Sexy Sam) Rishi's father and a lighthearted, comedic confirmed flirt and womanizer from his very first scene in the film. However, halfway through the movie he suddenly transitions into the role of the wise advising father figure, acting like a moral authority over the two couple's problems. The songs were just average, in my view, as was the choreography - good background music, but not really anything that will stick with you. It wasn't really what I hope for in a good Bollywood movie, and I couldn't really sympathize enough with the leads to feel taken on the emotional ride you feel they were striving for.