Acid(sic) Factory:Acid Factory: Starring Fardeen Khan, Dino Morea, Aftab Shivdasani, Manoj Bajpai, Danny, Irfan Khan, Dia Mirza. Direction: Suparn Varma.

Tried following the film in the midst of the ongoing solitaire I was playing. The film did not leave me alone with the game. No, it was the content that was seeking attention. It was the high decibel level of the narration. We have had this assembly of dudes, all bad guys and the like before. This time too we have an assembly of non actors who try hard and live up to their reputation as actors. Even actors with the reputation hf having delivered before seem victims of the contagious bug of the majority non actor assemblage.
Yet another problem with the film is the Black hang over. Can we simply not leave it behind? The Kaante style is all too visible and surely unimpressive. Brevity is its most obvious virtue. Dictated by the commerce of the multiplex the film ends just when you are about to walk up and out. For some strange reason all men in the film are dressed in black and wear black always. Save Danny and Irfan in a scene, they are all dressed in black and acting like men who have lost their moorings without a cause. They are all inhabitants of this middle of nowhere place where no one thinks straight or behaves properly The prime performers in the script seem like they are picked from a school of the mentally mal adjusted. Fair enough for a subject. However the treatment is not at that level . It is restricted to the physical. Not even truly physical. It is brazenly dedicated to violence, destruction, destroying cars by the thousands, shooting as if it were a fair sport.
The story and screenplay expends most of its time in shoot outs and automobile destruction, and that is when guys recovering from an acid caused spell of amentia. All style and no soul, the tale moves form one brisk action scene to another, labelled by the weeks, and depicts destruction at its virulent perverse best. If this be entertainment then watch and savour the smoke and gas in the name of acid. There is strangely more destruction outside the acid factory than in it. So disjointed is the narration that it takes you a while to get to grips with the happenings in the script. So consistent is the nature of the narration that you are left with no choice but to assume that it is intended. The cinematography (Sahil Kapoor) ands to the bedlam.
Disconnected persons wake up in a factory effected by the leakage of some acid that effects the mind. The guys: Fardeen, Dino, Aftab, Manoj, Danny suffer from amentia but a telephone call ensures they know that the group has a person who is about to be killed and a guy whose task is to kill. Trust is absent in this Acid Factory with everyone doubting the other and somewhere himself. Interesting base for a tale and am told that the brilliant idea has since been borrowed. To tell the remaining part of the story(!!!) is to play spoil sport.
The problem with the film is its style. Every thing from its violence to its script, from its screenplay to its action is bathed in dark hues as are the characters. So much has gone into making a style statement that nothing else remains. All gloss and no substance. None in the cast, and this includes the ever reliable Danny, put the script to credible levels. From moment one to zee you feel you are caught in a clueless mire of violence and caught up with a set of the bad boys – guns, babes, cars and destruction.
Chaos in Kaminey very recently told a language. It made a statement in the context of the theme. Perhaps Vishal Bharadwaj’s presence added a credibility and the critic was willing togive more credit. Here it stops at style . consequentially it falls flat. The movie begins with a helluva lot of promise but falls flat, too soon. The manner in which the characters regain their memory and the audience is pushed from the present to the past and brought back to the present is physically disturbing and lacks a flow that makes a film.
Like the characters in the film you feel struck by some alien force you are not able to handle and heave a sigh of relief in about an hour and a half. Even actors like Danny fail to carry conviction and deliver as if they are acid effected. Relief comes in the length of the film. Short and sweet, they say. Just short!!
L.Ravichander

Watch Wake Up Sid for Ranbhir

Wake Up Sid Starring : Ranbhir Kapoor, Konkona Sen Sharma, Supriya Pathak, Anupam Kher , Namit Das, Shika Talsania, Rahul Khanna. Direction: Ayan Mukherjee.

Debutant director Ayan Mukerjee offers a very confident tale and takes the bow in style. The debut , coming as it does under Karan Johar’s debut is bound to draw comparisons with the said film maker and even more with Farhan Akthar’s debut making yuppie tale Dil Chahta Hai. The genre style and thematic content is contemporaneous and the tale is told with the feel good factor that instantly attracts the audience to the multiplex. The work show cases the skill sets of the director who in keeping with the production house backing him places a premium on style.
Two important things need to talked about. First the heterodox pairing of Ranbhir and Konkona Sen Sharma. It must be said to most part of the film their relationship bordes on the platonic and yet the simmering of relationship is wonderfully crafted by the two. It is a moot question as to whether it is the talent of the players, the imagination of the director or the sheer chemistry of the stars that gives you a very polished final product. Suffice it is to state that they make a very nice if contrasting pair. As Konkona walks into commercial cinema she surely needs better advice on her sense of dress. After disappointing outings in Laga Chunuri Mein Daag and Aja Nachale, she is called upon for lesser sacrifices and the camera works on her with greater care than before. Yet her presentation needs attention.
The other aspect that needs special mention is the performance of Ranbhir Kapoor. This year surely he will not walk away with awards for Wake Up Sid. Too early in his career, but the fear that he would fall into a category like his dad is tragic. Rishi Kapoor is one of finest and under rated actors. Make a list of great actors and most film pundits will overlook this actor who throughout his career was given poor roles and he delivered them all with great sincerity and merit. We often confuse a performance with a role and thus every great role is seen as a great performance. I very sincerely hope that this dynamite of talent does not get lost in the vile world of Bollywood. True to the title Sid not only wakes up from his slumber but delivers the slug in true cinematic (and over simplistic!) style. He gets into the skin of the role with ease and shows that dramatics is often a needless virtue in this medium of entertainment. He states- neither under nor over and this is a quality to be marked and awarded. Our cinema does not notice such nuances. I hope this will not work to the commercial peril of this young and promising actor.

Wake Up Sid is about Ritchi Rich Sid who shops and lives life king size on dad’s wealth. While he is willing to use Dad (Anupam Kher) as his credit card he is not prepared to credit dad with too much. He moves into the designer flat of new fried Aiysha (KonKona) who unlike him wants her wealth, her space, her money etc. While the two start living together in this single bed room apartment, their Chemistry for a change does not get the physical. Brewing within their emotional maze however are questions and sentiments that would explode some time. As a film buff we know the inevitable and so it is the route that engages us.