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| BORING THRILLER: A still from the film |
Film: Chura Liyaa Hai Tumne
Director: Sangeeth Sivan
Cast: Esha Deol, Zayed Khan, Vijay
Raaz
Corporatisation equals salvation. Or so Bollywood imagined. The money
would be legitimate, schedules would be tight, contracts would be binding.
Well guess what, suits spouting marketing jargon can't fix everything.
The script still stinks. Pantaloon's second release, Chura Liyaa Hai Tumne,
is a mess of a movie. The story: Esha Deol goes to Bangkok on the death
of a beloved uncle only to find out that he was a thief who stole Rs 10
crore. Soon his partners-in-crime are chasing her. Her boyfriend, who
changes identities more often than his sunglasses, also seems unusually
interested in the money.
Director Sangeeth Sivan could have created a slickly shot urban thriller.
What we get instead is a plodding plot and some unintentionally comical
villains. Poor Vijay Raaz, luminous in Monsoon Wedding, is forced into
a bad wig. Rakhi Sawant, all upthrust breasts and inane dialogue (sample:
"I like red, it's the colour of blood"), is such an anaemic
vamp that you long for the glorious days of Bindu. And Deol teeters between
bland and banal.
Debutant Zayed Khan looks inexplicably malnourished. But he has fleeting
moments of charm, which unfortunately cannot hold the film together. Forty
minutes into the movie, the audience was stretching and sending sms messages.
Even the vigorous Mohabbat hai mirchi did not get much reaction.
Black market price: Tickets were available in current booking.
Bollywood insider comment: Pantaloon ne toh pant utardi.
Box-office projections: The film is expected to sink quickly.
Trade pundits estimate that the Rs 6 crore film will entail losses of
Rs 4 crore plus for Pantaloon.
-Anupama Chopra
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Vision of Hell
CURRENT
ISSUE APRIL 07, 2003
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