Reviews in so far:
Mid-day - 2 stars
Mumbai Mirror - 1.5 stars
Full Hyderabad - 2 stars
Calcutta Telegraph - 1.5 stars
Deccan Chronicle - 2 stars
Deccan Herald - star rating not provided ("sour and stale")
Subhash Jha - 3 stars
Livemint - star rating not provided ("loud and repetitive")
DNA - 2 stars
Rajeev Masand, CNNibn - 1 star
Nikhat Kazmi, Times of India- 3 stars
SearchAndra- 2 stars
Kaveree Bamzai, India Today- 1 star
Shubhra Gupta, Indian Express - 2 stars
Mayank Shekhar, Hindustan Times - 1 star
Komal Nahata - 2 stars
Sukanya Verma, Rediff - 2 stars
Glamsham - 1.5 stars
Taran Adarsh, Bollywood Hungama - 1.5 stars
KK. Rai- Stardust Magazine - 2 stars
Spice Zee - 2 stars
Avg rating: 1.84 stars
Review: ‘Khatta Meetha’ fails to set the Box Office on fire
Source: Komal Nahata
Plot: Akshay is a road contractor who dreams big but doesn’t have the resources to realise his dreams. His task becomes all the more difficult because the new municipal commissioner turns out to be his ex-girlfriend, Trisha.
What’s Good: Some comedy sequences, a couple of songs.
What’s Bad: The very convenient screenplay.
Verdict: Khatta Meetha is for the masses and the single-screen audience, not so much for the multiplex audience.
Loo break: A couple of them, post-interval.
Hari Om Entertainment Co., Shree Ashtavinayak Cinevision Ltd. and Cape Of Good Films Pvt. Ltd.’s Khatta Meetha is a comedy that turns into a family drama after a point. It is a remake of the Malayalam film,Vellanakalude Nadu.
Sachin Tichkule (Akshay Kumar) is a road contractor living in a town of Maharashtra. He dreams big but doesn’t have the resources to realise his dreams. He lives with his father, Ramakant Tichkule (Kulbhushan Kharbanda), mother (Aroona Irani), elder brother, Harish (Paritosh Sand), two elder sisters and their husbands – Suhas Vichare (Milind Gunaji) and Trigun Fatak (Manoj Joshi) – and their families, and an unmarried sister, Anjali (Urvashi Sharma). Almost all the family members either hate Sachin or are fed up of his style of living and working. Sachin’s brother and two brothers-in-law are also in related fields of work.
One day, Sachin’s brother and brothers-in-law get into serious trouble when a bridge they have contructed, collapses, killing many people. Azad Bhagat (Makrand Deshpande) is a common man who loses his family in the bridge mishap and rather than accepting monetary compensation, he wants the culprits to be booked and punished. However, the wrong-doers make their driver, Vishwas Rao (Tinnu Anand), a scapegoat who is arrested and soon thereafter, set free on bail. As per plan, they also get the driver murdered. But Azad Bhagat continues his fight for justice.
Meanwhile, Sachin is trying hard to land a big contract from the municipal corporation. To make matters more difficult for him, the new municipal commissioner turns out to be his ex-girlfriend, Gehna Ganpule (Trisha), with whom he had had a break-up after a fight over an ideological issue in college. Sachin wins a court case he has filed against the municipal corporation but because the latter does not have funds to clear his dues, the court orders it to hand him a road roller.
The difficulties Sachin faces with the road roller, the trick he adopts to seek revenge on Gehna who doesn’t clear his road, the twin tragedies (Gehna’s suicide attempt and Anjali’s death) that shake Sachin, and Azad Bhagat’s murder that makes Sachin and Gehna join forces to bring the wrong-doers to book are all part of the more serious second half.
The film has a hotch-potch story and a hackneyed screenplay which cares little for logic and a lot for convenience. It is not clear to the audience whether Sachin is corrupt or clean. For, if he is corrupt, why are his brothers-in-law and elder brother always so angry with him? After all, they should consider him as one of them. And if he is clean, why is his father, a retired judge, so annoyed with him always? Furthermore, while the upright father is shown to be constantly making snide remarks about Sachin, he never resents what his elder son and the two sons-in-law do!
Sachin’s fight with Gehna in college also looks half-baked. For, however noble may have been Sachin’s ideology, Gehna refusing to boycott the examinations, as suggested by Sachin, doesn’t seem a wrong move. Resultantly, the audience doesn’t know whether to applaud Sachin for his ideological stand or Gehna for her principled stand. Again, it is just not explained whether Gehna, as municipal commissioner, is not favouring Sachin in the discharge of her duties (which is not wrong by any stretch of imagination) or she is intentionally not co-operating with him, to seek revenge for his snub during the college days. Gehna attempting suicide when she is accused of accepting a bribe from Sachin looks rather far-fetched and unbelievable. Similarly, Gehna has such a quick change of heart when she is recovering in hospital that it looks too contrived.
Azad Bhagat revealing the truth about Anjali’s death to her brother, Sachin, is yet another weak link in the drama. In short, the screenplay has so many twists and turns which are contrived that it is not funny! The dialogues are so lengthy, especially those mouthed by Sachin Tichkule, that they often get on the audience’s nerves.
Some comedy sequences are highlights and bring the house down with laughter. In fact, the first half is light and entertaining. It is the second half which is the problem area.
A major drawback of the film is that what begins like a comedy takes a rather serious turn after interval and becomes a family drama thereafter. The look of the film, its making, the ambience, all give the viewer the feeling that he is watching aSouth remake of the eighties, an era gone by.
Akshay Kumar is earnest but that’s only one part of the story. He talks so much – and so loudly – that he often gets on the audience’s nerves. He is, of course, funny at places but that’s not enough. Trisha is no heroine material. To add to her tale of woes is the fact that she has been presented as a plain Jane in her first Hindi film. Urvashi Sharma is reasonably nice. Kulbhushan Kharbanda does a fine job. Makrand Deshpande is effective. Rajpal Yadav entertains as Akshay Kumar’s (Sachin’s) sidekick and labourer, Rangeela. Johny Lever evokes laughter in a brief role. His acting is superb. Milind Gunaji gets little scope and he is okay. Manoj Joshi acts well. Asrani leaves a mark with his seasoned performance. Paritosh Sand is alright. As the main villain, Jaideep (in the role of Sanjay Rane) is fair. Atul Parchure is natural. Neeraj Vora has been wasted. Aroona Irani also does not have a single scene that’s worthwhile. Tinnu Anand is good. Others fill the bill.
Priyadarshan’s direction looks dated and except in a few comic scenes, he doesn’t seem to be in great form. Music (Pritam Chakraborty and Shani) is racy. ‘Aila re’ is a mass-appealing song and its picturisation is energetic. ‘Sajde’ and ‘Nanachi taang’ (for Maharashtra) is quite alright. Situations for the songs look forced. V. Manikandan’s cinematography is reasonably good. Sets (Sabu Cyril) are alright. Editing (Arun Kumar) is anything but sharp.
On the whole, Khatta Meetha has masala for the single-screen audience and small centres but not enough for the multiplex viewers and the public in the big cities. Its theatrical business will be disappointing and, therefore, those distributors who’ve paid high prices for acquiring the film, may lose part of their investments. Business in Maharashtra will be better due to Maharashtrian characters and flavour. The producers may not lose much because of a fancy recovery from pre-release sale of satellite rights.
Rating: 2/5
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Source : Rediff
Sukanya Verma reviews Khatta Meetha
There's no such thing as India [ Images ]n', contends Sachin Tichkule. 'We are either Bengali, Gujarati or Maharashtrian, etc. The only time we become Indian is when India is playing a cricket match against Pakistan.'
A rather Sunny Deol [ Images ] thing to say, you'd think. But it's not the ardent Gadarguy, notorious for his loquacious diatribe on all subjects patriotic, at work. Neither is this a nationalistic drama in the actual sense.
Instead Priyadarshan's [ Images ] Khatta Meetha is a part-funny, part-furious take on prevalent corruption and red-tapism through the misadventures of its chief protagonist, Sachin Tichkule. It's not a particularly attention-grabbing name like say Pappu Pager or Crimemaster Gogo but the makers insist we develop a liking for it and so keep highlighting this fact like a screechy punctuation as often as they can. Doesn't work. What it does do is bring the discrepancies of clashing accents to your notice. For a typical Maharashtrian family, this one doles out an infuriating mix of Marathi and Punjabi twang.
The deal with Mr Tichkule, promoted as the R K Laxman-inspired voice of common man, is that it's more Bollywood than comic strip. As opposed to Khatta Meetha, the cartoon as well the original Malayalam movie Vellanakalude Nadu, are both strong on subtlety and aesthetics.
In this visibly opulent upgrade of the 1988 Mohanlal-starrer, also directed by Priyan, the core objectives remain the same -- deep-rooted dishonesty directed specifically at the infrastructure sector but the hero's aspirations have rocketed from Honda to Mercedes [ Images ].
Drowned in loans, Akshay Kumar plays the aforementioned hyper-ambitious contractor Tichkule struggling to keep his job while his bribe-friendly brother and brother-in-laws fill their coffers with illicit money.
Though hailing from a noble family, Tichkule is the quintessential black sheep with a Gandhian flashback and slightly roguish present. His encounters with bumbling co-workers, nagging investors, municipality and ex-flame (Trisha Krishnan) against the sub-plot of his sly family and their motives forms the crux of Khatta Meetha.
There are times when Tichkule's rant feels timely and relatable. Bad roads are a constant grievance. Another sequence features him sobbing aloud in complete dismay at the breakdown of his precious road-roller, 'Aur kharcha nahi kar sakta,' resonating the real-life frustration and concern of a common guy. The solution Priyan offers to the crisis, however, is much too ridiculous and kills the realism soon enough.
Even so it's wonderful to watch Johnny Lever [ Images ] doing a brief shtick during this above mentioned fiasco. Speaking of comedians, Priyan doesn't forget to cast his regulars -- Rajpal Yadav [ Images ], Asrani [ Images ] and Manoj Joshi to portray different levels of obnoxious. And if going over-the-top is the purpose, they dutifully abide.
As for Akshay Kumar [ Images ] and how he fares. He's energetic and sincere. He's quite effective in the scenes where he has to be disgruntled. Otherwise he's no more than a wannabe Banwarilal (of Chachi 420 fame) with double the paraphernalia and half the idiosyncrasy. His co-star Trisha, however, fails to stand up to Akshay. She seems too frail for a part better suited for someone fiery and gritty like Sushmita Sen [ Images ], Vidya Balan [ Images] or even Neha Dhupia [ Images ], another Priyan favourite.
Considering the original came out in late 1980s, the story with its baggage of generic turns and contrived twists seems all too familiar in making its even-now significant point. In addition, it seems a tad too long at its three hours running time. To think there are just three songs but they are placed at worst possible times and break the momentum instead of taking it ahead.
Moreover, Khatta Meetha projects itself as a witty satire with reference to someone as reputed as Laxman but its uneven mood shift from ironical to intense augmented by cheesy dialogues like 'Keechad mein baithe suwar ki tarah sust kyon ho?' begs you not to be taken seriously.
And, well, you comply.
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Updated on Friday, July 23, 2010, 14:50 IST Spicezee Bureau
With ‘Khatta Meetha’, the hit jodi of Priyadarshan and Akshay Kumar is once again back together. But sadly, this time the duo miserably fails to tickle your funny bone. Priyadarshan, who is celebrated for wholesome comedies, seems to be losing his grip over the genre. This time the director has been unsuccessful in coming up with a terse script and a killer storyline.‘Khatta Meetha’ takes a complete backseat when it comes to original storyline and plot, for the movie lacks genuineness and looks quite feeble at places. In what could have been a full blown satire, ‘Khatta Meetha’ fails to hit the bull’s eye as its satire lacks the incisive bite.
Even though the movie raises issues of rampant corruption in government sectors, beyond this, there is nothing new to add or say. Above all, a predictable storyline makes the matter even worse.
‘Khatta Meetha’ is the story of an ill-fated road construction contractor Sachin Tichkule (Akshay Kumar), whose dreams never materialize because of his inability to pay bribes. Moreover, his ex-girlfriend (Trisha) turns out to be the Municipal Commissioner.
With lot many things to say, the film ultimately loses its track. The narrative looks insipid and lacks the charisma to hold the audiences for long.
Talking in terms of acting, Akshay once again reprises his garrulous act where he raves and rants at the rampant corruption. A lot is exchanged between our ‘Common Man’ Akshay and Trisha as they battle it out in the middle of corrupt babus and crooked netas. The plot of Akshay and Trisha’s romance is probably the weakest part of the film.
However, veteran actors like Asrani, Tinnu Anand and Kulbushan Kharbanda have done a commendable job, so have Johnny Lever and Rajpal Yadav. Blame it on the bad script or the treatment of the subject, Akshay Kumar once again delivers a dud film even as his ‘Common Man’ act is full of passion. Trisha looks bland and needs to hone her acting skills.
In all, ‘Khatta Meetha’ is a huge disappointment for Akshay Kumar fans!
Rating: Two poor cheers for this one!
http://spicezee.zeenews.com/articles/story66862.htm
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Akshay Kumar KHATTA MEETHA is no Hera Pheri Movie Review
[23 Jul 2010]
STORY
The plot of flick revolves around the character of Sachin Tichkule (Akshay Kumar), who is son of retired judge Ramakant Tichkule(Kulbhushan Kharbanda) but works as a struggling road contractor. His elder brother Harish Tichkule works in partnership with Suhas Vichare(Milind Gunaji) and is successful as they know the art of greasing palms in govt offices.
Sachin stays in Phalton town and works there. But the problem is that Sachin does not have money to bribe the officials to get his bills etc passed. And so, his work suffers while others prosper at his cost.
Gehna Ganpule (Trisha Krishnan) who is municipal commissioner of Phalton, hates Sachin and adds another chapter to his problems. In fact, Gehna is Sachin’s ex- girlfriend and due to past happenings, does not like him.
However, Gehna is a responsible officer who does not accept presents or bribe and this further increases the difficulties of Sachin, who desperately wants success in his business.
Even at home, Sachin’s father thinks that he was a nuisance and good for nothing. However, his sister Anjali(Urvashi Sharma) is very fond of him and thinks that her brother was best in the world. Anjali is a sweet college going girl of Tichkule family.
What happens to Sachin’s business and if he succeeds at all in his venture forms the rest of the film.
PERFORMANCE
Akshay Kumar, who plays the character of Sachin Tichkule, a road construction contractor, comes out a winner. In fact, his body language, dress-pant-shirt etc, totally resembles to a common Maharashtrian man and the actor proves himself truly in the form of R K Laxman’s common man.
However, Akshay Kumar playing the character of a college- going student was too much to be digested. Though Akki has played the character from hoi polloi with panache, but in some sequences he seems to have gone overboard and is unnecessarily loud.
Trisha Krishnan, the southern actress who makes her bollywood debut with this Priyadarshan’s flick, carries the role of a sari clad woman with élan. But as an administrative officer of the government, she seems to be too lenient.
In fact, Trisha needed a more fiery approach to her character of Municipal Commissioner to make it more realistic and palpable for the aam Janta.
Rajpal Yadav, who enacts the character of Rangeela in the film, is able to tickle the funny bone of audiences through his antics. This little- statured man seems so natural and genuine in his acting that you just can not stop praising him.
Urvashi Sharma, who enacts the part of Akshay Kumar’s sister Anjali in the flick, seems not at ease with her role. Perhaps the pretty actress could not digest the fact that she was playing the sister to one of the top stars of bollywood, when she waned to be his heroine in the film. Whatever, but she does not carry her part with élan, and it shows on the screen.
Tinu Anand, who plays the part of deriver of Tichkule family, gets hardly any scope. Even Makrand Pandey, the aam aadmi Bhagat, and Aroona Irani, who plays Akshay’s mother, fail to get any substantial role in the film.
Asrani is in top form and able to induce some laughter in the film through his conversations with other characters in the flick. His character of Karodimal, the Marwari lender, suits him perfectly and he carries it beautifully in the film. Others have extended their good support to the main cast of the film.
The direction of Priyadarshan seems to be handicapped by poor writing this time. Despite of his pairing of with favorite Akshay Kumar, with whom he had given hits like ‘Hera Pheri’, ‘Bhagam Bhag’ etc, the movie fails to maintain the tempo after starting brilliantly. In fact, it loses its steam in the middle and stats testing the patience of viewers towards end.
However, Priyadarshan’s handling of certain sequences like Asrani’s house being painted and Johnny Lever repairing Akshay Kumar’s road roller, is brilliant, no two opinion on that.
The music by Pritam may add to the popularity of the film at the box office. Two numbers are already rage with the viewers. V Manikandan’s cinematography is good and captures the landscape beautifully.
STARDUST VERDICT
Despite of the deadly combination of Akshay Kumar and Priyadarshan in the making of ‘Khatta Meetha’, it fails to create the magic of their earlier outings like ‘Hera Pheri’. Trisha does not seem to be bollywood material and needs lessons in acting department and glamour from bollywood babes. A below average flick.
Star Rating: * *
http://www.magnamags.com/index.php/201007236649/stardust/scoop-of-the-day/akshay-kumar-khatta-meetha-is-no-hera-pheri-movie-review.html
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Khatta Meetha
By Taran Adarsh, July 23, 2010 - 12:02 IST
When Priyadarshan and Akshay Kumar join hands, you expect the cineplex to reverberate with laughter. Let's not forget, the team has regaled us with some terrific entertainers in the past. Naturally then, you expect KHATTA MEETHA to take the legacy forward.Unfortunately, KHATTA MEETHA is noise [the actors scream a lot in this movie], more noise [the great promotion] and only noise, while the content takes a complete backseat. Although KHATTA MEETHA shouldn't be compared to this combo's earlier works, since this one's a satire, I have to add that this is their weakest film to date.
| Write your own movie review of Khatta Meetha |
KHATTA MEETHA raises a finger at the corruption in government establishments, but what it tries to say, or expose, has been witnessed over and over again. In fact, it's the writing -- sorry, the absence of it -- that makes matters worse. The beginning is good, the middle falters and the end is exasperating. Final word? This one's far from being meetha. It's a khatta experience!
Struggling road construction contractor Sachin Tichkule [Akshay Kumar] is doomed. There is no chance that his dreams will ever come true, simply because he has no money to bribe. To make matters worse, the new Municipal Commissioner turns out to be his ex girl friend [Trisha], who now hates him.
The film reveals the extent of corruption and bribery rampant in the system and the ingenious means you have to adopt if you want to survive in today's times.
KHATTA MEETHA attempts to say a lot many things in those 2.40 hours. Oh yes, its running time is a problem, more so because the narrative lacks the power to keep you hooked to the proceedings. Okay, coming back to what I wanted to say, KHATTA MEETHA is more of a collage of isolated incidents encompassed in those 2.40 hours. The collapse of the bridge, the consequent murder of Tinnu Anand, the constant bickering in the house, the tu-tu-main-main between Akshay and Trisha, the sister's track, the corrupt netas and government babus, the payment issue of workers... several sequences are a repeat of what's you watched barely minutes ago or an hour ago.
While the romantic track is the weakest link [half-baked; the songs are forced down your throats, without valid situations whatsoever], the flashback portions, depicting Akshay Kumar as a college student [!!!], is just hard to digest. Even the end is worn out and doesn't give the feel of contentment that one expects at the conclusion of a film. Priyadarshan's handling of the comic sequences is noteworthy, especially in the first half of the film. The repair-and-paint sequence at Asrani's mansion is sure to bring the house down. Ditto for the conversation that Asrani has with multiple people, in person and also on phone. Also, the road roller sequence is a laugh-riot and prior to that Johny Lever's sequence of repairing the road roller is truly funny. But a few isolated sequences aren't enough. The veteran storyteller ought to know the importance of a watertight screenplay by now.
Cinematographer V. Manikandan's lens captures the exteriors with flourish. Pritam's music is easy on the ears and at least two songs are extremely popular as well, but the placement of songs in the narrative acts as a roadblock. Dialogues are funny at times, especially the one-liners.
Akshay Kumar plays the common man with gusto. He looks his part and more importantly, not once do you feel that he's repeating himself. However, he goes over the top in a few sequences. Trisha carries the Plain Jane look well, but fails as an actress. The fiery attitude, so vital when you're enacting the role of the Municipal Commissioner, is missing. Rajpal Yadav is in terrific form yet again. What a splendid actor! Urvashi Sharma is awkward. Makrand Deshpande is wasted. Tinnu Anand is hardly there. Even Aroona Irani is sidelined. Kulbhushan Kharbanda is first-rate. Asrani is excellent. Manoj Joshi screams so much. Ditto for Neeraj Vora. Milind Gunaji is okay. The actor playing the role of Urvashi's husband does a good job.
On the whole, KHATTA MEETHA is a major letdown from the accomplished director. It's not a full-blown comedy. It's not a full-scale satire either. Hugely disappointing!
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/review/14198/index.html
I am glad for Akshay, he definitely has come out in full force, this one always appeared to be the safe bet and now I can guarantee that this one might turn out to be the biggest hit of Akki's career.
ReplyDelete^^You spoke too soon. Taran had destroyed the movie with only 1.5 stars.
ReplyDeleteWHO paid you the money ???????For the bad Review. i think u need to take a braek ,. your prediction is totally crap and unacceptable.. ,NIA is right .. u spoke too soon..
ReplyDeleteWHO paid you the money ???????For the bad Review. i think u need to take a braek ,. your prediction is totally crap and unacceptable.. ,NIA is right .. u spoke too soon.. Taran U Re USELESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteCorruption is rampant in many countries today. No work is possible without chai paani (bribe). Everyone must have experienced this ubiquitous nuisance. KHATTA MEETHA, a remake of the 1989 Malayalam drama film, VELLANAKALUDE NADU (which was again directed by Priyadarshan) is a satire on this perpetual menace. While it was a novel issue back then, it's been done copious times over the years.
ReplyDeleteSachin Tichkule (Akshay Kumar) is a struggling road construction contractor in a small town who has taken loans practically from the entire village. But he still manages to wear sunglasses! Trigun Fatak (Manoj Joshi), Sachin's brother-in-law, is a corrupt chief engineer who works in the municipality. Suhas Vichare (Milind Gunaji) is a road contractor married to Sachin's second sister. Anjali (Urvashi Sharma) is Sachin's college-going sister.
While Sachin struggles through his never-ending woes, things go haywire. A bridge collapses because of bad construction, taking many innocent lives. Figun, Suhas and others who were involved in the construction, conveniently pass the buck to Vishwas Rao (Tinu Anand), who is a driver of the Tichkule family and later kill him. Azad Bhagat (Makrand Despande), who has lost his wife and son in the bridge mishap, is determined to bring to justice the criminals behind the scam.
The common man's troubles remain the central plot of the film. As if Sachin's miseries weren't enough, the new municipal commissioner turns out to be his ex girlfriend Gehna Ganpule (Trisha) who now loathes him.
The successful director-actor jodi of Priyadarshan and Akshay Kumar (HERA PHERI, BHOOL BHULAIYAA, DE DANA DAN) fails to entertain this time. Priyadarshan falls short to render the issue of corruption, which Rajkumar Hirani did effectively in portions of LAGE RAHO MUNNABHAI. It has the right intent but offers nothing which we haven't seen. The screenplay gets monotonous with Sachin Tichkule constantly borrowing money, his numerous tiffs with Gehna, perverted acts of Rangeela (Rajpal Yadav) and random songs.
That a corrupt politician has maintained a file of all the wrong doings of his accomplices including himself, is inexplicable. It's ludicrous to see Azad Bhagat easily getting inside a politician's house and stealing important documents. The climax is too convenient to grasp.
There are a few laugh-out-loud moments like the one in which the road roller rams through Gehna Ganpule's house or when Karodimal (Asrani) is attending countless calls at the same time. But that's just about it.
With an excruciating long running time of 2.40 hours, the film drags. Music by Pritam except for the song Nana Chi Taang, is very poor according to his standards. Only V Manikanandan's choreography is neat.
Akshay Kumar's comic timing is impeccable but he is very loud. Trisha, who makes her Hindi film debut, is passable. She looks too young to be a municipal commissioner! Urvashi Sharma is decent. Johny Lever, who is seen after a very long time, is uproarious. Wish we could see more of him. Rajpal Yadav gives a superlative performance. Makrand Despande is effective in his small role. Manoj Joshi is impressive while Kulbhushan Kharbanda is good.
KHATTA MEETHA isn't sour or sweet. It's simply bland.
Rating - 1.5/5
Source:
http://www.glamsham.com/movies/reviews/23-khatta-meetha-movie-review-071003.asp
Story:
ReplyDeleteA sour tale, the story begins with the life of the hardworking and honest road contractor Sachin Tichkule (Akshay Kumar). Right now, he is going through a severe problem as he is unable to get a proper contract, the reason being him not having any money to bribe the officials. To add to the woes, a new municipal commissioner enters the scene. She is Gehna (trisha) and she happens to be the scorned lover of Sachin once upon a time. Apart from this, there are other elements of corrupt politicians, officials who are after the life of Sachin for money. What happens to Sachin and whether he is able to fulfill his dreams or not forms the rest of the story.
Presentation:
The director has come up with a thought provoking idea but then he could not sustain it properly due to poor narration. The presentation was somewhat better. Dialogues were good at places, the script was written poorly and the screenplay was not upto the mark. Background score was apt and two songs are worth taking home. Cinematography was excellent, costumes were suited to the characters and the art department made its presence felt. Editing was poor. Akshay Kumar was yet again his best and he did his best to infuse life into his role, Trisha looks suitable in her get up but her baby face doesn't have it to give the strict look of a commissioner. Makrand was not used to his fullest, Rajpal was excellent, Neeraj was loud, Milind was neat, Asrani was apt, Aruna Irani didn't get her due, Urvashi was not upto the mark, Manoj Joshi was annoying, Johnny Lever was hilarious, Kulbushan Kharbanda was elegant.
Conclusion:
The film is basically meant to be a satire against the current system and while the thought can be appreciated, it takes a strong writing to get it to the audience in the right manner. While there were few good moments and funny moments as well, the dragging length and the lack of depth in the plot mars the impact in a big way. Moreover, given the names associated with the film, the expectations were high which is another setback. Overall, the film has not been able to deliver so it might fizzle out at the box office soon.
2/5
Source: http://www.bharatstudent.com/cafebharat/view_news-Hindi-News_and_Gossips-1,66962.php
"WHO paid you the money ???????For the bad Review. i think u need to take a braek ,"
ReplyDeleteSame people who paid Taran
Khatta Meetha
ReplyDeleteMayank Shekhar,Hindustan Times
Rating: *
America has Americans. The English have Englishmen. France hosts the French, and so on, so forth. There is but no such thing
related stories as an Indian. There are only Punjabis, Gujaratis, Maharashtrians, Bengalis…
Akshay Kumar’s Sachin makes this linguistic observation about a truly imagined nation he lives in. Nothing unites the corrupted Indian, he says, besides a dishonest love for money: “Sirf jeb bharna hai, pet phulana hai (Just inflate your wallet, and the belly)”.
This master Sachin isn’t exactly some ‘angsty’ blaster himself. He’s a civil contractor by profession. When various levels of bureaucracy have apportioned their cuts on a designated project, he cuts down on the ingredients to build the given road. His colleagues similarly play with the mix of cement and iron when building bridges that eventually fall. It’s just that they do a bigger and better job of it. Sachin remains the poorer and unlucky one.
He wears Rayban aviator glasses indoors, tailored shirts with pleats in his baggy trousers; and bums around everywhere with an umbrella in hand, and a Reynold’s pen in his breast pocket. Caricaturist RK Laxman may not quite get this bumbling, young version of the Common Man who never spoke in his cartoons. This one prattles, babbles, raves, hams it up: does everything to catch his audience’s undivided attention. He has enough over-excited friends to outdo him, and keep the tone unbearably up still.
Sachin has Tichkule for a Maharashtrian surname, something he constantly repeats for our loud response. He lives with his father (Kulbushan Kharbanda), who in a unique effort toward national integration, speaks in thick Punjabi twang. There are other crooked Tichkules in this home you wouldn’t mind engaging with, were there chutkule (jokes) to match. The jokes, you can tell, have pretty much dried up. No amount of slapstick will wet this pool.
A humourless skit follows another then, in a script (Vellanakalude Nadu, originally in Malayalam) written over two decades ago, when potholes and politicians were even bigger civic concerns. Ol’ man Vajpayee should take credit for the way Indians drive their new Nanos now, at least over smooth national highways across the country. But that’s another story.
This one’s about wacky Akki alone. Truly, few things unite Indians, besides a high illiteracy rate, and films of Bollywood superstars. One benefits from the other. And Priyadarshan gets to churn out his own no-brainer remakes every other week.
By now, he should be able to re-structure footage, re-edit his past Hindi films as well, and release them over again with different titles. They all feel the same. Actors rotate in turns. Homes are havelis. Men dress in white. The story’s placed in the middle of anywhere. Jokes can certainly interchange.
Of all, you can hardly fault Akshay Kumar his fat salary (apparently he takes home over half a film’s budget). His presence also provides for more than regular employment to an entire set of unemployed losers. Asrani. Rajpal Yadav. Johnny Lever… It’s a good scheme.
SOURCE: http://www.hindustantimes.com/Mayank-Shekhar-s-Review-Khatta-Meetha/Article1-576696.aspx
Khatta Meetha
ReplyDeleteShubra Gupta, Indian Express
Rating:**
Priyadarshan remaking his Malayalam films into Hindi is an old story. So is his partnership with Akshay Kumar, whose penchant for playing an average joe is also old hat. So what’s new with `Khatta Meetha’, a remake of Mohanlal-Shobhana starrer ‘ Vellanakalude Nadu’? Kumar’s character Sachin Tichkule is a regular fellow all right, but not as bumbling and naïve as he’s been before. It’s not like he’s been cast in a mint-fresh die, but there’s just about enough to keep you going for its nearly three hours of running time. Just about.
Tichkule ( Kumar) is the youngest of a family of crooked contractors, with the exception of his upright Gandhiwadi father ( Kharbanda). His brothers and brother-in-law are all corrupt and hand-in-glove with greedy politicians. Leaky bridges collapse, innocents die, and the gang keeps going merrily. Tichkule is not squeaky clean himself, and is not above bribing and threatening officials to get his cheques out, and contracts in.
Kumar, who’s been in a slew of box office duds lately (except for the moderately successful `Housefull’, which was early this year, all his last year’s films crashed), throws himself into the role, and well he might, given that he’s in practically every single scene. Dowdy bush-shirts, a cash-bag for the wrist, ropy sandals, and an old-fashioned umbrella make up Tickhule’s exterior, and even though Priyan is not known for his interiority, he manages to make Kumar a tad more interesting than he’s been recently.
It helps that he has a new face, Trisha, to play opposite : the romance is also not as worn as it can be in the really bad Priyan movies. She’s called Gehna Ganpule, is an upright `sarkari’ cog, and gets to push Akshay Kumar around a little, before succumbing to his homegrown charms.
A couple of things stop this from being a good Priyan movie. It is criminally long, burdened with flat comedy tracks as faulty as Sachin Tichkule’s roads. Rajpal Yadav is made to execute a favourite Priyadarshan scene : to peep into a bathroom with a wet woman in it. Someone should tell him the novelty wore off long back. Plus, the film veers uneasily between heavy emotion and loud comedy, another perennial Priyan problem. There are also a few objectionable scenes in a film which will be viewed by families with children, chief among those being a woman ( Sharma) being subjected to sexual violence, her naked back on full display. The scene is slipped in without warning and makes you cringe.
Laugh out loud would have served `Khatta Meetha’, and us, better. It’s been too long since Priyadarshan served up one of those.
SOURCE: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Khatta-Meetha/650812
Khatta Meetha
ReplyDeleteKaveree Bamzai, India Today
Rating: *
What did we ever see in Akshay Kumar, folks? Ok, he has great teeth. And a better cleavage. But is this the man we gave us back-to-back hits in Heyy Baby, Bhool Bhulaiya, Welcome and Singh is King (excuse the spelling)? The star whose asking price went through the roof at Rs 35 crore? Well, folks, I want to tell all of you, we've been had. And had bad. Khatta Meetha is proof of that. At over two hours, it is silly, noisy, and repetitive. It's also weirdly misogynistic. At one point, Akshay slaps Trisha, poor Trisha, so hard that her papers fall on the floor. He then engineers something (even with a movie as bad as this cannot really reveal the story such as it is) that precipitates a suicide attempt on her part. She, of course, immediately forgives him even as she is breathing into her oxygen mask. Aaargh!
There are more aargh moments in the film. The sister is married to a political thug who first tries to hustle her into his car while she's waiting at the bus stop and then does unmentionable things to her (more spoilers, sorry) later. The sisters-in-law are wicked witches and the father is a typewriting, book-reading former judge who now believes money is everything. The mother, poor Aruna Irani, keeps waiting for the chulha to be free so she can cook for her husband (why a family that can afford a Mercedes cannot afford a gas even if they live in Satara is beyond me). Akshay himself is Sachin Tichkule, a former Gandhian (albeit in V-necked T-shirts saying Rebel in a flashback that shows him in college), and now a corrupt road contractor. Now clearly Priyadarshan has done his homework. Apparently the roads in the country are so bad because of every Rs 1 lakh, Rs 75,000 is paid in bribes to various people. So there is Tichkule's sad life, of building roads that he is never paid for, calling for several running gags with has-been jokesters such as Asrani and Johny Lever. There is also the sub-plot of his corrupt brother and brothers in law who specialise in making bridges and roads which collapse--no, before you get your hopes up, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron this is not. This of course means employment for several stock Priyadarshan characters such as Manoj Joshi and Milind Gunaji.
But it is all too terrible to comprehend. And certainly to watch. Yes, it may be good anthropoligical evidence for Kamal Nath to present to Montek Singh Ahluwahlia about why he can't meet his 20 km target for the National Highway Authority. But do we really have to sit through Akshay Kumar lecturing us about corruption in public life for that? Everything looks borrowed from previous Priyadarshan movies. The haveli is from Bhool Bhulaiya. The plot is surely from some Malayalam film Priyadarshan made or watched in his past life. And the whole idea of Akshay as loser is as old as Housefull and Singh is King.
Someone save his career please. Or maybe not. Anyone who milks an old, ill man for publicity deserves the nonsense that comes his way. As for Trisha, while I admire her taste in saris, perhaps not all municipal commissioners go to work carrying brocade bags and wearing a succession of Venkatgiris, Gadwals, and Patolas? But then neither do Rs 35 crore actors deliver dud upon dud filled with poor jokes, stale gags and anti-women acts.
Unless you're the aforementioned Kamal Nath and are interested in a treatise on why Indian roads can never be motorable--or even walkable--stay clear of this one. Someone tell Priyadarshan to watch Tere Bin Laden for inspiration--how to make a homegrown comedy with ingenuity and not so-called stars.
SOURCE: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/106451/Cinema/film-review-khatta-meetha.html
Khatta Meetha
ReplyDeleteDeen Kumar, SearhAndra
**
The Film
Khatta Meetha is a satirical comedy film and is a remake of the 1989 Malayalam film, Vellanakalude Nadu, which was also directed by Priyadarshan. The film is neither a spoof on the political system nor a serious study of the rampant corruption in the infrastructure segment.
The Synopsis
Sachin Tichkule (Akshay Kumar) is an upcoming straight forward civil contractor trying in vain to make it big. His brother-in-law Trigun Fatak (Manoj Joshi working in the municipality is corrupt to the core. A bridge collapses because of faulty construction and Vishwas Rao (Tinu Anand) connected to
Khatta Meetha 1 Khatta Meetha Movie Review
Khatta Meetha Movie Review
Sachin is made the scape goat and conveniently liquidated. But,Azad Bhagat (Makrand Despande), who lost his family in the bridge collapse is fighting a battle to bring the culprits to book. Meanwhile, Sachin’s troubles deepen when the new municipal commissioner happens to be his ex girlfriend Gehna Ganpule (Trisha) whoi s now bent upon destroying him. How Sachin wriggles out of his troubles forms the rest of the film.
kattamitta Khatta Meetha Movie Review
Khatta Meetha Movie Review
The Performances
Akshay Kumar does his best to make something of his role which is not properly etched. Trisha looks more of a glam-prop. Urvashi Sharma is good. Johny Lever is at his funniest best. Rajpal Yadav gives a wonderful performance. Makrand Despande, Manoj Joshi and Kulbhushan Kharbanda do well in their cameos. All others are just ok.
The Techniques
The loosely knit story, hotch-potch script and pitfall-filled screenplay make the film a pain you know where to watch. The opening is interesting, but it trickles down to yawning boredom. Cinematography is good and music is average. The song and dance sequences appear more as a hindrance than anything else.
The Verdict
Khatta Meetha meaning sour- sweet is more sour than sweet. Priyadarshan disappoints once again.
The Rating
2 out of 5
SOURCE: http://searchandhra.com/cinema/trisha-bollywood-journey-khatta-jyaada-meetha-kum
Khatta Meetha
ReplyDeleteNikhat Kazmi, Times of India
***
Story: Sachin Tichkule (Akshay Kumar), a small time contractor, is desperate to succeed in a society that is skewed heavily towards the corrupt, the mean, the selfish and the law breakers. He gives up his collegiate Gandhian philosophy and is even ready to pay the mandatory bribes and do a bit of wheeling-dealing to move ahead in life, specially when he sees his kith and kin succumbing to greed and grime. But, a chance meeting with his erstwhile girlfriend (Trisha), now an honest and upright municipal commissioner, rings in the requisite conscience call. The rest is mera Bharat mahaan!
Movie Review: Priyadarshan sure must be one of the most prolific film makers in the industry, currently. More importantly, he has the uncanny knack of dabbling with different genres of cinema which include a rip-roaring comedy like Hera Pheri neatly juxtaposed against the artistic, award-winning Kancheevaram. With Khatta Meetha, he tries to multi-task, once again, slipping from social satire to comedy in order to create a light-hearted comment on India's bumbling, bribe-prone bureaucracy and unprincipled political class.
Does he succeed? Yes and no. First, the highpoints....The film boasts of three wild and whacky comedy sequences which almost bring the house down. First comes common-man contractor Akshay Kumar and goofy assistant Rajpal Yadav's attempts to clean up Asrani's house on the eve of a family function: total mayhem. Then follows mechanic Johnny Lever's attempts to repair a road roller: absolutely hilarious. And finally, a cross-conversation between Asrani, his assistant and Akshay: ekdum fundoo. Add to this, a few more snippets of fun and games, and you have an outrageous comedy track, that sadly comes in bits and pieces only.
And herein lies the tragedy of Khatta Meetha. The film is too long and has too much of high-pitched drama, leaving room for too little of the laughter circus. Now this does seem irksome, specially since the comedy bits crackle with such fun, they leave you desperately hungering for more. What's more, the drama is mostly repetitive, with the plot going on and on about small man Tichkule's futile attempts to grow big. All he wants to do is grab a big contract and make some big money so that he doesn't have to be the black sheep of his family anymore. Ironically, even the romance between the somewhat corrupt contractor and the straight-jacketed municipal commissioner comes more as an afterthought, with an awkward flashback to a hastily injected college affair that sticks out like a sore thumb. All that song dance business too seems totally unwarranted, though there is a verve in Pritam's tunes, once again.
Review continued here:
SOURCE: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/movie-reviews/hindi/Khatta-Meetha/moviereview/6201100.cms
Khatta Meetha
ReplyDeleteBlessy Chettiar
Rating: **
You walk into the cinema hall thinking you are going to have a good time with Akshay Kumar and Priyadarshan waiting inside. But hold on, you may be in for disappointment. Khatta Meetha is a tired, old cousin of laughter fest Hera Pheri which the pair gave us in 2000.
The film revolves around a good-for-nothing (at least his family thinks so) road contractor Sachin Tichkule (Kumar) and his extended family. The struggling contractor pushes his luck hard and gets nowhere. Heavily in debt, he doesn’t even have money to bribe officials. But his labourers mean everything to him, a fact he keeps reiterating, rather yelling, irritatingly, throughout the film.
A flashback sequence shows Tichkule as an idealistic college student fighting for what he thinks is right. He even loses the love of his life in the quest for justice, only to run into her years later, when she is the municipal commissioner and he a struggling road contractor.
Khatta Meetha is supposed to be a comedy but you are reminded of that only intermittently. The road-roller scene and the one where the veteran Asrani converses with three people at once are funny. Akshay Kumar’s comic timing is excellent as usual, but the repetitive dialogues make the film look worn out.
The director appears confused what his heroine should be: a girl-next-door or a fiery municipal commissioner. Newcomer Trisha fails on both counts. The lack of any chemistry between the lead pair is apparent, and the love angle falls flat.
The dependable Rajpal Yadav as Rangeela, Asrani and Johnny Lever have important roles in the film. But talented actors like Aruna Irani, Makrand Deshpande and Tinoo Anand are wasted. Urwashi Sharma as Kumar’s sister is okay. Kulbhushan Kharbandha as Tichkule Senior is unmatched.
But the biggest problem with Khatta Meetha is that there is no clear storyline. The director tries to deal with too many things apart from corruption and unrequited love. Along the way you wonder if the filmmaker did really set out to make a satire. The funny moments are forgettable as they get mired in unrelated sub-plots that make you wonder where the film is headed.
Khatta Meetha is a hotchpotch of too much drama and very little comedy. Not recommended if you have something better to do this weekend.
SOURCE: http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report_review-khatta-meetha-is-more-sour-than-sweet_1413757
Khatta Meetha
ReplyDeleteRajeev Masand, CNN-IBN
*
Whatever else you do, don't forget to carry cotton for your ears when you're heading off to watch Khatta Meetha, director Priyadarshan's loud and outrageously insensitive new film.
Set in a small town in rural Maharashtra, the film stars Akshay Kumar as Sachin Tichkule, a desperate road-construction contractor who's buried under heavy debt, and too broke to even pay for his workers' meals.
For some reason the film's director thinks Tichkule's hapless condition can be a license for him to scream and shout out his dialogues at the top of his lungs, sparing no thought whatsoever for your eardrums.
Disguised as a comedy, Khatta Meetha is in fact a drama about the deep-rooted corruption in our system. Tichkule clashes with the town's new municipal commissioner (played by Tamil actress Trisha Krishnan), who refuses to turn a blind eye to the dishonest practices of contractors with regards constructions. Tichkule delivers an impassioned monologue about the number of palms that need to be greased within the municipal office itself for the smallest job, and that alone is the film's most resonant scene.
But Khatta Meetha, a remake of Priyadarshan's own Malayalam film, Vellanakalude Naadu, is a seriously schizophrenic film. Supposedly serious scenes like the murder of the family driver, and the rape and death of the protagonist's youngest sister, are followed by comic sequences involving characters directly related to the victims. The film is packed with embarrassing profanities that are meant to make you laugh; and a scene in which a sleazy construction worker peeps into a woman's bathroom to watch her change is also treated humorously.
To give credit where it's due, Akshay Kumar is the film's only bright spot. He throws himself sincerely into the movie's slapstick gags and makes even the most predictable pratfalls amusing.
I'm going with a generous one out of five for Priyadarshan's Khatta Meetha; this is cinema at its most tasteless.
The movie ends with a music video in which Akshay Kumar dances to a song titled I'm allergic to bullshit. If indeed those words were true, we wouldn't have to watch this film!
Rating: 1 / 5
SOURCE:
Khatta Meetha
ReplyDeleteSanjukta Sharma, Livemint
Sweet-sour gone bitter
This Priyadarshan film gets loud and repetitive. Akshay Kumar’s role shows promise, but ends up annoying
You might already know Sachin Tichkule from the promotions and hoardings of Khatta Meetha. He is a municipal contractor who builds roads in a small town in Maharashtra. He is the classic small-town dork—oiled hair, brown, cheap leather chappals, shirt tucked into ill-fitting pants, a bus-contractor wallet and an umbrella in his hands. So far, endearing—even promising.
Priyadarshan’s new film unfortunately looks better in promotions. Much like his recent oeuvre, Khatta Meetha is a farce, of the loud and annoying kind. But unlike De Dana Dan, his last film, which was silly from the first scene, Khatta Meetha begins with some promise.
Sachin (Akshay Kumar) is trying to become rich as a municipal contractor. He is the black sheep and laughing stock of his family. His father, a Gandhian and former judge, has given up hope on Sachin, his youngest son, and gives in to the whims of his more successful and wealthy sons and a brother-in-law who have close ties to a local politician. They are corrupt, unethical men, unlike Sachin, who may be corrupt in small ways but is a man with a conscience. He was an idealistic student leader whose college sweetheart betrayed him. Later, after further disillusionment, he turned into the petty, laughable contractor he is. His failures are endless—mishap after mishap, disaster after disaster, Sachin becomes the kind of protagonist you can’t identify with by the time the film’s first half ends. His old sweetheart (Trisha) returns as the municipal commissioner of the town. Conflicts with her, and later a sentimental reconciliation, lead Sachin to the last chance he has to prove that he is a good man and a real hero. Some implausible situations and action sequences lead to a banal, cacophonous climax.
The film is meant to be a satire on petty corruption—how the most idealistic and conscientious common man can turn unethical to fit in and become successful. Sachin has annoying bouts of talking down to people. His physical gestures are that of a bumbling idiot, but when he is in a spot with the authorities or with his corrupt brothers and miserable father, he produces litanies on the hopeless state of our nation. He is the foolish, laughable man nobody takes seriously except the commissioner who falls in love with him again after a really long and schmaltzy scene in a hospital (ironically, the lady is in hospital after she tried to commit suicide because of something Sachin did to take revenge on her!).
Plot twists such as this and others, meant just to propel the story further and without any logic, add to the length of the film—more than 3 hours, with some cheesily choreographed songs, jarringly different in look from the kind of milieu the story is set in.
Like all of Priyadarshan’s comedies, Khatta Meetha has a huge ensemble cast. Comedians such as Rajpal Yadav, Johnny Lever and Asrani do what they always do—gesticulate and act stupid. Khatta Meetha will have you chuckling in the beginning, but the humour becomes repetitive and tiring. Beyond an hour, it tests your patience.
Priyadarshan has spawned a genre out of these comedies. It is obvious that it has become too easy for him to put a huge ensemble cast together and produce a hit. Khatta Meetha has the stamp of a director who has no imagination or control—it’s as if he let the plot and actor loose, certain that the foolproof crowd-pleaser formula will work.
Kumar’s career needs some serious mending. Here he is in safe and familiar territory. Comedy is the only genre for which he has shown some talent. 2009 and 2010, especially, have been the nadir of his career, with roles in huge-budget films that have become monumental flops.
Full review here: http://www.livemint.com/2010/07/23203726/Sweetsour-gone-bitter.html?h=B
Khatta Meetha
ReplyDeleteSubhash Jha
Rating: ***
First things first. This is not, repeat not, a comedy. Not by any yardstick. For those expecting a typical Priyadarshan-Akshay Kumar comedy Khatta Meetha is not your cup of tee-hee. For those who know there’s a more reflective and ruminative side to both the prolific director and the leading man, here’s the thing.
Khatta Meetha takes stinging satirical swipes at the epidemic disease of corruption that has taken over the Indian ethos. Tragically the treatment is quite often heavyhanded. But the statement never drowns in the diatribe.Priyadarshan tends to fill up the outer edges with a profusion of incidental characters and over-elaborate gags and jokes that hold themselves in place in a world of unmitigated chaos like De Dana Dan.
Here the clutter and the clamour just make you feel the director needed to respect his own tone of sobriety in this longish tickling treatise on malpractices in the middleclass.
The plot is a bit of a tangle. Akshay Kumar’s family of discontented mal-paani-practitioners is a universe of brutish brothers and screechy sisters-in-law, and silently-suffering parents(played by those wonderful actors Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Aroona Irani).
It’s a family of corrupt road contractors and initially, Akshay seems the most wickedly immoral of them all. But hang on! As the narrative—at time plodding—moves forward we begin to understand the wacked -out sinister yet satirical, chaotic yet orderly, corrupt yet weirdly-ethical world of Sachin Tichkule .
Here’s a character that seems to have been written only for Akshay Kumar. And he gets hold of the ‘muddle’-class morality of Tichkule’s world with delightful earnestness. Frequently Akshay is exasperating in his efforts to explain why the middleclass is in a state of selfdestructive decline. But it isn’t the actor to blame. It is the nature of the material offered to the actor.
The domestic and professional world of Scahin Tichkule is not easy to penetrate. Akshay, demonstrating a primetime ripeness in his body language and repertoire of Chaplinesque expressions, enters this wacky wounded world of the exploited and the damned with extraordinary empathy.
Akshay’s is a performance that is far more accomplished than it may seem to the popcorn province. He’s exasperating in his directness. He’s partly a cartoon character, partly an emblem of our times and wholly entertaining in his chaotic comprehension of the inadequacies of world we’ve inherited from the freedom fighters and brutally disfigured .
But alas. Akshay’s character is much much too wordy in his tongue type. The hallmark of Charlie Chaplin’s social comment was his silent expressions of protest. Akshay’s character and the film on the whole are much too verbose. The characters are constantly talking, as though not speaking would take away the audiences’ attention. A film making a social comment didn’t have to over-state its case so blatantly.
But the words do not cut into the narrative’s basic flow of tongue-in-cheek satire. Some sequences such as the one involving the steamroller and the elephant consume too much footage. The art of understatement eludes this political statement.
Trisha Krishnan in wearing chunky ear-rings severe bureaucratic expressions makes an unusual debut. She is different from the short-skirted hotties. But whether that difference makes a difference in Hindi cinema, time will tell.
Khatta Meetha stands tall in its message of restoring a semblance of moral order in the middleclass. The last half-hour after Sachin Tickule’s sister is murdered, is thoroughly gripping . And the fight between Akshay and the corrupt goons in the crowded lanes is chilling in its realism.
Full review here: http://www.ibosnetwork.com/newsmanager/templates/template1.aspx?a=22172&z=4
Nothing sweet in this sour and stale tale
ReplyDeleteAngel Rani
Priyadarshan names his hero Tichkule, thrusts an umbrella into his hands and thinks that he just invented the ultimate laughter machine. Then he drops an autorikshaw here and a bicycle there to accentuate the common man feel of his supposed reality show.
Akshay Kumar, on the other hand, continues to believe that being loud is the only recipe to ha-ha.
In three hours (yawn, fume, exit), that marvel of a Malayalam film called Vellanakalude Nadu (The land of White Elephants) is bulldozed into an adulterated Friday commodity. The roadroller in the movie is, in a way, symbolic.
Khatta Meetha fails in its premise itself. Akshay’s contractor-cum-lovable-rogue (immortalised by Mohanlal in the late 80s) is not someone whom you can identify with in this era. The costume and get-up is too outworn, especially when the contractor in question comes from a palatial home where women swish around in eye-popping silk sarees and jewellery, and their men eat and sleep, the maharaja way.
Akshay’s career in infrastructure never takes off, courtesy corruption, and the new municipal commissioner (a dismal show by Trisha) adds to his troubles.
And it doesn’t help that she is his ex-flame. The only beneficiary here is music director Pritam who produces an average score for a flashback to college days where our Tichkule preaches non-violence and his girl dances in garish outfits.
Offering some distraction is Akhshay’s worker Rajpal Yadav’s (aptly named Rangeela), who goes around peeping into bathrooms and gets thrashed by the entire unit of the movie.
Trisha, the southern star who makes her Hindi debut, is just required to contort her face to Akshay’s equally pathetic antics.
No one makes an impression here and you just wish Priyadarshan stopped his “import” business.
SOURCE: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/83447/nothing-sweet-sour-stale-tale.html
Khatta Meetha
ReplyDeleteRating: **
Contractor’s fare fails to build connect
In the small town of Phaltan, Maharashtra, lives motor-mouth Sachin Tichkule (Akshay Kumar) in his lovely ancestral house with his large family. But all is not well in Sachin’s life. Sachin, you see, is a small-time contractor who has the licence to work for the municipality but hasn’t been given much work for three years. Why? Because when he was given work, he made sub-standard roads and nallahs. The municipality stopped his payment and he slapped a case against them. The only work he now has is laying one short stretch of a road. Sachin, low on cash, borrows money from anyone and everyone to buy construction material and to pay wages and then dodges creditors. His loyal and dedicated team of workers includes Rangeela (Rajpal Yadav), the cause of several slapstick disasters.
Sachin’s father, Ramakant Tichkule (Kulbhushan Kharbanda), a retired judge, is tired of his ways. His brother and two brothers-in-law, also engaged in construction business, are corrupt and doing well. They taunt him, drive around in Mercedes, while Sachin takes an auto to work. Sachin’s only real relationship in the house is with his sister Anjali (Urvashi Sharma).
A bridge constructed by the brothers collapses, killing several people. Their partner, politician-fixer Sanjay Rana, suggests they get someone to confess to planting a bomb under the bridge. Old family driver Vishwas Rao (Tinnu Anand) is summoned and promised Rs 1 lakh. Rao confesses to the police and is strangulated. But there’s one gentleman, Azad Bhagat (Makrand Deshpande), who doesn’t buy the bomb story and is determined to get to the bottom of this.
After some gags stolen from Mr Bean, thekedar Sachin sees Gehna (Trisha) and his mind drifts off to a rubbish song. You see, Sachin and Gehna have a history that is revealed to us later, in the tackiest way possible — college romance, adarsh versus practical issues of life etc.
Full review here: http://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/contractor%E2%80%99s-fare-fails-build-connect-975
wow, talk about bad reviews. Finally Raavan fans have something to smile about.
ReplyDeleteAll my confidence in Akki was again misplaced.
I accept KM wont do well. Opportunity lost.
ReplyDeleteTrue Doga, HR, Abhi both had failed, and it was Akki's opportunity to make some ground, but instead he failed.
ReplyDeleteThough I guess Action Replay and tees maar khan will be hits.
All sour, no sweet
ReplyDeletePratim Gupta, Calcutta Telegraph
1.5
Mamata Banerjee must hire Priyadarshan before the next July 21 rally. Given the way her listener count is multiplying every year, the Hungama man will come in handy to train her fellow speakers on the dais. Because if Priyan can do one thing, it’s to make his cast shout out loud. Mouths open, lungs bursting and vocal chords ripping — Dolby Digital takes care of the rest. His audience? On Christopher Nolan’s menu, it’s a meal of scrambled brains. And you are not even allowed to sleep.
What does one even say about Khatta Meetha? The facts speak for themselves. It’s a remake of a Malayalam film made in 1988. So while last week we saw makers from both sides of the Atlantic trying to break new ground, Bollywood’s top stars continue to turn the clock back. By trying to play safe — the logic: a remake of a hit should be a hit — they continue to be cinematically regressive, loud and stale. God only knows when Bolly’s Rip Van Winkles will wake up.
Akshay here is Sachin Tichkule (the surname’s rough anagram is chutkule but the joke starts and ends there), a road contractor who is perennially in debt because he doesn’t get work. So he is always duping his parents and lenders but the real scamsters are his two brothers-in-law and his brother, who bribe politicians and bump off people at will. They, of course, are rolling in riches.
This is just one track where we know how Tichkule will champion morality and make his righteous parents proud. When Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Aroona Irani are Babuji and Maa, it’s a no-brainer really.
Full review here: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100724/jsp/entertainment/story_12718361.jsp
Khatta Meetha
ReplyDeleteDeepa Garimella / fullhyd.com
Sigh. The Priyadarshan-ness of it all.
Hidden beneath the screaming, the cussing, the hitting, the running, the murders, the rapes - the sheer loudness that is Khatta Meetha - is an anti-corruption flick that could have done far better. The comedy doesn't fall flat, but the decibel levels take away whatever the film has going for it.
It's a family of contractors and municipal officials, and Sachin Tichkule (Akshay Kumar), the son, is a road contractor whose career hasn't risen above being mediocre. He's the black sheep of the family, despite being a lot cleaner than his utterly despicable brothers-in-law, and that is because he doesn't bother to hide his sins.
These crooks, meanwhile, are the kinds who'd wash their hands off serious crimes of negligence like that of a bridge collapsing and taking busloads of people down with it - they push the blame onto their loyal family driver (Tinnu Anand), and even kill him.
Gehna Ganpula (Trisha Krishnan), an ex-girlfriend, walks in as the newly-appointed municipal commissioner of the town. Tichkule's conflicts with her, and the rest of the muck being raised with all the red tape all over, form the rest of the story.
Full review here: http://www.fullhyderabad.com/profile/movies/3699/2/khatta-meetha-movie-review
Khatta Meetha
ReplyDeleteMinty Tejpal, Mumbai Mirror
1.5 stars
Sigh. After a delightful last week, here we go again. The opening credits of Khatta Meetha reveal that this film is a “project designed by Twinkle Khanna”, who is an interior designer besides being Akshay Kumar’s wife, and “filmed by Priyadarshan”, who once made Viraasat and Hera Pheri, which now seems a long time ago.
After sitting through the long and laborious Khatta Meetha, you realize that designed and filmed are indeed both the right words, since there is little direction or inspiration in this stale venture.
It is stuffed with gags, set-ups and stock characters, in a silly, stunted, scattered script which is stitched up rather poorly. The film desperately tries to be funny but just ends up being very tedious.
Akshay Kumar plays yet another common man. This time it’s Sachin Tichkule, a sandal wearing, umbrella carrying, simpleton who happens to be modeled on the cartoon character created by R K Laxman. Really, what was the need? Mr Tichkule stays with his mummy-papa (Irani-Kharbanda), elder brother (Milind Junaji) and a couple of brothers-in-law, in a large south Indian style palatial house, good for filming movies in.
It’s a fully filmy family, so poor mother has a pained, tired look, the father is stern though wise, the sole sister is sweet and syrupy, the brothers are fat and mean, the sisters-in-law fatter and meaner, while poor Akshay is the black sheep of the family, simple and god fearing.
Full review here: http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/30/201007242010072404445872842acf1b/Sour-N-stale.html
Mid-day review here: http://www.mid-day.com/entertainment/2010/jul/240710-Khatta-Meetha-Movie-review.htm
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