June 20, 2008
De Taali
Here’s adding one more drop to the sea of comedies. Although Director E-Niwas has hardly had a smooth run after a promising debut in Shool, he won’t stop trying; so here is once again, with De Taali. Starring Aftab Shivdasani, Ayesha Takia and Ritiesh Deshmukh, the story eddies around the higgledy-piggledy lives of the three friends. Just as Ayesha Takia, the girl amongst two guys, recognizes her love for Aftab, in walks Rimii Sen with all her charisma and batting eyelashes and twists the tale around. Friendship and love in friendship are perhaps bollywood’s most dealt with themes; however the cast, with Ritiesh Deshmukh, has potential to make this film stand apart.
| Release Date: | 20 June 2008 |
| Director: | E Niwas |
| Starring: | Ritesh Deshmukh, Aftab Shivdasani, Ayesha Takia, Rimi Sen. |
| Music: | Vishal Dadlani, Shekhar Ravjiani |
| Camera: | Amitabha Singh |
| Producer: | Ravi Walia |
Movie Review: De Taali - No High Fives!
By Raju Shanbhag
Imagine a child standing under the cloud covered sky, waiting to get drenched. The sky looks dark, and the promise of rain is as thick as the clouds up above. But the thunderstorm never arrives; all the child gets is few drops of rain that will not even wet his hair. Watching De Taali, one feels the same way. The supposed comical rainstorm never showers on you. Instead, you are treated with a few trickles of comedy sequences that leave you frustrated and disheartened.
The setting couldn’t have been more perfect for a laugh riot; two friends trying to save their rich and handsome third friend from a treacherous lady who is after his money. Good plot, but the dialogues are unspeakably damp. It’s as if the writers of the movie expect people to laugh their heads out just because they have paid money to walk into the theatre. A few punches here and there are not enough to lift the whole film.
After making a promising debut in Shool, director E-Niwas has made some supposedly comedy films, but the man himself never had good reason to laugh as far as the box office fate of his movies go. Looking at the response from audience for De Taali, he will at least have to wait until his next film to have any reason to laugh. The director in E-Niwas is still in the Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega hangover as the treatment and the sequences of the film take you down a trip on the memory lane of Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega (It isn’t a pleasant trip anyway!). It’s appears as if E-Niwas has held himself back in many scenes trying to appease the multiplex crowd. Sadly, that backfires completely.
Interestingly, one of the best scenes of the film comes at the expense of E-Niwas’s mentor, Ram Gopal Varma. This is the scene where Ritesh applies tapes on Rimi’s eyelashes (so that she can’t close them) and threatens her to show RGV Ki Aag repeatedly if she doesn’t obey him. This method works where all other forms of tortures fail. We are thankful to E-Niwas for not showing RGV Ki Aag aal over again. At the same time, RGV gets a bitter taste of his own medicine.
The only streak of lightening in this movie clouded by mediocrity is, actor Ritesh Deshmukh, an absolute treat to watch. He is a natural in comedy and plays his part with ease and élan. It’s because of him that you have a few moments of laughter in this otherwise damp squib. It doesn’t matter whether Ayesha Takia acts or not. She just hangs around trying to look cute and achieves her motto beyond anybody’s wildest imagination. Aftab doesn’t have much to do other than looking sad and making faces. Rimi Sen manages to look threatening in the role of a treacherous woman (sorry, this is not a complement). Poor Anupam Kher gets only a few scenes in the film and he has to share all of those with a dog, which just refuses to obey him! It apparently does obey him in the end… Oops, are we giving away vital elements of the plot here??
Finally, we will sign off with an aspect of movie that we found absolutely hilarious. But sadly, it was not intended to be funny. Aftab comments that Ayesha Takia looks like a boy! Yes, you read it right, a boy. Can somebody tell us what was the writer smoking when he wrote this line?
De Taali Music Review:
By Raju Shanbhag
The music director duo Vishal Shekhar has this inclination to provide hatke music in their films, and that’s not a bad inclination to have at all! But the urge to be different can sometimes take its toll on the melody of the song; and this is evident in the numbers like Tooti Phooti. But they do a score a big time with songs like Hone Lagi and to some extent, De Taali song. Overall, the album is worth listening.
Aaj Main Boond Hoon: Aaj main boond hoon, rendered by Shreya Ghosal and Vishal is an interesting song. It’s not the typical bollywood song that makes you wonder when you have heard it before. After you listen to it for a couple of times, it will surely remain in your memory. Shreya Ghosal has done full justice to this demanding song.
De Taali: Shaan can make any song sound great. This ability of the singer has been put to stringent test in this song. The beats in the background are good and you may like the song after you see the filming of the song.
Everybody put your hands together: The unrelenting beats, the sudden turnaround to Qawwali, and the inspired singing from Sunidhi Chauhan, Anushka Manchanda, and Shaan will force you to like this song, at least for a while.
Hone Lagi: The best song of the album! Anushka Manchanda has the voice required for this sensuous number. Her husky voice matches beautifully with the tune of this song. Among the countless sensuous songs that hit the bollywood in recent times, this is among the best. Keep your ears open for Anushka Manchanda!
Maari Teetri: Your first reaction to this song might be to switch off the player and get the hell out the room to get some peace of mind. The beats of the drums are unmerciful and haunt you till the end of the song. But who knows, the party loving crowd may just gobble up this song!
Tooti Phooti: A typical Vishal Shekhar song! Sometimes they sound as if two people are having a nice conversation. The presence of background score reminds you that it’s a song after all!
Filed Under June2008Release, Movie Review, mp3 download, music review
[...] was expected from Vishal Shekhar after their impressive De Taali. The expectations were high for this album as the film was from Yash Raj Banner, which has decades [...]
Yes, Hone Lagi song is superb! Generally when hindi singers sing songs in western style, it sounds very awkward. But not in this song. The western accent seems amazaingly natural in this song. Great job, Anushka Manchanda.. Of course, great job by Vishal Shekhar too!