Aladin fails to enchant

Added: Oct 30, 2009

From: zoomdekho

Duration: 5:6

'Aladin', starring veteran superstar Amitabh Bachchan with Sanjay Dutt along withRitesh Deshmukh & the beautiful Ms Sri Lanka, Jacqueline Fernandez, took 4 years to complete but it could be India's first special effects, magical, fairytale story.Aladin Chatterjee played by Ritesh Deshmukh lives in the fictional city of Khwaish, an orphan who is bullied by Qasim and his gang since childhood. But his life changes when Jasmine, played by Jacqueline Fernandez, gives him a magic lamp - because it lets loose a genie called Genius, Amitabh Bachchan. Desperate to grant him three wishes, so that he can fulfill his contract and retire peacefully, the rock-star Genius makes Aladin's life difficult until the real threat looms on the horizon - an ex-genie, RingMaster played by Sanjay Dutt. 'Aladin' has been directed by Sujoy Ghosh of 'Jhankaar Beats' & 'Home Delivery' fame. Sujoy has also co-written the screenplay of 'Aladin' along with Suresh Nair. The first half of this movie seems stretched but it picks up after the interval. Sujoy displays a childlike heart in his direction and throws in a lot of SFX, but sometimes the effort is too convoluted. Amitabh Bachchan as Genius is totally over-the-top as is expected of a rocking Genie. He seems to be having fun waltzing through this funfare for kids. Sanjay Dutt as RingMaster is the Bad Genie who's lost his powers and wants them back at any cost. Sanju is a cool customer who can walk through any role with his eyes shut. Ritesh Deshmukh as Aladin Chatterjee is the most believable and likeable character in 'Aladin'. He does his role with an almost geeky cuteness, and he has a natural flair for lighthearted comedy and Riteish does well. Jacqueline Fernandez as Jasmine looks lovely and pristine but beyond the few romantic interludes, she doesnt have much to do. The Vfx are by Charles Darby, who has earlier worked on some mega Hollywood projects such as 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire', 'Around the World in 80 Days', 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban', 'Minority Report' & 'The Matrix', so you can imagine the magical touches here. They are superb.'Aladin' has six songs by Vishal and Shekhar which are fast-paced & high on beats except "O re saawariya" which is a soft number.Overall Music is good but not anywhere near the benchmark set by Vishal-Shekhar in 'Jhankar beats', 'Om Shanti Om' or 'Dostana'. But 'Genie Rap' is interesting where Amitabh turns rapper along with Anushka Manchanda. Its a cute fairytale story. Something we see aplenty from Hollywood. And it'll be liked by the youngsters. But a prolonged and unconvincing climax and some irritating character artistes make this a Grinch who stole the Christmassy affair. Aladin gets a 2.5 stars.

Channel: Entertainment

Tags: zoom  tv  india  hindi  bollywood  news  review  aladin 

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