It's a great year for Dharma Productions and also one with variety. Hot on the heels of Agneepath the first big money spinner of 2012 comes the second big spinner of the year, Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu; and both blockbusters are as different as chalk and cheese. While Agneepath was a high-budget lavish, violent remake, Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu is a feel good, coming-of-age story that despite being formulaic is frothy, fresh and has a lightness of being that will leave you with a warm smiling heart. What the two films have in common is that they might have A-list stars, but they both rely on debut directors to deliver the goods.

If Agneepath gave us Karan Malhotra's lyrical retelling of a cult hit of yore, Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu gives us the new millennium vision of  Shakun Batra who previously was assistant director on two hit films, Imran Khan's debut Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Naa and India's first successful (okay, somewhat) attempt at a band film - Rock On!!  

Left to his own devices, Shakun Batra has outdone both those films with his debut that is a boy-meets-girl story with a difference despite the use of stereotypes and the creation of new ones.  Imran Khan is Rahul Kapoor, an unemployed architect who has been born with a silver spoon in his mouth - but he is hardly a spoilt brat - sort of hard to be that when your mother tells you to chew your mouthful of food 32 times before swallowing it. Mother is portrayed brilliantly by Ratna Pathak and dad by the adorable Boman Irani, both portraying caricatures of the wheeling dealing kind, complete with friends whose wives hit on poor shy Rahul and whose daughters they 'suggest' he date. Rahul does exactly as he's told, never as he wants, playing the part of the perfect son and losing himself in the process.

He's living a lie in Las Vegas in the futile quest of a job while telling his parents he's gainfully employed when he bumps into Riana Briganza, the gorgeous Kareena Kapoor at her effervescent best with streaks of red in her hair riding a nitro kick scooter all over town, living on life and fresh air, losing her room because of not paying her rent. Within 24 hours of meeting the two get sloshed and hitched. And from then what follows is Rahul's coming of age story as he gets taken along for the ride on Riana's roller coaster existence and she finds a place to sleep. They even land up in India where Shakun Batra shines with his warm portrayal of Riana's lively, chaotic Goan-Christian family, the exact opposite of Rahul's frosty parents.  Her father essayed by Nikhil Kapoor, is particularly hilarious with his wisecracks and cuddly grizzly bear appeal. And he shakes his ample booty with his khandaan in the hit song 'Aunty Ji' with the two leads, definitely one of the highest points in a film packed to the brim with them.

Be it the exaggerated Botox bubble of the Kapoors or the colourful laugh a minute world of the Braganzas, it's rather lovely to get a break from the plethora of happy Punjabi families that are such a standard in Bollywood fare. That Shakun Batra and Ayesha Devitre weave these little details into a formulaic script makes a world of a difference - throw in the heart to heart conversations between Rahul and Riana that steer clear of the angst and psychobabble in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, unobtrusive lilting melodies, throw in a rocking 'Aunty Ji' that captures the festive spirit of Goan Christians perfectly and you get a beautiful little buddy movie that doesn't look like a carbon copy of what you've seen before. The best ingredient perhaps is the dialogue between Rahul and Riana - they talk the way friends do, about their first kiss, their parents, their romantic/sexual experiences. The turning point in Rahul's coming of age is a formal dinner where he loses it with his parents at long last and drives out.

Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu is a film about the joy of little moments and chance encounters. It's not as profound as it's coming of age/opposites attract predecessors Wake Up Sid nor as folksy as Jab We Met and lacks the intensity of both. It's more of a buddy film than a romance (the two end up getting their marriage annulled) and that's so 21st century as is the fact that its running time is 1 hour 50 minutes. The story of Rahul and Riana's destined-to-end marriage is short, sweet and highly recommended. 
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– Muniba Kamal 
*CINEMATIC SUICIDE
**FORGETTABLE
***WATCHABLE
****COLLECTIBLE
*****AWARD-WORTHY


The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ***
Starring: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer,
Stellan Skarsgård, Robin Wright
Director: David Fincher


The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has found international acclaim much before the 2011 release of this film. The book is the first of the Millennium Series by Stieg Larsson and follows main characters Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist, who have set out to solve a mystery. 

The story begins with Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), an investigative journalist and co-owner of Millennium magazine, who has lost a court case against a shady business tycoon, Hans-Erik Wennerström. Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) is a ward of the state and has lived a troubled childhood but possess a photographic memory and hacking skills. Her genius brings her to the hands of Henrik's lawyer who wants Lisbeth to investigate Mikael for the task ahead. Mikael is distraught over the courts ruling and is subsequently contacted by Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer), who promises him time away from the public eye and work on the Vanger dynasty's biography. The memoir is a ruse set up by Henrik for Mikael to openly investigate the death of his grandniece Harriet 40 years earlier. Henrik suspects his family of the tragic incident and provides Mikael all the information as well as contacts of his family members. Henrik also promises to give him concrete evidence on Wennerström once he solves the mystery surrounding his beloved Harriet. When the evidence starts piling up, Mikael asks Vanger's lawyer for a research assistant and is introduced to Lisbeth.

As a thriller, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo provides a complex story with equally complex characters. The story highlights the issue of sexual abuse against women and makes the film difficult to watch at times. The scenes of graphic violence are few, though their length should have been shortened not only because the film runs for 2.5 hours but for the sake of the story. With numerous characters to focus on and the development of the story, all would have benefited from a few tighter scenes.

Despite the violence, Rooney Mara is an extraordinary talent that is let loose as Lisbeth Salander. The young actress slips into the role with ease, knowing that the lead character is not the easiest to portray. Mara steals every scene she is in and entrances with her performance. The difficult role of Lisbeth, who suffers at the hands of her sadistic state appointed lawyer in the film, is not easy to digest and must have stayed with the actress as it does with the audience. The chemistry between Craig and Mara is also worthy of note, though as the disgraced journalist Craig is exactly that. This is Lisbeth/Mara's film whose character has fully developed which Mikael/Craig's should in the upcoming sequels; The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest.

Director David Fincher deals with the story and narrative delicately. Having previously directed big budget box office draws, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Social Network, Fincher is a man that lets the story lead his creativity. The director's vision and unique style is clearly embedded within every frame - from the metallic black on black title sequence, the audience will know that the two and a half hour journey will be tumultuous.

Interestingly, the books have been published posthumously with the character of Mikael Blomkvist's history bearing striking resemblance to the author himself. This is not the first time an adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has received a theatrical release. The Swedish language version of the film was released in 2009 by the name of Män som hatar kvinnor (Men Who Hate Women) which also saw great success. The English language film veers off from the original novel's story and may be criticized by diehard fans of Larsson.

– Kiran Haroon