Inadvands
Boring, over-political, tech fuzed mess
Baseshment
I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.
Peter Young
Another unoriginal fare by Abbas-Mastan, Ajnabee does work maybe because it was generally well made by the directors-brothers duo Abbas Mastan who often prefer to concentrate on the making of a film rather than invest time and write a new script. Well a job is a job and everyone is working for money, so remaking a foreign film is a much easier way to make money. Creativity/originality is not the word to describe this duo but they do manage to make an enjoyable flick every once in a while so let it be. Ajnabee is quite an interesting watch - it has good cinematography, very good editing, exceptional music, suitable actors and a very modern concept. The portrayal of Indians living in a foreign country is well done, the suspense is successful, and it uses the usual Bollywood clichés from time to time. The film is mainly surprising because of Akshay Kumar's shocking villainous turn (well if he had accepted the directors' early film Baazigar maybe things would have gone differently for him). He is convincing and wins most of the viewers' attention. It has a very lovely newcomer named Bipasha Basu who makes a confident debut. It also has an average Kareena Kapoor, a Bobby Deol (about him I don't have anything good or bad to say), and a hilarious Johnny Lever. I was annoyed at the beginning of the film to see Dalip Tahil who laughs and laughs for no reason - very disturbing. Anyway, you can try it if you like, it is a decent Indianised, fairly updated and changed version of Consenting Adults.
Dingataca
I liked the music, I liked the acting, and I liked the movie. But it wasn't anything special. Strictly mediocre. The beginning of Ajnabee had to be the best part. Wife-swapping, drinking, sex and a lot of crime fills the rest. I thought the best performance was from Akshay Kumar, I don't usually like his films but he was pretty strong in this one. (Though Akshay licking Kareena's lips nearly had me gouging my eyes out.) Bobby Deol does an acceptable job and Kareena is also quite good I admit. Bipasha looked right for her part and fitted in nicely, I thought she was a good Soniya. I really liked the music, especially Mehbooba Mehbooba, which was really catchy. Good for timepass. An okay thriller.
gavin_coolhgr
Two people Raj (Bobby Deol) and Priya (Kareena Kapoor) happen to met by chance and fall in love, they decided to get married due to the fact that Priya's dad (Dalip Tahil) knows the Malhotra's. After there marriage in India, they decided to go and reside in Switzerland, where they met two other Indians Vicky (Akshay Kumar) and Sonia (Bipasha Basu). Very quickly the two couples became friends and decided to go on a holiday to Mauritius where Vicky began to spoke to Raj about wife-swapping. Raj got annoy and decided to fight with Vicky and there friendships were shattered. After a couple of weeks the two couples became friends again and decided to celebrate Vicky's birthday party outside. Where the two men got drunk and each one goes over to the opposite wife. At morning Raj comes to know that Sonia is dead and he is being accused by Vicky, when his case is being try ed in court he break loose from there and goes outside to look for evidence to prove his innocence.
mustafapopal3
Much hoopla has been made about the Americanization of Indian cinema and how Abbas-Mastan have dared to cross all barriers of culture by copying a bold film like "Consenting Adults", the theme of which revolves around wife-swapping. Well, rest assured - this is Hindustan and our "lajja" is still intact (R.K. Santoshi might feel otherwise). Let me dare to reveal to you that though the idea of wife-swapping does come up, it never really occurs. Still - Neeraj Vohra has managed to write an entertaining story which Abbas-Mustan have infused with their usual slick direction.The film follows the plot of a newlywed couple - Raj (Bobby Deol) and Priya (Kareena Kapoor). They move to Switzerland so Raj can be a professional polo player where they encounter another couple - Vicky (Akshay Kumar) and Sonia (Bipasha Basu). The couples become close but it becomes apparent that the husbands share more common interests with the opposite wives. To top it off - Sonia tries to seduce Raj and Vicky goes one step further. He suggests to Raj that they swap wives for one drunken night. The next day things go haywire as we learn that somebody is murdered. And somebody is framed. Or are they guilty?Abbas-Mastan do a good job managing what would otherwise be a confusing narration. They manage to reveal just enough to keep the plot tracking along the line of indifference. The problem is that with four lead characters and one supporting actress introduced pre-intermission in a fleeting scene - it isn´t too hard for the audience to put two and two together. This is not a complex "who-done-it". Still, they are somehow able to maintain as neutral a narrative as possible which is commendable in Hindi cinema - where nothing is really a secret. We all know not to believe somebody is dead unless you see their body and they attempt an interesting twist to get around that fact. Enough said.The performances of their lead cast add to the slick direction in maintaining any suspense possible. Akshay Kumar is the real star here - but this is his third film with a similar role. It didn´t work for Shahrukh and it gets tiresome even here. Bipasha Basu makes a commendable debut in her seductive, confident role. Just brush up those dancing skills, honey! Bobby Deol does his job as the protagonist well. And Kareena Kapoor breezes through a relatively simple role. She is particularly good in the comedy scenes (David Dhawan, are you listening?).Music? It does the job. The one song that really sticks in one´s mind is the one that is already there - "Mehbooba Mehbooba" - which is nicely shot. Cinematography? Switzerland. Nobody has the power to make it look fresh at this point. Comedy track? DA. That´s "Don´t ask" for those that have seen the film.This isn´t necessarily great cinema. Still - in a time where the world is at war, it managed to make me forget about that fact for almost three hours. That in itself is a commendable feat. "Ajnabee" is Hindi cinema at its escapist best.
