Tara Rum Pum (Drama)

Direction: Siddharth Anand

Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukherjee, Javed Jaffrey

Showing at theatres

near you

Kathmandu:

Big banner, bigger brouhaha and a brilliant cast — it had it all. Moreover, Tara Rum Pum also retains everything that could have catapulted it in the league of blockbusters. But, as has always been the case, when style takes over substance, the end result ‘boomerangs’. And so is the case with this latest flick that rolls down Bollywood’s assembly line, which promises to dish out everything, but still leaves the palate cold.

We’ve loved Saif play smart Alec, and we’ve seen him grow out of his typecast chocolate boy image. In fact, we still don’t stop raving on about the still greyer shades, that we found him in recently (in fact, that was even more adorable!). But, Tara Rum Pum gives the actor little scope and dumps him down to the same drag where he still loves racing cars and flirting with women.

Rajeveer Singh (Saif Ali) is a tyre-changer in a racetrack. Harry (Javed Jaffrey), in a serendipitous discovery, finds the dude’s got to get what he deserves and drafts him in a destitute racing team ‘racing saddles’. With Rani Mukherjee as his lucky charm, whom he falls for at first sight, he takes the stadium by storm and rules the roost for a decade. But life’s not all hunky-dory, as everything takes a U-turn after an accident Saif gets mentally scarred to take on the New York racing stadium once again.

What follows is predictable series of sequences, while the Saif-Rani couple, by now married, come to terms (along with their children) with the blows that life deals them. As you sit through the flick for an hour, you wonder though what still keeps you from leaving. No, the Saif-Rani chemistry doesn’t work at all and the racing sequences never pumps up the adrenaline. But you still love Saif’s performance that sparks despite the odds.

Rani is an actor to reckon with, but she doesn’t need to romp around in itsy-bitsy minis to earn her a brownie. As for Javed, he needs to understand by now that there are other ways to tickle the funny bones besides showing off his stilted English. The movie, however, scores on cinematography with the beautiful setting of New York City and music that you can put up with.

Go for it only if you want to revive nostalgia.

Waking up to a nightlife

KATHMANDU: As life in the city comes back to normalcy after the recent political changes, it’s waking up to a vibrant nightlife. Quest Entertainment, for the first time in the capital, has announced late night shows at Jai Nepal Cinemaghar, where movies will also be screened from 9:00 pm to 12:00 midnight besides regular screening timings. Vaskar Dhungana, Managing Director, Quest Entertainment said, “We will also be screening movies late night. We are especially targeting working people who don’t have time to watch movies during the daytime. It would also add to making night life vibrant in the capital.”

So, if you think your nights are boring, you know where the action is. — HNS