nabeelsaad As it has been said in the media,this movie is not your regular hashmi-flick (which either end up being corny or/and extremely boring).I went in to watch the movie with very low expectations but was surprised with the the first half.It had a nice and enjoyable plot and i especially liked the opening card game (me being a big time card enthusiast).The second half more or less fell apart with all the emotions flying in.It suffers from what i call "The Soap Opera mentality" where every small thing is made a very big deal of.Emran Hashmi was extremely believable as the grey-charactered high profile match fixer. His speaking style, i felt somehow, encapsulated the apprehensiveness yet decisiveness of a fixer. I would say this performance by him was his best,second only to one in Gangster. Vipin Sharma(Arjun's dad) was rather flat while delivering his dialogs and so did the emotionless Sonal Chauhan. The one performance i was bowled over by in this movie was of Javed Shaikh(especially the weight in his voice).Another let down in the movie was for the ones among us who wanted more of insider-story from the match-fixing scenario. There, the movie lacked material.it ended up more as a love story rather than a match-fixing story(which quite a few of us were hoping for).I would rate this movie a 8/10, a definite watch if you have got the time and can bear the second half that gets all draggy.

Sabse Bada Chodu Considering their huge experience in dealing with sensational subjects, the Bhatt camp are a complete Bollywood institution in themselves. After covering human trafficking last year with Awarapan, this time they hit the nail on the spot with a well-researched plot on cricket match-fixing. Even though repeat news telecasts have made the theme a bit clichéd, the writers did a brilliant job except for some minor gaffes.Imran Hashmi (I don't remember how he likes to spell his first name) plays a debt-ridden, happy-go-lucky gambling addict suddenly striking rich with his Nostradamus-like ability to predict cricket match scores. Thanks to an underworld Don on the loose called Abu-something, he quickly establishes what he calls his "import-export" business -an international cricket bookmaking syndicate. Even though cops are on his trail and his girlfriend threatens to desert him, Mr.Bookie is convinced this is what he was really born to do because he's just soooo good at it. Obviously, he has no moral compunctions and will meet his just desserts someday - the entire story moves at an even pace and there isn't a single moment of bore. The "good prevails over evil" theme is thrust on you and I must say, it has been executed well.To be honest, Imran does comes across very natural when portraying all those shady, no-morals-no-dilemma characters; what seems to be the reason? Is it about his crooked Semitic nose - you never know? I won't want him to portray straightforward characters - it seems he's finally found his image.Here's a spoiler: this movie documents events vaguely similar to those which led to the death of Pakistani coach Bob Woolmer in a West Indies hotel room. Even the character portraying the movie coach has a facial resemblance to the real Bob Woolmer - considering that the murder case is still being probed, this was indeed a very brave thing to do.The only reason I'm not giving this movie a higher rating is because of some fantastical, ludicrous premises which weaken the technical plot e.g. Imran's instinctive ability to predict the outcome of each and every ball, down to the sixes, wickets and final scores is simply too hard to sink in. The Bhatt camp writers could have been a little more creative in depicting those calculations. I'm sorry this is crucial to the movie theme and a little original thinking could have done more justice to it.Definitely don't watch it more than once.

springsunnywinter The successful combination of Mahesh Bhatt's production team and Emraan Hashmi have teamed up once again after Awarapan for this drama. The story is about the life of a bookie who becomes a cricket match fixer. Mukesh Bhatt's production house delivers great music and hard-hitting plots.Their latest film Jannat is terrific. The film has a very different story that keeps you interested & entertained right from start to end. Generally I don't have any interest in gambling, betting or cricket match fixing but the story was told in a stylish format, it was about 2 hours 20 minutes and I enjoyed every second of it and there wasn't a single boring or useless scene. I'm glad that there isn't another film about revenge or love because I'm sick of those.The best thing about the movie is that it shows that a person who spends money unwisely has an ability that can make him rich which cannot happen in real life. It also shows that you shouldn't push your luck and money can only be earned by hard work. The music is great as usual from the Bhatt's production house and the best songs are Zara Sa & Judai. Overall Jannat is one of Emraan Hashmi's best film and has a good message that we can all learn from. Other than that it was shot in great locations at Cape Town of South Africa.

always_ashhar Now I am convinced 'Good trailers do not make good movies'. The audience was lured into believing 'Jannat' had all the elements of a movie which would explore the hidden truths behind betting, match fixing and et al but except for a few patches of brilliance the movie reminded me of Anurag bose's Gangster where a protégé turns hostile against the betting baron at the behest of his girl friends' incessant appeals to quit illegal activities and return to normal civic life. The story had such a beaten plot that even a 5 year old could predict the climax only half way through the movie.It begins well with Emraan's sixth sense serving him good for betting practices but loses its way completely. The insipid romance between the two leads did more damage to the otherwise convincing story telling. What left me completely aghast was the turn of events in South-Africa where the director took his creative imagination too far to show a pole dancing heroine and dressing room cold blooded murder. The movie fell under the gravity of expectations of its director who tried to do too many things instead of sticking with the plot. There were so many incomplete subplots like that of girls conceited stance on morality, her own love for glamour, father's inexplicable hatred towards his son , and the all important modus operandi of match fixing mafia . Instead we had to content ourselves with typical villainous certain bhais and a self indulgent hero who was caught unaware of his girls' sinister motives. .I wish Mr. Director had given more dendrites to the screenplay. Music was good indeed , Emraan hashmi was in his 'business as usual' role and the movie was not what it could have been .