Genre: Adventure, Children, Fantasy
Director: Sujoy Gosh
Producer: Sujoy Ghosh, Sunil Lulla
Banner: Eros International
Music Director: Vishal Dadlani, Shekhar Ravjiani
Lyricist: Vishal Dadlani, Anvita Dutt Guptan
Star Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Riteish Deshmukh, Jacqueline Fernandez, Victor Banerji, Ratna Pathak, Mita Vashishth, Joy Sengupta, Arif Zakaria
Release Date: October 30, 2009
How we wish Aladin would have used his genie to make this film work! But some things are simply not meant to be and this holds true for ‘Aladin’ as well. The movie starts off on a good note. The mix of fiction and modern-day reality that the director has tried to bring forth comes across well. In fact, till the entry of genie Genius, the scenes even make you smile every now and then. Then, suddenly, the genie breaks into a song, followed by another one not much time later. And soon, predictability starts cropping up and robs you of the fun.
How we wish Aladin would have used his genie to make this film work! But some things are simply not meant to be and this holds true for ‘Aladin’ as well. The movie starts off on a good note. The mix of fiction and modern-day reality that the director has tried to bring forth comes across well. In fact, till the entry of genie Genius, the scenes even make you smile every now and then. Then, suddenly, the genie breaks into a song, followed by another one not much time later. And soon, predictability starts cropping up and robs you of the fun. There is not much of the magic in this modern-day fantasy. After the interval, it seems that the movie is once again on track, but loses the thrills pretty quickly. In fact, many-a-times, you end up being confused, especially with the mix up of fantasy and mystery. The problem with Aladin is that the basic premise i.e. the story is pretty interesting and convincing, but its adaptation into screenplay has been poorly done. On top of that, the sub-plots, of a power-lending comet, a hostile circus troupe or the rivalry between two genies, do not seem justified.
Aladin could not score on the music front as well. The songs have poor picturisation and even end up breaking the momentum of the film. In terms of performances, Riteish Deshmukh deserves applause for his impressive performance. Jacqueline Fernandes has great screen presence, but needs to improve in the acting department. AB’s performance was average, while Sanjay Dutt came nowhere near the menacing villain that he was supposed to portray. Sahil Khan was kinda ok, while Ratna Pathak Shah was shamelessly wasted. In short, stick to DVD for this one!
Aladin Pre-release Review
Aladin Pre-release Review
An adventurous fantasy, ‘Aladin’ has been directed by Sujoy Gosh, who has already established some credibility with his successful directorial debut 'Jhankar Beats, released in 2003, though his 'Home Delivery' (2005) sank without a trace. The star ensemble of his latest film includes towering film personalities like Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, and Ritesh Deshmukh, apart from Jacqueline Fernandez, Victor Banerji, Ratna Pathak, Mita Vashishth, Joy Sengupta and Arif Zakaria. The musical duo of Vishal-Shekhar has set music to the lyrics penned by Anvita Dutt Guptan and Vishal himself.
Aladin, ready to hit the theatres on October 30, is a contemporary re-conceptualization of the classic tale of 'Aladin and the Magic Lamp'. Ritesh Deshmukh plays the central character of Aladin (Chaterjee) in the movie. He is an orphan, who lives in the city of Khwaish. The poor Aladin has been bullied since childhood, by the rowdy Qasim and his notorious gang. His life takes an interesting spin when he meets Jasmine (Jacqueline Fernandez), who gives him a magic lamp with a contract-bound genie ‘Genius’ (Amitabh Bachchan), frantically wanting to bid adieu to his contract with the magic lamp.
While genie Genius has to grant three wishes to end the contract, he introduces Aladin to new problems making his life difficult. The icing on the cake is added by the ex-genie Ringmaster played by Sanjay Dutt. Vying for Aladin's blood, the Ringmaster brings exciting twists and turns to Aladin's tale. The climax of the movie will unveil some dark secrets about Aladin's life. What is Aladin's future? Where will destiny take him? Watch the legendary Aladin's saga unfold on October 30, to know what awaits our dear Aladin when he takes on the villainous Ringmaster.
