Monthly Archives: February 2009

In Theaters: February 27

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In the Chicago area this weekend, the AMC Cantera 30 in Warrenville and the AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington are both showing Billu Barber and Delhi-6. The AMC Loews Pipers Alley 4 in Chicago is also carrying Delhi-6 over for a second week.

According to box office returns for the weekend of February 20-22, Delhi-6 earned $602,850 in its opening week in U.S. theaters. Billu Barber earned a total of $698,910 during its first two weeks of release, while Luck By Chance (my favorite of the three movies) has earned only $355,492 after four weeks in theaters. Dev D, which did not open in the Chicago area, has earned a total of only $18,613 after three weeks in theaters. 

Movie Review: Delhi-6 (2009)

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delhi63 Stars (out of 4)

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Fans of Slumdog Millionaire who’ve never seen a movie put out by the Indian film industry should check out Delhi-6. By including some of the same elements as the 2008 Best Picture Oscar winner — shots of crowded Indian streets and a pulsing soundtrack by A. R. Rahman — Delhi-6 is a great introduction to Bollywood.

Abhishek Bachchan plays American-born Roshan, who travels to India with his dying grandmother, so that she can spend her remaining days at her home in the Chandni Chowk neighborhood of Delhi. Roshan immerses himself in the unfamiliar culture of Chandni Chowk, where pregnant cows cause traffic jams and holy men are called in to catch criminals.

Just as Roshan starts to fall in love with Delhi (and a girl who lives there), he gets caught up in a series of misunderstandings that inflame previously dormant religious tensions between the neighborhood’s Hindus and Muslims.

Delhi-6 takes its time without ever feeling slow. Roshan’s position as an outsider makes him the perfect travel guide to his grandmother’s neighborhood, his ever-present camera phone proof that he’s an American. The movie doesn’t have any typical Bollywood dance numbers, but music permeates the film.

The Indian committee that selects the country’s official entry in the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar category would be wise to consider nominating Delhi-6 for next year’s Academy Awards.

Opening February 20: Delhi-6

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Abhishek Bachchan’s latest film, Delhi-6, opens in theaters this Friday, February 20. Bachchan plays an American who gets swept up in romance and riots when he brings his ailing grandmother back to India.

In the Chicago area, Delhi-6 will open at the AMC Loews Pipers Alley 4 in Chicago, the AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington and the AMC Cantera 30 in Warrenville. The South Barrington 30 and Cantera 30 are also carrying over Billu Barber for a second week.

Movie Review: Billu Barber (2009)

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billu_barber2.5 Stars (out of 4)

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He might be the title character, but Billu the Barber gets eclipsed in his own movie by Shahrukh Khan.

Billu (Irrfan Khan) is a poor barber struggling to earn an honest living. The one thing that his wife and bratty kids respect about him is that he knew superstar actor Sahir Khan (Shahrukh Khan) before he was famous.

When a film crew arrives in the village, Billu’s kids quickly spread the word that their dad is a friend of the movie’s hero. Billu, who’s not even sure Sahir would recognize him — even if he were able to get past the actor’s bodyguards — becomes a celebrity in his own right. Suddenly, the barber is showered in gifts and attention from neighbors who want to meet Sahir, to the dismay of Billu and to the delight of his family.

When the story focuses on Billu, the film is an insightful examination of the price of fame. Lara Dutta gives a nuanced performance as Billu’s wife, Bindiya. She’s not greedy, just tired of being poor, so she encourages her husband to contact his old friend.

As the film progresses, most of the insight on fame comes in the form of speeches by Sahir Khan. At those points, Billu Barber feels like a Shahrukh Khan vanity project. The ending is sappy and predictable, right down to Khan’s trademark tears.

If you’ve seen a few SRK dramas before, you might as well leave the theater at the intermission. You already know how the film is going to end.

Opening February 13: Billu Barber

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Shahrukh Khan’s latest film, Billu Barber, opens in U.S. theaters on Friday, February 13. SRK has a cameo role as a movie star who interrupts the life of a barber named Billu (Irrfan Khan).

In the Chicago area, Billu Barber is scheduled to run at the AMC Cantera 30 in Warrenville and the AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington, which is also carrying over Luck By Chance for a third week.

Movie Review: Luck By Chance (2009)

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luckbychance3.5 Stars (out of 4)

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If any Indian director can become a crossover success in the United States, it will probably be someone from the Akhtar family. Farhan Akhtar updated the movie musical with last year’s Rock On!!, and now his sister, Zoya, shows just how mature and sophisticated Indian storytelling can be in Luck By Chance.

Zoya’s directorial debut follows the careers and personal lives of up-and-coming actors Sona (Konkona Sen Sharma) and Vikram (Farhan Akhtar). As the two navigate their way through auditions and bit roles with titles like “Dead Sister’s Friend”, their struggles prove the adage “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”

The world Sona and Vikram inhabit feels authentic, in part because the characters in Luck By Chance actually talk with one another. In many Bollywood movies, feelings and worldly truths are expressed via extended speeches — and not in the course of normal conversation, as happens in real life. Zoya & Farhan’s father, poet Javed Akhtar, wrote the movie’s dialogue, and he deserves much of the credit for its creative success.

The plot proceeds in unexpected (yet always believable) directions, further separating Luck By Chance from typical Bollywood fare. A smart U.S. distributor would’ve marked this as an Indian arthouse film and targeted it toward Western audiences. As it stands, it may not be in theaters much longer, so I recommend seeing it while you can.