Benjamin Gilani

Some love stories never die, they get recreated, re-imagined and retold on the big screen. One such epic love story is Laila Majnu, being adapted by Imtiaz Ali and Ekta Kapoor. Taking the leap out of the classic folklore - Laila Majnu, the story is written by Imtiaz Ali in a re-envisioned, contemporary style. Set in today`s day and time, Laila Majnu have real problems and hindrances relevant to the youth of today. They both fall in love in the mystical backdrop of Kashmir, against their feuding families and a passionate, unique and contemporary love story unravels thereafter.

The movie narrates a story of a common man who is trying to buy a house in Mumbai. The story is a situational comedy wherein there are no actual jokes but the situations lend to the humor.

A uniquely gifted man, Jay can see the past by looking at photographs. When his father dies, he is determined to solve the mystery behind his sudden death and find the murderer.

Barah Aana is a comedy of real life, set in today`s Mumbai. The story revolves around three unlikely friends: a driver (Naseeruddin Shah), a watchman (Vijay Raaz), and a waiter (Arjun Mathur). The driver is an older man, stoic but dependable. The watchman, in his 30s, is a pushover at work but otherwise mischievous. The waiter is a young, swaggering chap, brimming with ambition. Living together, their different attitudes make for interesting banter. At some point, misfortune befalls the watchman and, due to a series of chance events, he stumbles into a crime. Striking upon a seemingly low-risk way to make good money, and discovering a new sense of self-confidence, he tries to entice the others to join him in a series of such crimes. Cat and mouse games ensue between the three as personalities change, but events soon spiral out of control, leading them in a direction none of them had wanted to take.

Ishwarchand Thakur (Amitabh Bachchan) and Sumitra Thakur (Shefali Shah) are a married couple who run a toy factory together. They have a son named Aditya Thakur (Akshay Kumar) who does not have any interest in responsibility or what he wants to do in life. It gets even worse when he elopes with his girlfriend, Pooja (Priyanka Chopra), the daughter of Natu (Boman Irani). When Pooja gets pregnant, both Ishwar and Sumitra decide to make Aditya realize his responsibilities, as he will have to take care of his wife and child. They take drastic measures and throw Aditya out of the house along with Pooja. As a result, Aditya and Pooja live in a room at the back of the house in the garden. The force becomes so bad that Aditya begins to hate his father and they do not speak to each other for a long time. At the same time Aditya becomes aware of his role in life. However, Ishwar has done all this for a reason and is hiding something. Ishwar is trying to make sure that his son is secure but because he is suffering from lung cancer and he wants his son to be responsible. Aditya succeeds in becoming a responsible man and also finds out the truth about his father when his father comes for his performance on the stage. He steps on the stage but instead he asks the audience to pray to god to give a minute of their lives to keep his father alive until his son's birth. His father is alive until his son is born and he names the baby boy 'Ishwar' after himself and he dies. The movie reaches its climax with Aditya welcoming children at his father's toy factory and playing with an alone, disabled boy like Ishwar did at the start of the film with his family there including his toddler Ishwar. The spirit of Ishwar touches Sumitra's flowers in her hair and it reminds her of the old times.

A planned social gathering is held to commemorate Divakar Barve for the award he receive pertaining his contributions to Indian Arts and films. The social event is greeted by some important public personalities of the community all expect Amrit; an activist. But the atmosphere of the event will come to a drastic change upon the arrival of Avinash. —gavin (racktoo@hotmail.com) The Government of India has chosen to present a literary award to Divakar Barve in recognition of his contribution to Indian Arts and Cinema. Divakar accepts this award, and the community decides to recognize this award-recipient at a special party just for him. Several big-wigs in Bombay city are invited, and they include Mohini, the alcoholic and aging wife of Divakar; Ravi an actor; Bharat an aspiring actor and poet; An aging Ruth who is always accompanied by a much younger boyfriend; Poet and producer, Agashe; Ila Arun the singer; and Achyut Potdar a Bollywood actor. Everyone awaits the arrival of Amrit, an activist. What the invitees do not know that the party is going to be gate-crashed by the host's, Mrs. Damyanti Rane's son and his teen-aged friend; a couple, Naren and Malvika; Then something unexpected happens: Amrit does arrive - but not in the way everybody expected him to arrive. —rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)