Review - Shakalaka Boom Boom
10th April 2007 | posted in Hindi Movies, Reviews, meetu |Looks like youre new here. You may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Alternate Names: SLBB, Shaka Laka Boom Boom
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A mind-numbing experience
They call it a musical drama. Is it too much to ask for at least one hummable tune or a watchable song? I am sane enough not to ask for average performances or a sensible script.
This movie is about the rivalry between two music composers based in New York. The key word here is ‘two’. Who wins when you have Himesh Reshammiya Vs. Himesh Reshammiya? Don’t know about that. But, I surely know who loses. Us!
Mind you, we are supposed to believe that one of them is actually a genius. All this while there is absolutely nothing for you to distinguish one composition from the other. I was thoroughly amused when Reggie (Upen Patel) taunts AJ (Bobby Deol) for having silly lyrics to his tunes. Actually, he was just stating facts. But I burst out laughing when he starts singing his own lyrics. They were equally bland! All obviously written by none other than Sameer. Now, we have started rhyming across songs - ‘jhoom jhoom’ to ‘boom boom’.
The least you can do when you set out to make a musical is provide entertainment via visually appealing songs. Better use of colors would have added infinitely to the experience. How about having decent choreographers or casting better dancers? Of all the people, Bobby Deol?!? Maybe that is why the camera man was getting all enthusiastic, so that we would not be able to focus on the aerobics in the disguise of dancing.
Speaking of the camera - the close-ups were way too many. Okay, granted, the only reason for Kangna Ranaut and Celina Jaitley to be in the movie was for the curves they are endowed with, and the catwalk they have picked up in the name of body language. But, if you are going to show their face in close-ups, I mean, if that’s what you really want to do, can we at least have the complete face with chin and all. On a side note, Kangna’s eye make-up was the worst I have seen in a long time. And Celina refuses to give a whole-hearted smile lest it spoil her make-up.
I am totally convinced now that Upen, Kangna and Celina come from the school of under-acting where, you know, they teach you the all-in-one expression and punish you if you move your eyelid more than a quarter of a centimeter (except for blinking). And Bobby Deol comes from the school of over-acting, where acting is all about yelling and imposing melodrama on the audience. Oooh! Does that mean we have perfect performances as an average then? Never mind…
The script has the lousiest characterizations, which alas, we cannot blame because the characters are lousy! Egoistic psychopath Vs. Overconfident nincompoop. Anyways, you empathize with none and cheer when both of them find their way to the hospital for some reason or the other. The shoddy screenplay doesn’t help at all. Some scenes look like they were thought of first and squeezed into the movie because they seemed cool, e.g., the fire scene.
Honestly, the basic premise of the story - competitors trying to outsmart each - other - could have been a compelling watch. Especially, if they had dwelled upon the psyche of the self-acclaimed genius who is actually mediocre. But, the basic premise is left at that. It finds support in none of the other aspects of film-making. We, thus, are left with a product which has no head or tail - and you could be accused of high expectations if you wanted anything like reason or logic.
Borrowing a line from the movie, “What you don’t know, does not exist”. How I wish that I did not know about this movie and that in turn would make it not exist…
Click here to read what I scribbled on my notepad while watching this movie (what worked and what didn’t for me). Might contain spoilers!
Click here to see what 16 other reviewers/viewers think. Average rating 1.1 / 5.0: 2 thumbs up, 3 so-so, 11 thumbs down.
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| Rating: | Switch channels if it’s on cable! |
Detailed Ratings (out of 5):


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