A modern Indian adaptation of the Charles Dickens literary classic Great Expectations that revolves around the life of Noor (Aditya Roy Kapur), who is madly and deeply in love with the enchantress Firdaus (Katrina Kaif). But Firdaus is a pawn in the hands of Begum (Tabu) who herself has suffered loss in love and is now using Firdaus to break Noor s heart. What happens next in their love story forms the rest of the movie.
Vishal Bhardwaj's adaptation of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet", Haider - a young man returns home to Kashmir on receiving news of his father's disappearance. Not only does he learn that security forces have detained his father for harboring militants, but that his mother is in a relationship with his very own uncle. Intense drama follows between mother and son as both struggle to come to terms with news of his father's death. Soon Haider learns that his uncle is responsible for the gruesome murder, what follows is his journey to avenge his father's death.
A series of mysterious events change the life of a blind pianist, who must now report a crime that he should technically know nothing of. When you are blind, the world talks to you in a dozen different ways, and if you listen, there is music in everything. Akash, a blind pianist in Pune, is hopelessly stuck trying to compose his own tunes. A chance encounter introduces him to Sophie, a free spirited girl whose father owns a piano bar. Akash starts performing at the bar, his tunes flowing fast and true, thanks to his new muse, Sophie.
There are only so many filmmakers fearless or foolhardy enough to tackle a challenging novel, like Yann Martel's Life of Pi, but adaptation specialist Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain) was well positioned to take it on. As a structuring device, he uses an interview between a journalist (Rafe Spall) and Pi Patel (The Namesake's Irrfan Khan), a Montreal immigrant with an unusual back story.
Director Vishal Bhardwaj's first foray into the world of Shakespeare is nothing short of astounding--Maqbool is one of the finest adaptations of 'Macbeth' ever produced. His interpretation, while faithful to the story, is no slave to it, and he spins an enthrallingly distinct version of the Scottish play. The elderly king here is an Indian mob boss called Abbaji, Macbeth is his underling Maqbool, and Lady Macbeth is Abbaji's wicked mistress Nimmi, who goads Maqbool into supplanting Abbaji and claiming her as the reward. And instead of three witches, there are two comical astrologers.
Adapted by screenwriter Sooni Taraporevala from the novel by Jhumpa Lahiri, director Mira Nair's The Nameksake is populated by well-drawn characters and filled with memorable shots and engaging scenes. But in the larger sense, the film is a provocative look at the two sides of immigration: the adjustments faced by a couple who move here from a distant land, and the struggles of their offspring to reconcile their parents' traditional culture with their own distinctly American outlook.
I Have Found It (Kandukondain Kandukondain) transplants Jane Austen's Sense And Sensibility into an irresistibly musical, infectiously funny and sweetly romantic widescreen wonder world that could only by found in a Bollywood film. An eye-popping riot of brilliant color, show-stopping musical numbers, spectacular global locations and exuberant performances, I Have Found It represents a gigantic leap forward for Southern Indian "Kollywood" movies - the Tamil-speaking cousin of Bollywood Hindi language film.
