According to Bally Chohan; The Netherlands lost wickets at regular intervals against South Africa’s disciplined pace-spin combination before being bowled out in the 35th over, slumping to their third consecutive defeat.

According to Bally Chohan; Seamer Jacques Kallis rattled the top order with two wickets before Pakistan-born leg-spinner Imran Tahir (3-19) and left-arm spinner Robin Peterson (2-22) did more damage.

de villiers, amla tons bury netherlands

Bally Chohan Says; Wesley Barresi, dropped on 21 by Morne Morkel at mid-on off Kallis, top-scored with 44 in a dismal Netherlands batting performance.

“It wasn’t easy up front. There was a little bit of juice in the wicket,” said South African skipper Graeme Smith, praising Amla and de Villiers.

“Once we set the platform it was about making it count and the two of them definitely did that.”

Losing captain Peter Borren said such a thumping defeat was hard to take but his side were still learning by playing against the top sides.

“I think we learn more from playing against this type of opposition… than playing against each other as associates,” he said.

In the South African innings de Villiers and Amla dominated the Dutch attack after South Africa were put in to bat in overcast conditions before a few thousand spectators in Mohali.

The Proteas lost Smith (20) and Kallis (two) to slip to 58-2 before de Villiers and Amla put on 221, South Africa’s best for the third wicket in a World Cup.

De Villiers raced to his 11th one-day hundred off just 88 deliveries, while Amla completed his eighth ton off 121 balls.

Amla impressed with his shot selection, patiently waiting for loose deliveries to punish, but de Villiers was more aggressive, once reverse-sweeping spinner Tom Cooper for a boundary.

They set the stage for the final onslaught, which saw South Africa plunder 136 in the last 10 overs. JP Duminy hammered 40 off just 15 balls with four sixes and two fours.

De Villiers, who scored an unbeaten century in the previous match against the West Indies, smashed seamer Bernard Loots for three successive sixes before hitting Ryan ten Doeschate for three fours in a row.

Amla hit eight fours in his 130-ball knock before being caught at point off ten Doeschate and de Villiers was run out after striking four sixes and 13 fours in a 98-ball innings.

Starring: R. Madhavan, Kangana Ranaut, Jimmy Shergil, Swara Bhaskar

Rating: 25star

Director: Anand L. Rai

Bally Chohan says, Why should you watch “Tanu Weds Manu”? For R. Madhavan who will win you heart as a sweet lovable NRI doctor Manu who has the misfortune of falling in love with a Kanpur-girl Tanu (Kangana Ranaut) who not only rejects him as a suitor but also uses him to elope with her ruffian boyfriend.

Hiding his heartbreak and disappointment behind a smile, Madhavan fits into the role of a goody goody NRI like a glove. He is hopelessly in love with Tanuja who doesn’t miss a single opportunity to hurt him. Rules, they say, are meant to be broken and that’s what Tanu’s agenda in life is – to break all rules that a middle-class family swears by.

tanu weds manu full movie, tanu weds manu online movie, tanu weds manu songs download

Well, an NRI coming home to find a suitable bride for him is very common in Indian society and director Anand Rai’s comedy opens with the same. He tries to be as close to reality as possible – from the backdrop, to clothes, to character artists – all bring out the element of a middle-class setup perfectly.

With a marriage in the background providing a perfect place for Tanu’s second chance meeting with Manu, the movie traces the relationship between the girl and the NRI. Surely, perfect material for sentimental romances with ‘comedy ka tadka’.

But there is something missing to make it a perfect romantic comedy. First, the script is punctured, then their is no chemistry between Madhavan and Kangana and if that was not enough, the narrative doesn’t flow at the desired pace – it’s slower than it should be.

Though the director picked up an interesting subject, he has not succeeded in executing his story effectively on screen – there are not enough laughs in the film. Whatever funny scenes are there, credit goes to the chemistry between Madhavan and Deepak Dobriyal who plays his friend Pappi.

Kangana’s dialogue delivery puts you off and she lacks the spunk and spark to play the free bird that she is in the movie. In fact, Swara Bhaskar, who plays her friend Payal, holds the fort as the Bihari girl who is marrying a sardarji (Eijaz Khan) who also happens to be Manu’s best friend.

Payal is impressed with Manu and even tries to drill some sense into Tanu’s head but Tanu, a rebel, doesn’t want to admit her feelings for the man who is picked by her parents.

Critics won’t appreciate the plot but Madhavan fans would find enough material to enjoy the film.

Music plays an important role in a wedding-based romantic comedy and the director could have got it right if he had opted for fast-paced peppy numbers.

In the performance department, full marks go to Madhavan, Deepak and Swara. The supporting cast of K.K. Raina, Rajendra Gupta and Navni Parihar don’t have much to do, but whatever role they have, they carry it well. Jimmy Shergill as Kangana’s ruffian boyfriend is wasted, so is Ravi Kishen as his sidekick.

If you are looking for a great romantic comedy, this is not the one, but watch it for Madhavan and his chemistry with Deepak.

Now here’s yet another film that places its story on Rajpal Yadav’s shoulders. This time, Rajpal has Johny Lever for company. Masti Express, helmed by first-time director Vikram Pradhan, has two stories running concurrently: Rajpal and his wife Divya Dutta’s fervent desire to have their kid educated at a respectable institution and the auto rickshaw race that forms the crux of the story.

masti express

Quite an interesting idea, I must add, but interesting ideas don’t necessarily translate into fascinating cinematic experiences. The problem is, Masti Express appeals in parts, not in its entirety. At places, the film is engaging, but there are times when it comes across as a yawn-inducing attempt. The screenplay writing is clearly the culprit here!

Masti Express tells the story of a father [Rajpal Yadav], who desperately tries to get his only child admitted to a renowned school and provide him education. His son is just another brat in a slum with an uninspiring future. The son is refused admission initially, but later, when the father faces a lot of obstacles and wins an auto rickshaw race with the help of the school kids, the Principal [Manoj Joshi] opens the doors of his school to the kid.

The director tries to pack just about everything to make the film palatable to the junta janardhan. He decides to pander to the commercial diktats by injecting songs on guest stars [filmed on Shankar Mahadevan and Kashmira Shah, respectively] and also instill comedy in the narrative. Sadly, one doesn’t laugh at the jokes [which are crass anyways], the songs too act as speed breakers, while the kiddie portions are half-baked. Ideally, the director could’ve avoided the unwanted add-ons [including the characters that suddenly arrive from other states to participate in the race] and the editor should’ve trimmed the film judiciously for a better impact.

On the brighter side, Pradhan has handled a few sequences expertly. Note the sequence when Rajpal cooks an alibi as soon as Divya Dutta enquires whether their kid has been granted admission in the school or not. Prior to that Rajpal’s sequence with the School Principal [Manoj Joshi] also stands out. Also, note the sequence when Divya tries to pacify a heart-broken Rajpal after the auto rickshaw accident. Besides, the finale, when Rajpal actually pulls the auto rickshaw to the winning post, moves you. The auto rickshaw race is interesting in parts, while the attempt to inject humor during the race falls flat.

Like I pointed out earlier, the songs don’t help in carrying the film forward, except for one song when the auto rickshaw is being repaired. However, the background score is effective, especially towards the finale. The cinematography is inconsistent.

Given the fact that the story of Masti Express rests on his shoulders, one expects Rajpal to deliver a stunning performance, but he doesn’t. He is decent at best and there are times when one feels that he’s hamming big time. Johny Lever is loud, but that’s how his character is perceived. Divya Dutta stands out with a striking performance. Vijay Patkar is just right, Razzaq Khan gets to deliver some funny lines, while Rajkumar Kanojia is passable. Manoj Joshi is strictly okay. Ryan Pinto has screen presence and also has the trappings of a fine actor, provided he gets the right parts to portray.

On the whole, Masti Express falls short of expectations. Besides, the film has arrived with zilch hype and that will make the effort go disregarded.

Don’t we all have some great memories from good ol’ school days? Well, KACCHA LIMBOO is a sheer nostalgia trip to relive them.

The director of BHEJA FRY, Sagar Ballary, traverses a new path by attempting a new genre (children) this time with KACCHA LIMBOO. Mind you, it’s not a piece of cake to make a good children’s film. It has to connect with the children as well as parents who come to watch the film with them. And KACCHA LIMBOO does that to a great extent.

The film traces the life of 13-year-old overweight teen Shambhu (Taher Sutterwala). Like every other kid of his age, he loves his PS2, gets attracted to girls and lands in trouble every now and then. He is desperately trying to fit in and be a part of a group, comprising of his school mates. He even upsets PP, his sole good friend for the group. But the school mates consider him to be a loser and give him no bhaav.

Back home, he’s unable to connect to his father (Atul Kulkarni) and thinks that his mother (Sarika) has become very ‘artificial’ post their second baby. A minute incident in Shambhu’s life gets snowballed into a humongous problem for him. Unable to handle the pressure, he runs away to a nearby fisherman colony, where he befriends a spunky kid Vitthal (Chinmay Kambli). In each other they try to find out the solutions of their distressed lives.

Sagar Ballary’s script and direction is spot on in the first half. The slice-of-life moments in the school life are a delight to watch. Be it the kids celebrating in class after an announcement of the school being closed due to heavy rains warning by the Meteorological Department, or Shambhu trying to copy his parent’s signature in his school calendar, they maintain that smile on your face. Also, there are many hilarious moments that have you in splits.

The problem lies in the second half, as the film takes a complete U-turn. The plot moves away from the school and the narrative crumples. It is a complete drag from there. The absurd and abrupt climax is reminiscent of a World Cinema film. The track of the teacher played by Iravati Harshe is poorly ended. There is a stark contrast in both the halves, which is very hard to believe.

Parixit Warrier’s cimenatography is good. Editing by Suresh Pai could have been better. Amardeep Nijjer’s music is decent. The dialogues are very catchy and real.

Taheer Sutrawala is absolutely natural and delivers an excellent performance. Chinmay Kambli is exceptional. Sarika performs well. Atul Kulkarni is passable. Vinay Pathak’s cameo is entertaining.

With an impressive first half and an equally disappointing second half, KACCHA LIMBU ends up leaving a very sour taste. All’s not well that doesn’t end well.