Darling

Darling

2010

3/5 stars

In this Telugu-language film, Prabha (played by Prabhas at the height of his "young rebel star" period) is in love with his childhood friend Nandini (Kajal Aggarwal), despite not having seen her for the many years that have passed since she moved to Switzerland.  I don't want to spoil it by explaining the hows and whys of the romance, so will just say that the course of true love never runs smooth -- especially in Indian cinema.

This is a cute, if predictable, film.  Prabhas and Kajal Aggarwal give strong performances and have a good chemistry together.  The supporting cast is a veritable Who's Who of Telugu character actors, and they provide a firm backbone for the movie.  So, while it contains no real surprises and is typical of it's genre, Darling is still fun and enjoyable.

Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan

Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan

translates as "Someone's Brother, Someone's Love"

2023

Did Not Finish

Jagapathi Babu

Oh golly, y'all, this Hindi-language masala film was terrible! I'm a huge fan of many of Salman Khan's movies (evergreen and newish) but this stinker was just unwatchable.  I was especially disappointed because it collaborated with Telugu cinema and featured many familiar faces from that industry, including one of my favorites, the extremely talented Jagapathi Babu, who makes such a fantastic villian.    

The worst part of the movie was, frankly, Khan.  He's simply too old to play a romantic lead anymore, and he looked foolish and cringe-worthy.  (And just what was with that horrible reddish, long hairdo?!)

I haven't been impressed with Khan's costar, Pooja Hegde, in other movies (reviews here and here), and she had zero chemistry with him and little sparkle overall. The three that played Khan's brothers (Raghav Juyal, Jassie Gill, and Siddharth Nigam), were also underwhelming.

I stuck it out through the half-way point, but couldn't finish -- this coming from one who watched all of that dud Race 3 just to see how bad it would get.  Bottom line: let's just pretend this movie never happened.