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The childhood tale from 1001 Nights of a boy with a magic lamp, a genie, wishes, a beautiful woman, a powerful sorcerer and a fight between good and evil, is reworked for today and Bollywood, and a magical concoction results.
Sujoy Ghosh last satisfied immensely with Jhankaar Beats, and returns to direct Aladin. This fantasy tale is set in Khwaish, a town somewhere in the north of India, or maybe in your imagination! There are towering minars and domes and Arabian Nights like cobbled alleyways and in these streets we find Aladin Chatterjee, who had the “misfortune” of being thus named by his now dead parents. He grows up with the taunts of his classmates, enough lamps thrown at him for rubbing, and a drubbing that inevitably follows. Aladin’s misfortunes start taking an abrupt different turn when the beautiful Jasmine shows up as an exchange student and he is smitten at first sight. However, far away in a fantasy bleak landscape, the Ringmaster is busy planning Aladin’s downfall and he is blissfully unaware of all this. Then Jasmine gifts Aladin a lamp, the one that has been waiting for its rightful owner for aeons!
A rub-a-dub-dub later a wisp of mist pours out, and swirls and grows and slowly takes on the shape of the outrageously flamboyant Genius! The director plays the moment out for all its worth, knowing that all and one are waiting to see the larger than life genie, and who but the larger than life Amitabh can fit that role? He grants Aaldin three boons, and each one has to be acknowledged with a celestial BOOM! Into the proceedings interest is mixed in by way of Ratna Pathak Shah, as the local dhaba owner, a poor cook, and confidant of Aladin.
Every fairy tale must include the wicked, and here it is the Ringmaster – Sunjay Dutt in a well suited and well acted role. His circus includes many uniquely reworked usual circus dwellers; a knife thrower, a clown/acrobat, a tough guy, and a woman in a seductive mask, adept at flame throwing! They are all out to get the lamp, deal with Aladin and to capture the power of a comet hurtling towards earth. Suitably told for children of all ages, the story has romance, drama, good, evil, magic, moments of comic genius, and enough suspense and action to keep all ages happy.
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When MNIK has been rejected by all and sundry, why do we still have its tweets??
Kyon kuch logon ke zakham ...
IMDB user rating is 8/10 :-)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1606162/ 
Raju Guide..
may be with depleting bowling prowess of Indian team Akki ight be of some help... 
Akshay might bounce back big time this year.. Somehow I see Housefull doing more business than Welcome.. And Action Replay ...
Thankfully with MNIK ending its run and 3 I too, hopefully Bollywood will get 1.5 years without these 2, the ...
Can we replace MNIK twitter with Karthik calling Karthik? 
Pritam is doing the music of Action Replay. I do like Vipul Shah, and he has done some interesting ...
I(d)I(o)T 1 November 2009
04:56:12 pm
A big thanks to you Pardesi. Nice review.
Its a pity that families don’t take kids to such films..they take them to Ghajini/Wanted/KANH/KI!!!
“The reluctance to put away childish things may be a requirement of genius.” — Rebecca Pepper Sinkler
pardesi 1 November 2009
05:03:40 pm
For some reason people think romance is not appropriate for children. I would recommend that they watch The Princess Bride, a classic fantasy kid film, that showcases the magic of romance and how appealing such tales can be.
Aladin is a similar one that parents should go see with their kids. But this film makes me feel that for a GOOD children’s film to succeed in India we may have to wait for another 25 years.
I(d)I(o)T 1 November 2009
05:24:05 pm
“I would recommend that they watch The Princess Bride, a classic fantasy kid film”
I think ppl in west take kids to such films.. And Indians anyways wont watch Princess Bride…they wont be even aware of such a film.
For a GOOD children’s film to succeed..don’t just look at bollywood. Atleast in Marathi I know of one film which is enjoyed by Adults and Kids alike ..and is a BO success – “Pak Pak Pakaak”.
Rahi baat bollywood ki…till we have people like YRF / KJo ..who think children are interested watching dancing or talking dogs a-la KKHH/DTPH…we cant even dream of a Finding Nemo/Monsters. Mind you, I am talking about the most important aspect – storytelling here – not just animation (which is also pathetic btw).
pardesi 1 November 2009
05:30:05 pm
Princess Bride:
“The Princess Bride is an American 1987 film, based on the 1973 novel of the same name by William Goldman, combining comedy, adventure, romance and fantasy.
The movie was directed by Rob Reiner from a screenplay by Goldman. The story is presented in the movie as a book being read by a grandfather (Peter Falk) to his sick grandson (Fred Savage), thus effectively presenting this novel’s narrative style.
This film is number 50 on Bravo’s “100 Funniest Movies” and number 88 on The American Film Institute’s (AFI) “AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Passions” listing the 100 greatest film love stories of all time.”
“The movie was initially a modest success, grossing twice its $15,000,000 (USD) production costs at the U.S. box office. It received highly favorable reviews from some critics, including Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel who gave the film a “two thumbs up” rating on the television program Siskel & Ebert & the Movies.[5] Roger Ebert also wrote a very favorable print review.[6] Richard Corliss of Time felt the film was fun for the whole family,[7] and later, Time listed the film as one of the “Best of ‘87.”[8]”
Both quotes from Wikipedia, because I am too lazy to find original sources. It ranks among the BEST children’s films for me. And yes, it and Lilo and Stich (about singing and romancing dogs) suggests that perhaps that genre may find success in India too. It is all about storytelling, and not VFX. But it is also about what parents may want to show their kids. The market for kid films has boomed in the West because children go and parents take them. I do not see that happening anytime soon in India. But one can still hope.
Doga 1 November 2009
05:53:59 pm
“A big thanks to you Pardesi. Nice review.
Its a pity that families don’t take kids to such films..they take them to Ghajini/Wanted/KANH/KI!!!”
Well Aamir Khan is a perfectionist for no small reason, he makes a movie like Ghajini, Uses his connections(unlikely, though in doubt over here) to get the movie a U/A verdict so that it falls under the ” Family Audiance ” category, not once during the promotion does he say that the movie has X amount of Raw Violence(ironically he himself claims to be someone who honestly promotes his movies), and on top of that he makes sure that he doesn’t allow his kids to watch the movie(and proudly announces it publicly). All the families of india watch Ghajini with their children to make it the biggest hit of all time(unadjusted)
As long as we have top stars like Aamir Khan, we dont need to worry about what children of India watch in theatres.
I(d)I(o)T 1 November 2009
06:04:54 pm
Pardesi, Thanks for the above info about Priceless Bride.
Aside–There are deeper reasons for this IMO.
Children’s films are not having market in India for different reasons.
This is just my perception of the western world from what I heard (please let me know if I am wrong here) – but my impression is–
A) Most important is ’state of mind’ –
Children in India are staying with their grandma/grandpa/parents/neighbors who play with them/tell them stories..We still have lot of joint/semi-joint families. Kids don’t sleep in separate rooms here..there is no “western” privacy concept…we don’t take prior appointment to meet friends/neighbors… emotional needs of a child are satisfied at a different level.
In west if they are not having such things ..and are just taking them to fantasy movies like Harry Potter etc – its a shame!
B) Another factor is – In India due to traditional/economical reasons..people were having absolutely negligible job opportunities in other(non traditional) fields(additional thanks to quota system and all)..every parent wants a child to be “serious” about future!!
We Indians are hardly in “child state” in that way to enjoy anything…let alone a movie!
pardesi 1 November 2009
06:08:07 pm
I(d)i(o)t – that is a gross generalization and unfair at that. I would say that most middle class parents undergo a complete lifestyle change after they have kids, and their entertainment is very much tied into what is suitable for kids. Regular reading to kids, making sure they have company that is appropriate, and entertainment that is suited to their age is quite the norm.
Maybe pushing the kids into a high achievement state in India could be a reason. Yet, children are taken to see inappropriate content, this I have seen.
RAJ 1 November 2009
09:54:24 pm
10-15 years back when “”Jungle Book”" was broadcasted in Doordarshan it was a big hit..So was “Spiderman”", “”He Man”"..If content is good children would definitely watch…
But how would a movie where Amitabh is in lead(Children do not connect to him) will attract them to the theatres even if the movie is decent..The producers when make a Children movie should concentrate on content as well as right promotional strategy to attract the audinece(Children)…
A good children movie would definitely succeed in India too…Hanuman and Bal Ganesh were successes especialy Hanuman which was a big hit in DVD market…
pardesi 2 November 2009
08:37:56 am
The child I went with adores Amitabh, and the general buzz in the cinema seemed to confirm that. DVD hits are a different story, parents buy DVDs and a religious story may seem like one that parents would want their kids to watch – kind of like the Amar Chitra Katha equivalent.