Manoranjan - Movie Review

By: Taran Adarsh, IndiaFM
Monday, September 25, 2006
Movies on the movie industry have been attempted by dream merchants in the past. From Guddi to Film Hi Film to Darmiyaan, the workings of the film industry were some times captured effectively, at times inefficiently.

Manoranjan - The Entertainment also tells the story of aspiring actors, star struck producers, manipulative business managers, the casting couch, the underworld nexus... but it's done in the most amateurish manner. Director Karaan Choudhary tries to pack in too much in those two hours, but the execution of the subject leaves a lot to be desired.

Manoranjan - The Entertainment starts off with Subbu [Vijay Raaz] telling his story to a journalist. He happens to be the business manager to a top star Maya [Aditi Govitrikar]. Enter Rahul [Aryan Vaid] and Vicky [Sudhanshu Pande], who belong to Subbu's native place.

Rahul wants to make it big in the industry, while Vicky aspires to become rich overnight. Rahul starts working as a spot boy, while Vicky becomes a chauffeur to Maya. There's Priya [Kavita], an orphan, who aspires to be an actress.

Subbu starts a film with Rahul and Kavita, but faces a lot of obstacles on the way. Meanwhile, Vicky becomes a gangster, who part-finances Subbu's movie. The film is released, declared a success and Rahul and Kavita become stars overnight. In the end, Rahul and Priya return to their native place, while Vicky is shot dead.

Manoranjan - The Entertainment tries to mirror the behind-the-makeup lives of actors as well as give an insider's view on Bollywood. But an interesting idea runs out of steam as it unfolds. What emerges is a not-too-complimentary picture of Bollywood.

Karaan Choudhary's direction is handicapped by his own writing. Even the music [Nayab-Raja] is dull. Amongst actors, Vijay Raaz, as the sutradhaar, is alright. Aryan Vaid and Sudhanshu Pande try hard. Sameer Dharmadhikari as a casanova-actor is strictly okay. Aditi Govitrikar doesn't work. New-find Kavita needs to polish her acting skills. Vishwajeet Pradhan and Makrand Deshpande overact. Ehsaan Khan is getting typecast in gangster roles.

On the whole, Manoranjan - The Entertainment is a weak fare with dim chances.