STOP!
BONDING IN DUBAI
by Vishal Verma

A Daylight Productions Presentation. Producer: Laxman Bhatia. Co.Producer: Ashok Bhatia. Director: Ajai Sinha. Writer: Sanjay Pathak. Screenplay: Isshaan Trivedi.
Genre: rom com. Target Audience: general.

Starring
Rocky Bhatia (debut) ...  Om
Diya Mirza ...  Shama
Tejaswini Kolhapure ...  Tina A. Mehra
Gauri Karnik ...  Puja
Kiran Janjani ...  Rohit
Ishita Arun ...  Sonia
Om Puri ...  Anand Mehra
Ali Asghar ...  Rahul
Suzanne Bernert ...  Susan
Harsh Chhaya ...  Vivek Malhotra
Himani Shivpuri ...  Mrs. A. Mehra

Technical Analysis
In this period of stalemate or rukawat , some backlogs had already made their way from canes to the marquee. ‘Stop!’ case is different, the veteran T.V. director – Ajai Sinha’s directorial debut as a filmmaker with the laadla of the first time producer Laxman Bhatia’s son Rocky as his launch pad has already met its fate before the release of the prolific Yash Chopra’s last official directorial venture & his personal favorite “Veer-Zaara” in November 2004. ‘Stop! was a failure.   

This impasse between the United Producers & Distributors' Forum (UPDF) & the plex owners will hopefully reach a compromise after IPL. Obviously, making way for the further backlogs if any to see the screens till then. But here’ Stop’ is a re – release.

Despite the fact that the hunger of the cinegoers for their Friday lunch & dinner at their nearest cinema hall is increasing week after week, still the smart & proud cinegoer knows exactly what will fulfill his appetite & in any circumstances they will never eat any masala cum khichda or a stale pudding.

Exceptional cases like the legendary Raj Kapoor’s ‘Mera Nam Joker’ found more audience when it was re- released. But it was the great R.K. & his mesmerizing ‘Mera Nam Joker’.
Stop! didn,t work in 2004 & its re-release this year too will meet the same fate.
The reasons are the same they where in 2004.

‘Stop!’ is movie on relationships where a group of four yuppies- three female & one male in their twenty-something age who had still not abandon their adolescent attitudes.

It reminds of the popular adage which goes like “Growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional”.
Anyways, In this sleepy house in Dubai four yuppies Gauri Karnik an RJ, Ishitta Arun a Boutique owner, Rocky Bhatia an excecutive, & Tejaswini Kolhapure an actress share an apartment and their lives. Cool thought. Dozens of previous releases have plowed the paths traversed by ‘Stop!’. Some have worked in Hollywood, Bollywood recently saw ‘Life in a Metro’ by Anurag Basu finding appreciation due to its smart characterization, clever handling & good choice of music & actors. ‘Stop!’ lacks in almost all this departments.             

This uninspired retread offers little in the way of originality or freshness. The idea of living & sharing is cute for a particular period of time but then what?.

Here the writers Sanjay Pathak (Story) & Isshan Trivedi (Screenpaly) does not give the viewer a contrast or any other layers which establishes the truth that sharing, caring, bonding & friendship in any relationship is centered around love & commitment not want & desire.
Living just for being together is never a solution.

There are some high points. First & foremost is the marking in bold letters by the maverick Om Puri in his short cameo as a flop alcoholic actor & father of Tejaswini Kollhapure that he is a class apart. Tejaswini shines as a struggling stage actor. Gauri & Ishitta are just passable. Newcomer Rocky is raw & needs more grooming, he can be nurtured as a fine actor and the potential was visible in some scenes. Production values are fair.   

Apart from dreary narration (the hangover of television was apparent) & writing, Dia Mirza, Harsh Chhaya, Kiran Jhanjhani, Ali Asgar & Himani Shivpuri are all wasted.
Vishal Shekhar’s music has nothing to hum about.
Surprisingly, Chirrantan Das camera was kept aloof from the beauty of Duabi.
The movie gets 1&1/2 out of five. One for the performance & the other half in making a clean film even though being based on relationships.

The Story
Sonia (Ishitta), Tina (Tejaswini), Om (Excecutive), and Puja (Gauri Karnik)   are four home-mates in Dubai, U.A.E.. While Puja is a host on Radio Hum, Tina is a stage actress, Sonia runs a boutique, and Om works in an office.

While outwardly the four appear to live a carefree and modern lifestyle, there are many chinks in their respective armors. Puja wants to be the host of her own show, which she would like to call "Puja at 8", but for that she may have to compromise and spend a night with her boss (Harsh Chaya), at the same time she has promised her conservative India-based parents that she will meet with Rahul (Ali asgar)and eventually marry him; Tina's skeleton in the closet contains her alcoholic dad (Om Puri), who is always asking her for money, though Tina would prefer to avoid him and never see him again, she must deal with him when he suddenly shows up in their home unannounced; Sonia's only male client, Rohit (Kiran) , thinks she is hot and wants to marry her, however, Rohit is known as a womanizer and his affairs only last for a few nights; Om had loved Shama (Diya Mirza) in India, but she got married to Pawan. Now Shama and her daughter are in Dubai and both are about to re-kindle their romance for each other, not knowing that Pawan himself is on his way there. The lives of these four friends will come to a climax on New Years' Day, and they may find that their paths may take them to different destinations, and their friendship may well come to a Stop.

Promotion
Honestly, everybody is trying their level best to get something from this registered disaster.

Business Analysis
Lack of face value, hit number, youth appeal & IPL fever & no novelty in script & presentation will not help the prospects of the film anywhere.

Other Credits
Music: Vishal- Shekar. Dialouge: Raghuvir Shekhawat. Cinematography: Chirantan Das.
Editor: Sanjay Sankla. Art Direction: Manish Binani & Gautam Sen. Sound: Jitendra Chaudhary. Choreography: Pony Verma. Lyrics: Vishal, Panchhi Jalonvi, Kumaar Gill.
Publicity Designs: Marching Ants. Media Awareness: Peter Martis (Print), Dwapar Communications(Satellite). Reviewed at Cinemax red Lounge, Mumbai, on Tue, 19th May, 2009.

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