Aladin Review (2009)

Everytime Hollywood comes up with a LOTR or a Harry Potter, there is a murmur amongst the Indian community as to why we, the country with one of the richest cultures cannot come up with a single fantasy concept. Some people say that we are not given the proper time, or some say that we do not have the resources to make CGI like the Harry Potter series or the LOTR series, and some say that we still are quite immature as a market for a producer to put so much money into a market that is basically catering to kids and young adults.

Well, we are wrong on all aspects, with the last reason given being the most stupid. Toy and school accessory manufacturers would give an arm and an leg to replace the 'grin and wink' and 'Similar' imagery they place on their school bags, their tiffin boxes, etc.

While the question of whether we have the resources or not to make such a movie is another pathetic excuse, which has been proven with some of India's finest studios giving support and resources to some of the major Hollywood movies.

The actual reason that we cannot make a movie like Harry Potter or LOTR is simple - we do not have the creativity to do so. Case in point - Drona, and of course the most recent movie Aladin.

Cast:

* Amitabh Bachchan as Genius

* Sanjay Dutt as Ringmaster

* Riteish Deshmukh as Aladin Chatterjee

* Jacqueline Fernandez as Jasmine

* Victor Banerjee as Grandfather

* Ratna Pathak Shah as Marjina

* Sahil Khan as Kasim

* Joy Sengupta as Arun Chatterjee

* Sohini Ghosh as Riya Chatterjee

* Arif Zakariya as Prof. Nazif

* William Ong as Xi Guang Lee

* Boman Irani as Narrator(voice)

Plot and Review:

Aladin Chatterjee's father is shown as a scientist/paleontologist/inventor or simple traveler, who takes his entire family up on a mountain to show them something. Something happens and the parents die, leaving young Aladin Chatterjee to fend to himself - there's your Harry Potter connect.

He grows up and is basically a idiot who is drubbed all the time by his colleagues and such - again, your Harry Potter connect. Well, finally Aladin grows up, but not before getting a lamp, that is supposed to be magical and guess what - it is magical!

Out comes Amitabh Bachchan as the genie, and he can become free of the magic lamp he the current owner, Aladin, takes three wishes, which Aladin does not want to, for God knows what reason. Heck, if some genie comes to me, I know I want The Friday Freak to be the most awesome site around, and that is just the beginning. 

However, what follows next is so insane that even Bollywood should be ashamed. They have Amitabh Bachchan, they have the greatest CGI guys to hit Indian cinema ever... and what does the director do? He makes the genie and Aladin go into two song and dance routines because he wants to get the girl!

This is exactly where the viewer understands that the director had no idea whatsoever and no script whatsoever, as he sees the two sing and dance in CGI!

Anyway, the movie moves around and  you really do not care what happens after this. What pains you more is that they had such nice CGI people and they cannot do anything about it. Pathetic.