36 China Town (2006)

Not even bad in a good way

Let's be realistic.

A different way of telling a story

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

I started watching Indian movies since I saw the "chance pe dance" in a movie theater, because I thought that shahid kapoor looks cute. and he dances well.I found this DVD at a local library. And the cover looks so ugly, it is so dark, and boring. I thought that this movie is probably just like the cover. It is actually better than some other movies which Shahid kapoor were in. I am rating this movie a 8 because it is better than some other silly Indian comedy movies. Some scenes actually made me laugh. At first, I thought that the storyline is really good, it reminded me of the movie "death on the nile river", it has the "Agatha Christie" kind of mystery. Then I got on here, and read that this movie is actually just a copy of some other movies. So I should lower one point for it, but since it is rated so low, i am going to keep the 8 rating.Shahid Kapoor is really good, his eyes alone can act. I wonder if he will become a big star if he gets an USA accent, and comes to work in Hollywood. Anyway, my favorite scene was when he and pyriya opened the suitcase in the police station, their reactions were purely comical, very funny. The other couple's reaction were also very funny.Indian movies tend to be long, at least two hours long. If they cut the some unnecessary scenes, and formed its own original story. This movie could be a hot hit. It combined hot dancing with a mystery which is quite unique. Hollywood hardly ever makes movies like that. The ending was a surprise to me, I totally didn't expect the killer. I also like those cheesy pick up lines that Rocky uses,

The movie was quite good with many twists and turns although it's a comedy thriller and they both don't match. Everyone did a good job in the film and Upen Patel was OK for his first film. I thought it was going to be rubbish but as usual Abbas-Mustan's films are always good. Their films are always copies but they turn out to be better than the original especially Disclosure which was so rubbish that I only seen the first 20 minutes but Aitraaz was brilliant. The best thing is that they're not a complete copy only the basic plot e.g.: 36 China Town- Chinatown (1974) Aitraaz- Disclosure (1994)Humraaz- A Perfect Murder (1998) Ajnabee- Consenting Adults (1992)Daraar- Sleeping with the Enemy (1991)Baazigar- A Kiss Before Dying (1991)

Even though Abbas Mastan claim that the inspiration for this movie came to them while watching Chinatown (1974), the movie is actually a scene-by-scene lift of the 1992 Hollywood comedy Once Upon a Crime, starring John Candy and Cybill Shepherd. Interestingly, that movie was also billed as a comedy-mystery, but was also much more comedy than mystery, like this one.The roles played by Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor were played by Richard Lewis and Sean Young in the original. The plot has been Indianized: the main events in the original happen in Monte Carlo, and here, they happen in Goa, which is kind of the Monte Carlo of India. Several other aspects of the plot have been Indianized: for example, the two protagonists in the original are returning a lost dog (in this, they are returning a lost child). But several things are not changed at all, including the character of the married-for-money Paresh Rawal (played by John Candy in the original), the suave Casanova Upen Patel (played by George Hamilton in the original), and the inspector Akshaye Khanna (played by Giancarlo Giannini).Despite having seen the original, I found this version to be highly entertaining. Especially impressive was Shahid Kapoor, who has excellent chemistry with Kareena. Akshaye Khanna does not have a very strong part, but still tries very hard. Overall, the movie does not disappoint.

36 China Town is a decent thriller with an interesting storyline, although there is absolutely nothing new about it. Abbas-Mastan don't live up to their name after delivering suspense-packed films like Aitraaz, Humraaz, and Ajnabee. 36 China Town is not an edge-of-the-seat thriller, which is a characteristic that has by now become expected from the director duo. This movie still proves to be entertaining thanks to great songs, great performances, and a decent story. Himesh Reshammiya's seems to have the Midas touch in 2006 by striking gold once again with his very catchy tunes. Plus, the songs have been picturized magnificently. Kareena Kapoor looks absolutely stunning. Both Kareena and Shahid give terrific performances. Upen Patel wasn't that good. Akshaye Khanna, Payal Rohatgi, and Isha Koppikar were all good. Paresh Rawal and Johnny Lever made a good comic combo. There were several nice, humorous moments in the film.