Customer Reviews

Tara rum pum (Bollywood Movie / Indian Cinema / Hindi Film)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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said it would come in 6 business days and got here in 3. plays great, good quality and great price. love this movie great story and songs

I am an advocate of Bollywood films, especially when they present some of my favorite performers. Rani is sensational in this film as well as Saif. I found the racing scenes very realistic and thrilling. Overall, I truly enjoyed the chemistry between the main characters, and the co-stars, the children, made them seem like a real family.

This movie has a perfect medley of comedy, drama and action. This is one that a family could watch together, even with the English subtitles.

I get my wish. TARA RUM PUM offers the re-teaming of Hum Tum Bollywood DVD With English Subtitles alumni Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukerji. Along the way the city of New York receives the lively Bollywood treatment. Khan and Mukerji are two of the best actors in India and it's a treat to again see them playing off each other so well. Director Siddharth Anand - who also helmed the vastly entertaining Salaam Namaste Bollywood DVD With English Subtitles (another Saif Ali Khan vehicle, co-starring Preity Zinta) - delivers the goods here as we're treated to a resilient and lovely family struggling under great duress, but a family whom I greatly wish were my neighbors.

Plot SPOILERS begin:

This time, Saif Ali Khan plays Rajveer Singh, a lowly pit crew tire changer who dreams of being a race car driver. One auspicious New York day, Rajveer inadvertently impresses a racing team manager with his driving skills AND bumps into (but then loses) the love of his life. Rajveer ends up being hired as the new driver for the downtrodden Speeding Saddles team. Finding the girl again proves to be more problematic. But Rajveer and the girl do meet again, and in that very same night. Her name is Radhika (Rani Mukerji), a pianist and daughter of a wealthy businessman. As Radhika and Rajveer (or RV, which is supposed to be a catchier name) fall in love, Rajveer's racing career skyrockets and, shortly, he becomes the nation's top car racer.

Even though her father predicts doom and gloom for her relationship with RV, Radhika marries him. Years elapse, and she gives birth to two beautiful children, Priya (aka "Princess") and Ranveer (aka "Champ"). Life is beautiful for the Singh family, but, then, tragedy strikes when RV has a grievous racing accident which takes him out of competition for a year. Upon his return to the sport, it's quickly evident that RV has lost something (courage?). After several losses in a row, RV is let go by Speeding Saddles, and this ruins him financially. He's forced to auction off his posh home and move his family into the slum tenements of Cabby Alley. Wishing not to burden their children, RV and Radhika tell them that they're competing in a reality show called "Don't Worry, Be Happy" and that their move to Cabby Alley and their state of poorness are merely temporary. Thus, Radhika takes up tickling the ivory keys at restaurants and birthday parties while RJ picks up whatever menial jobs he can. But, as the bills mount and things become even more desperate, how long can RV and Radhika keep up the facade?

SPOILERS end.

It is absolutely the oh-so-compatible pairing of Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukerji which makes the movie work. They're perfect foils for each other. Saif's casual, off-the-cuff charm naturally balances Rani's poised approach. Their characters, when together, present that ideal fusion in which individual flaws (RV's flighty, fun loving nature & Rani's too focused practicality) actually become strengths. Saif is able to use his imagination to endlessly lighten their grim situation. Radhika is the rock, steadfast and devoted to her husband and children. These are good parents.

TARA RUM PUM is instantly ingratiatingm, right from when a child's voice begins her film narration ("I love papa and his bad habits...") and the flashbacks begin. Pretty much every character in this film is likable, with the exceptions of the sneering Rusty Finkelstein and the nasty Speeding Saddles owner. I've mentioned Saif and Rani ad nauseam, we know how good they are. But Jaaved Jaffrey (the Crocodile Dundee Hindi in SALAAM NAMASTE) also makes a mark as Harry, Saif's manager and friend. Meanwhile, the kids are cute, deliver solid performances, and don't get in the way.

TARA RUM PUM informs of the lengths parents will go thru to shield their children from the harshness of the real world. But it also tells of the sacrifices children will make for their parents. The movie's not as hokey as you'd think, thanks mostly to the quality of the acting and, by extension, the directing. Rani and Saif know when to restrain themselves while presenting a certain level of sincerity. When the dam does break and tears are shed, and the arguments and accusations fly, they are all the more effective. Yes, there's crying and arguing. Had to happen, they're only human. But, still, in this family's unflagging attempts to cope and overcome and maintain cheerful, positive dispositions even as life gives 'em dirt, the film becomes an engaging celebration of life. The racing sequences are competently staged. The song & dance numbers are mostly upbeat, including a live action/animated musical number in which tradition-mired Bollywood doesn't even allow CG bears to innocently kiss. I like the contemporary feel; it doesn't hurt that the story takes place in New York. TARA RUM PUM ends up being an endearing family feature with a hopeful message to impart. I've said this before, here it is again: Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukerji need to team up again. And again. And then maybe one more. Although what am I talking about? I think Saif Ali Khan has chemistry with everybody. I wouldn't at all mind seeing him on the silver screen also paired up again with Preity Zinta or Deepika Padukone.