CALENDAR GIRLS

Director: Madhur Bhandarkar
Writers: Madhur Bhandarkar, Abhiruchi Chand
Stars: Akanksha Puri, Avani Modi, Kyra Dutt
Strength: Debuts perform admirably
Weakness: Poor Story, Dialogues 
Runtime: 132 minutes
Rating: 2.5/5

PLOT: Five women with big dreams become Calendar Girls - but how does time treat them?

REVIEW: Small-town schemer Mayuri (Ruhi), rebellious Paroma (Satarupa), free-spirited Sharon (Kyra), naive Nandita (Akansha) and Pakistani Bollywood aspirant Nazneen (Avani) are 'calendar girls' for industrialist Kumar (Suhel), whose glamorous almanac, with itsy-bitsy bikinis and sprawling white sands, is 'India's symbol of success'. Shot by ace photographer Timmy (Rohit), the ladies wear lip-gloss, attitude and little else, dreaming of fame, love and success.

Calendar Girls has a surreal, slightly dated quality. Characters resembling other characters - Neha Dhupia, Akshaye Khanna, Mamta Kulkarni, even a cop like Shatrughan Sinha - float in and out. The story resembles other Madhur Bhandarkar stories - a note from Page Three, a stroke of Fashion, far too much from Heroine. Despite this layered story of ambition, manipulation and desperation, where betting, bedding, broads and broadcasting meet, not much changes on the Calendar Girls' faces.

It's a pity because this story could have broken new ground. With glimpses of his original flair, Bhandarkar puts cricket enthusiasts, prostitutes, philanderers, builders and bewildered middle-class together. He has his trademark touches of glamour, pathos and personalities but lacks power-packed acting to hold this together. Instead, between scintillating skin, syrupy sympathy and sheer sloppiness, the film loses grip, bite - and plot.

Reviewed by Intisab Shahriyar