Ta Ra Rum Pum
wogma rating: Watch but no rush (?)
Children finally have something worthwhile to occupy themselves with in the summer vacations - well, at least for three hours. Parents won't have a bad time either, especially if they don't mind the formula combination of action and songs. Nothing out-of-ordinary from the performances or the script but an easy one-time watch nevertheless.
Read more
All that glitters is not gold. It can also be silver or bronze. And these metals have their own charm. So Ta Ra Rum Pum glitters with the extravagant locales and the extra bright reds and blues, which don't necessarily add value to the art form that cinema is. But, it does manage to tell a regular story in a style that warms the heart.
Thinking about the movie two hours after having left the theater, the first thing that comes to mind is the car races. They are timed well and executed even better. However, I would have liked more aerial shots and fewer close-ups. Who wants to see a sweaty Saif Ali Khan? Only the face shows through a helmet, gals! The races and broad story-line did remind me a lot of Naya Daur (1957), Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander (1992), Cars (2006).
The next thing that comes to mind are the two cutely picturised songs. "Ab to forever" didn't necessarily have the most complicated dance moves, but structured choreography interspersed with normal dancing made it a delight to watch. "tara ra rum pum, ta ra rum pum" is by far the best picturised kids' song after "akdam bakdam" from Hanuman (2005). The lyrics in general, and specifically of "Saiyaan", restore my faith in Jaaved saahab after the Namastey London (2007) debacle. Which leaves us with the two romantic tracks. Those are reminiscent of songs from the late 80s-early 90s and thus didn't quite fit in with the rest of the movie.
Were the songs required, you ask? Have you seen the promos, dear? No? The newspaper ads with the producer's name on it? Okay-you at least know the title of the movie, right? Then, what kind of a question is that!? I seriously think the movie was named as such because they came up with that kids' song first. They did not even bother to use the perfectly valid excuse they had - Rani Mukherjee plays a singer.
We have seen Rani Mukherjee have marital tiffs with Vivek Oberoi (Saathiya (2002)), Shah Rukh Khan (Chalte Chalte (2003)), Abhishek Bachchan (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006)). Now it is Saif Ali Khan's turn. It's pretty much the same Rani here. The same Rani that makes you shut your ears when she shrieks while playing a 20 year old and warms your heart when she plays her age. Again, Saif Ali Khan does nothing path-breaking. But he sticks to the genre and doesn't go overboard.
The children give an endearing performance. At times though, Angelina Idnani (Princess) was given dialogues that were too mature for her. The voiceover especially was certainly overkill. Their characters and situation looked like it was heavily drawn from Itni Si Baat (1981), Life Is Beatiful (1997). Someone I would have loved to see more of, would be Jaaved Jaaferi. Why wasn't he allowed to shake a leg or two? At least they gave him the best lines that he delivered with his "Videocon Flashback" style.
Everything was just about average, acting, direction, screenplay, story, editing (it could very well have been cut short by a good 15-20 minutes). But, while I scoffed every time I was asked to suspend my disbeliefs, the scene was accompanied by a shade of creativity that kept me entertained. And gradually, without realizing it, I was rooting for R V (Saif) and didn't care how many cinematic liberties the director would have to take to make this end happily ever after. So, somewhere along the line the characters and plot touched a soft spot and I didn't want bad things to happen to them.
Whether it is indeed a feel good movie or not you will have to check out for yourself. I would wait for the video if I didn't have to review this one. But if you are in the mood for well-shot car races and sweetly picturised songs, don't miss it in the theaters, and take the kids along.
Correction: Earlier I mentioned "Shakalaka Boom Boom" instead of "Namastey London" in the third paragraph. Indeed, the lyrics of Shakalaka Boom Boom are written by Sameer. Thanks, Charles Foster Kane aka Antonio Ricci, for pointing it out. Apologies readers!
- meeta, a part of the audience
Thumbs up, by Deep, Deep's Home : ...Rani looks stunning super stunning in this movie, I just loved her new hairstyle... full review
Thumbs up, by Aprajita Anil, Express India : ...Even if you know the winner or the loser, the passion within would be no less.... full review
Thumbs up, by Martin D'Souza, Glamsham.com : ...mention here must be made of Binod Pradhan’s cinematography. One word. Superb.... full review
Thumbs up, by Taran Adarsh, IndiaFM : ...a well-crafted fare that provides entertaining moments... full review
Thumbs up, by Subhash K Jha, IndiaFM : ...Saif, I feel, is a better actor than Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe... full review
Thumbs up, by Ashok Nayak, Now Running.com : ...It's a perfect family entertainer.... full review
Thumbs up, by Hanumant Bhansali, Radio Sargam : ...Siddarth Anand has an ability to infuse wit with woe... full review
Thumbs up, by Sukanya Verma, Rediff : ...none of the characters crib or mope around... full review
So-So, by Rachel Fernandes, Bollywood Mantra : ...The glossy look of the film especially even in the second half belies the reality of poverty... full review
So-So, by Renuka Vyavahare, indiatimes : ...after a slow start, the film pumps up its fuel after a pit stop (interval) and speeds up enormously in its final ‘lap’... full review
So-So, by Amit R Agarwal, merinews : ...the fun-filled first half traverses into a few wet-tissues issue based second half.... full review
So-So, by Pranay, naachgaana.com : ...I always avoided its songs whenever they aired on those Music channels on TV or on FM. But I absolutely adored watching all of them in theatre... full review
So-So, by Pankaj Shukla, SmasHits.com : ...The film that was supposed to be a fight of a real man is being sold to kids as their summer outing.... full review
So-So, by Naomi Datta, Times Now : ...Like Saif, ‘Ta Ra Rum Pum’ is a much better watch post interval... full review
So-So, by Nikhat Kazmi, Times of India : ...Trust Bollywood to equate a Nazi concentration camp with a downmarket New York existence... full review
Thumbs down, by Baradwaj Rangan, Blogical Conclusion, The New Sunday Express : ...it’s only when the characters refer to themselves as being poor that we are reminded that they are... full review
Thumbs down, by Oz, Desi Train : ...Does anyone even think of the cine-goer anymore these days?... full review
Thumbs down, by Rajeev Masand, IBN Live : ...will someone please tell me why everyone’s screaming in the film’s first hour?... full review
Thumbs down, by Ashwini Gurbuxani, J.A.M : ...The race sequences are almost a saving grace... full review
Thumbs down, by Vaibhav Wankhede, M TV : ...Javed Jaffrey is just to pakau yaar... full review
Thumbs down, by Sarita Tanwar, MiD DAY : ...There’s nothing wrong in making a good-looking film provided that’s not the only aspect worth talking about.... full review
Thumbs down, by Manas Mishra, MovieWalah : ...Inspite of a good treatment, the movie fails to hold the audiences because of a fragile script... full review
Thumbs down, by Saurabh Dixit, Passion for Cinema : ...The stunts, the crashes. Very well executed, great timing, great cinematography and most of all ‘Original’... full review
Thumbs down, by Lidia Ostepeev, Planet Bollywood : ...its fair share of slow motion “trampoline induced” jumps to indicate euphoria... full review
Twitter reviews for this movie are not available.
This page has additional observations, other than the ones noted in the main review.
Warning: this section has some details that could distort your experience while watching the movie. I strongly recommend reading this only after you have seen the movie or if you have decided not to see it.
Plot Summary
RV (Saif Ali Khan) an ace racer falls in love with Radhika (Rani Mukherjee). Life has a few ups and downs in store for them. We see them enjoy the ups and fight the downs.
I wish I knew a little more about racing before I went in for this movie for me to point out what was close to reality and what was not.
What Worked
- The aerial shots of RV driving through New York lanes in his taxi (unless of course, they were animated).
- During the first race, the camera turns around to capture a victory. The shot looked pretty cool.
- The juxtaposition of black and white and the color scenes. Black and white has been used very well to symbolize bad things that happen to the characters.
What did not
- Is it only me who is bothered by dramatic entries? I would just love to fast forward these entries so that characters would walk normally and turn their head the way a regular person does.
- How come with all the racing around and damage that RV causes on New York roads, he doesn't get a single ticket?
- For children who were born and brought up in Manhattan, they did not have a trace of an accent.
- Some things are way too predictable - when Radhika refuses to go to RV's race, we know she will be there for sure, isn’t that her destiny after all? When Radhika is presented a cheque from her dad, we know it is destined to be torn.
- A couple of good jokes were spoilt by over-explanation.
- Why was Harry (Javed Jaaferi) giving a tutorial on wind direction when RV had been racing for 10 years?
- Sudden intrusion of crass comedy post-interval. Mercifully, it is not overdone.
- The set of RV and Radhika's second house - it looked way too artificial.
Nitty-Gritty
- In "ab to for ever" why does RV drag Radhika into frame?
- Whatever happened to the practice race that Harry had organized for RV at 8am?
- The first time they show RV in the first car that he purchased, it is red. Did he repaint it to silver before it got home? Because it was silver in the next scene.
- In the races, cars looked too close one moment and too far apart in the next
- The children covered RV's face in some sort of a cream (shaving?). They just apply it to his cheeks. When he gets up though, his whole face is covered with the cream. How come?
- A lady hires RV to get her to the airport at top speed. She is not shown "in" the cab at all on the way to their destination.
- How does RV get access to the toy store?
- However macho you are, there is no way you can carry two babies as comfortably as RV did. Especially, since these kids were by no means little.
- There were way too many people carrying wads of cash in a city like New York.
- Where does Princess (RV and Radhika's daughter) get a car racing suit from?!?
- Why was ESPN covering only RV's car in the final race?
- Why is there an Indian flag behind RV's team during the final race? Sometime earlier in the movie he claimed to be from Manhattan and not India.
![[Facebook page of Ta Ra Rum Pum]](/static/images/icons/facebook_small.png){kind=icon}
![[Wikipedia page of Ta Ra Rum Pum]](/static/images/icons/wiki_small.png){kind=icon}
![[IMDB Page of Ta Ra Rum Pum]](/static/images/icons/imdb_small.png){kind=icon}
![[Shekhar Ravjiani twitter account]](/static/images/icons/twitter_small.png){kind=icon}
Comments (23)
Review - Ta Ra Rum Pum » without giving the movie away…...
Children finally have something worthwhile to occupy themselves with in the summer vacations - well, at least for three hours. Parents won't have a bad time either, especially if they don't mind the formula combination of action and songs. Nothing ou...
Meetu,
Thanks, another great review. Your "notes" for this movie is broken (Error 404 - Not Found
). I will comaback and read it when it is fixed.
Readers,
Vote for this article at http://www.bestofindya.com
-Indya
I chanced upon your blog through the community. And now, am I glad or what. Thanks for the lovely review!!
Thanks for pointing that out, indya! The link is fixed now.
Thank you pragni! Do stop by again.
[...] Meetu : “Thinking about the movie two hours after having left the theater, the first thing that comes to mind is the car races. They are timed well and executed even better. ” [...]
well i don't think the movie was named so after coming up with the song. as far as i know (from film news, on net, newspapers..) the film was first named tara rum pum pum, and one `pum' was removed later. that looked more like being in line with the recent trend of naming the movie with an old hit song title.. (and then making a song with same line but make it sound somewhat different from the original song).. like kabhi khushie kabhi gham, bas itna saa khwaab hai, kabhi alwida naa kehnaa..
Hi sudeep, well, my comment about the title was a dig at how unimaginative the title is :-). Thanks for bringing up the other titles. My view about these titles is pretty much the same too.
esha, yeah they entertain to an extent. More often than not, I have a problem with how they underestimate the audience's intellect. Thanks for stopping by.
Typical Yash Chopra movie...entertaining & family feel good movie is what I'd like to call this one....with designer homes & clothes...perfect family...thodi khushi thoda gam ka combo...
Javed Jaffery was more fun in Salaam Namaste....yaha Gujju accent thoda zyada ho gaya.
Nice review Meetu as always :)
Nice to see you again, Mehak. Thanks! I guess we disagree about Javed Jaffrey. I liked him better here because he played a normal person and not a caricature.
Thank you Charles Foster Kane aka Antonio Ricci, for pointing out the blunder!! A thousand apologies, readers! I was thinking "Namastey London" and typed "Shaka Laka Boom Boom" (I hope equally awful lyrics didn't have anything to do with it). Mistake rectified.
Done Naina. Thanks!
Hey Naina, no clue what's wrong with me! Thanks again, typo rectified. And I am glad you like the 'To Each His Own' section.
L K Sinai, my little kids enjoyed it thoroughly too. Mine were glued to their seats for the entire 2 hours 45 minutes (and the interval too, lest the movie got over while they visited the restrooms :-)). For the first time they did not need pop corn/aerated drink to keep them in the theater!
As you know, I didn't think too highly of the movie, but the kids' reactions are good enough to make us adults watch it.
It is a good film . Yash raj films r really 2 good. I liked it very much .
its a very fantastic and famous story i love it
this movie is full of immotions and based on practical life i love to see it
it is wonderful film of my world
also it give us a massage
thacks for it
weel movie is seen in average . it is not so good n not so bad . its music is very classic.
A good movie with good songs
hi everyone
my name is sakshi
i am from australia
and i am afan of rani and salf ali khan...
i love this movie and so does my little sister... we watch it everyday
hi
how r u
i m pakistani
i love saif and rani
i like rani
Hey guys
This is ramit malhotra. I really really appreciate this movie because i was just dead because of life's ups-downs but after seeing this movie i learn how to wakeup for a new life and how to face the problems in your life. I like saif ali khan, Rani, Princess and Champ very much and they really give their best performance in this movie.
My best song in this movie is : Saiyaan ve , Rahi ka to kam hai chalta hi ja ve saiyaan ve..............
I personally suggest to all the viewers to see this movie please.
LOVE YOU TA RA RUM PUM
i really loved the movie. i guess i love it more than any other movie in which saif and rani have acted toghether
Leave a Comment