Bollywood First Day First Show: From Sydney With Love Review
From Sydney With Love
From Sydney With Love tells the story of small-town girl Megha Bannerjee’s (Bidita Bag) journey: she leaves behind her conservative family to head to Sydney, where she has received a scholarship to attend the University of New South Wales. Once there she runs into Raj (Prateek Chakravorty, also the director), Rohit (Sharad Malhotra), Lubaina (Evelyn Sharma), and Sohail (Karan Sagoo). And while she’s there strictly for one thing alone – her education – she can’t help falling in love with Rohit along the way. Sydney seems to be going well for Megha, until things take a wrong turn one night.
There bigger film this Friday is Joker, so is it worth skipping that one for From Sydney With Love?? Read our Cons and Pros list to find out.
Cons:
From Sydney With Love
The Plot: Oh, what a messy plot this was. Firstly, it was riddled with holes – stuff like seniors apparently attending the same orientation (and classes) as a freshman. Secondly, it kept throwing “twist” upon “twist” at the audience, which was supposedly in an attempt to keep you interested, but actually just weighed the film down, and made you wonder when it would end.
From Sydney With Love
The Length – I am okay with a movie having a few bumps in the plot, once it manages to be cute and, most importantly, concise. But From Sydney With Love is anything but concise – clocking in somewhere around 2 and a half hours, the length was absolutely not justified. Thrown in were random songs and random scenes that were completely pointless and should have been axed… how do these make it past the editing process?! There’s a rugby game, a fake kidnapping, and a run-in with beggars that did nothing for the film, except add to its runtime. And yet, even with 2 and a half hours to work with, the characters and their relationships are not fully explored – the exception is probably Raj, who ends up with more screentime than the lead hero (perhaps because the role is essayed by the director himself). Otherwise, the characters don’t seem to have much backstory, and their interpersonal relationships are explored mostly via song.
From Sydney With Love
Predictable & Cheesy – When we were approaching the climax, I kept wondering whether we would get a fresh, different ending to this film, which would have redeemed it slightly in my eyes. Swing and a miss! The film decided to be absolutely predictable even though there was an opportune setup for an alternate (better, probably!) ending. Climax aside, it has other issues with predictability – of course all three guys end up being interested in the one girl who, albeit cute & sweet, is nothing extraordinary.
Pros:
From Sydney With Love
Fun Moments – Which brings me back to my point about length. Had this film been chopped in half (and I mean that quite literally; the first half and second half could be two entirely different movies), we would’ve had a film that’s a little light on the plot, but with enough cute and funny moments to make it feel worthwhile. I did enjoy some of portions of the film, and I let out a smile and giggle here or there – but unfortunately, most of these good moments were lost in between long portions of unnecessary scenes.
From Sydney With Love
Earnest Performances – While the acting was strictly passable, it’s obvious that the actors were trying hard to make it work. As a viewer, that earnestness was evident, and I appreciated it.
Great Cinematography – They managed to capture Sydney perfectly, and a few songs were shot very well. I especially liked Feeling Love in Sydney, which is fun, choreographed well, and shot beautifully.
Verdict:
Skip it. Even with some fun moments, the movie is just too long to sit through. Wait for it to air on TV instead. (2/5 stars.)
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August 31st, 2012 at 11:24 pm
[...] posted here: Bollywood First Day First Show: From Sydney With Love Review … Tags: aamir khan, bollywood, contests, cover, evelyn-sharma, fashion, juicy-gossip, karan-sagoo, [...]
September 1st, 2012 at 7:16 pm
Dear Rashmi,
It seems as if you mashed up the review after reading some already existent Critic reviews online by well, of course, the Media which is already being bashed up by many of the public . Why ? because they enjoyed the film and felt that the ‘clan’ of review writers practically KILL OFF a movie even before it starts…
Lets begin with the first half…Well trully, giving focus to Sydney would be a first, because with Piyush Shah behind the cameras, its got to be important !
Secondly, I guess its a pity you have no knowledge about international education. Yes. Freshmen and Seniors do attend classes together..
Meghaa ends up in a class, not her orientation …
I really hope you werent zzzzzz’ing whilst seeing the movie.
To add to it , Id love to read your concept of a ‘messy plot’ . How many scripts have you written till date ? Lets read them out.
The film being chopped into half, well..the rugby scene, agreed, is a wee-bi too long, could have been shorter, but its the one which leads to Raj knowing and confirming about Rohit and Meghaa’s love affair, which then sparks the next move and so on.
its all linked in a way. The art of story telling may not be the greatest, but surely it isn’t bad either. Learning how no Bollywood movie has ever been perfect, such elements can be ignored and more eyes can be engaged in attempting to enjoy the film.
Oh ya , the film is 2:18 in length and not 2:30..there is a MASS Difference in 12 minutes which is a long time slot for any film.
Finally, i never found any part ‘cheesy’…I’d recommend you to look up an urban dictionary for the same. If this is cheesy, I wonder what Kya Super Kool Hain Hum is ?
The final point being, the film is not the greatest one or the best either…Its a decent film, an average entertainer, which can be seen with smiles, surprises and at the end of the day, a variation of emotions.
To write amateur reviews for films and being a roadblock to so many young talented actors, film makers alike, Id recommend you join the panel of the ‘haters’ club before writing your next review and try to be a little more original.
Go watch it guys !… And would advise people to go see what you want to see than being guided by reviewers who make a profession out of abusing films… themselves not even knowing an A,B or C about film making and just evolving in the digital/online space of blogging.
id rate it 3 stars out of 5 and hold high hopes for the cast to improve much more and provide more entertainment.
September 1st, 2012 at 7:39 pm
Hi Thomas,
Thanks for writing in. Just to address a few of your concerns:
1. It’s not a mash up of existent reviews; I went to see the film and these are my thoughts on it.
2. I do have a knowledge of international education, having had one myself. Yes, freshmen and seniors can have classes together, but in (what’s portrayed to be) a core course, that’d be sort of rare since you’d need to have completed a few prerequisite classes etc before being able to take most of these courses. In any case, it’s still a little too coincidental that all of them end up in the same class.
3. Writing a script is not a prerequisite to sharing one’s thoughts on a film. :)
4. Thanks for clarifying the film’s runtime.
At the end of the day, this is really just my thoughts on the film. I’ve never pretended to be an expert on filmmaking; I’ve always just given my opinion as a regular movie-goer, which the majority of us are. In this case, the film didn’t work for me. You enjoyed it; and that’s good – that’s the beauty of films, everyone is going to leave the cinema feeling something different.
September 1st, 2012 at 7:49 pm
1. Nidhi – You look UGLY. Ugly people write ugly reviews.
2. This missmalini.com sucks..its useless i wonder why people still believe on all these reviews. A rotten movie like Ra One got like 4 stars. Guess why….Ohh Yeah – they pay to get good reviews.
3. The language used is of a girl who has just graduated from a uptown college in Mumbai. AKA Wannabe.
4. Ask me about movies i watch 3 movies everyday including sitcoms. Thanks to the internet. So, you can’t give a better review then i can give.
5. The movies wasn’t bad at all. It was funny and actually a MOVIE & not copy pasted from a hollywood movie.
6. New cast ATLAST – from the regular khans (who look the same in every god damn movie) and not fake actresses like deepika fartukone (who cant even speak proper english).
7. So, Nidhi / Malini…you are just a bunch of rotten pests who can’t give credit to new talent cs u guys live under a rock.
September 1st, 2012 at 7:52 pm
My Bad – Your name is Rashmi. You are UGLY. Ugly people write ugly reviews!
September 1st, 2012 at 7:54 pm
Oh you have a knowledge of international education——–Tell us more about it….see how many F’s i give…..
Nowadays even a chaiwallah’s son goes to uk n usa n australia to study and come back…LMFAO…..ugly ugly
September 1st, 2012 at 7:55 pm
N Pls dont delete this….if you can take shots are movies….have the guts to take shots on yourself too….
:D
September 1st, 2012 at 7:57 pm
And No, the films production hasn’t paid me to take your case or miss malini’s case.
I wander around the internet and take shots at everyone who tries to be cool. I can do that for you too if your missmalini.com website stops writing reviews for any movie… :D
September 1st, 2012 at 8:01 pm
“You look UGLY. Ugly people write ugly reviews.”
Ah, well… with logic as shining as that, how can I even dare to argue? :)
And no, not deleting at all. Wouldn’t want to deny you the opportunity of taking potshots at random people on the Internet!
P.S. I gave Ra.One 2.5 stars. As for paying me for reviews… I *wish* people thought so highly of my opinion that they’d consider doing that. I mean… you certainly don’t, right? ;)
September 1st, 2012 at 9:49 pm
That was the most boring reply to an argument..LOL…
Yes, its true nobody gives a F to your good for nothing review. The problem is this fake website (milfmalini) has alot of visitors and with all the spamming on Twitter you guys do…you have alot of followers (the useless followers who write those cheesy one liners as tweets)…..
so in a way your useless review is read by numerous followers hinting them not to see good original movies. Because its your idiotic opinion. & yes people are dumb in india that they need someone’s opinion if the movie is good or not. Bloody watch it…..
So, bottomline is…..ugly people like you who have the worst international exposure should not write REVIEWS.
If you still don’t get it……you are a piece of junk specially in india and to the world of internet.STOP WRITING REVIEWS as simple as that.
Ra.One – 2.5 Stars…LMFAO…..u shud write reviews for bhojpuri movies…i guess…..
September 1st, 2012 at 11:15 pm
I WONDER, IF PEOPLE FEEL THAT MISS MALINI SUCKS, THEN WHAT ON EARTH ARE THEY DOING ON THIS PAGE!!
WELL RASHMI, YOUR REVIEWS ARE APPRECIATED! LOOKING FORWARD TO MORE OF THEM!!
September 1st, 2012 at 11:46 pm
@resham – retarded question. She sucks dats d reason i am here to give a piece of my mind
September 2nd, 2012 at 4:09 pm
Hi Rashmi,
appreciate your efforts for it all and overall, unlike other review writers the fact you do respond to a feedback.humble.
But as far as I know, Miss Malini is a very respected name in the industry. And write-ups by Malini herself have been always really to-the-point.
A commendable criticism from her end is still valid. Because she has the know-how of the industry. After just a bit of groundwork of seeing your profile, being a recent graduate, its a pity to know you were assigned the job of Rating a Film and a few more which you have in the past.
You really are amateur and dont seem to have the potential credentials for this segment I feel.
A more expert opinion would have mattered more.This goes not only with this film, but many more of your write ups. Which seem to be very amateur unfortunately.
I hope you would have your own personal thought put up on your own blog, rather than Miss Malini, because we are avid followers of Malini’s personal write ups and your’s undermines the substance that she provides.
A criticism from her end would still be understood if not debated since she knows the a,b and c of this industry.
My reaction comes for one sole reason, how you would end up misleading many more new films like this, and many more potential films. You clearly seemed to be hunting loopholes to massacre a film also by writing “Wait for it to air on TV instead”. Clearly an amateur recent Communication pass out has no rights to mis lead people on a rather largely and famous followed MissMalini.com
I really really hope you get replaced with a more thorough professional.
Aso responding to some spammer’s comments above show how amateur you may be. Kindly take it in a positive note, you would learn alot along the way in life.
Regardless, after mixed reviews read and my personal experience seeing it , Id rate it 3 stars and the best movie out of this weekend’s lot.
September 2nd, 2012 at 9:06 pm
Thank you for your feedback, Thomas.
September 5th, 2012 at 12:57 am
Wow! The time people have to bully others on internet!
Rashmi, I just want you to know that for any objective reader coming to this website and reading the comments to your review, it is clear that there are still people who will attempt to hide behind an online moniker and bully others. I could write a long dissertation on how disconnected their logic is, but that would not solve anything. If logic was all that they were going for, they would not have been rude and obnoxious in the first place.
All the best for everything. You responded to their comments logically, thanked them for their feedback and tried to keep the conversation light. There comes a point when rudeness and distraction are best ignored.
-Poorva
September 5th, 2012 at 9:48 am
Thank you so much, Poorva. I appreciate it. :)
September 5th, 2012 at 10:31 am
Yikes! Didn’t knw people like alladeen alladeen and Thomas Richard could be such F**ktards! At least, Rashmi Daryanani has the balls to write the review under her own name. These other idiots can’t even come clean on who they are (and they are obviously related to the film in some way or why would they take such major offence?)
And calling Rashmi ugly? Let’s see Ur pic alladeen?? I’m sure yours could scare babies. The only thing UGLY is your attitude.
If u idiots feel so passionate about a lame film like FSWL, at least hve the GUTS to stand up for it in person and not behind some fake name.
September 5th, 2012 at 10:39 pm
The Irony of “Ramp Watcher” not having a real name himself/herself/itself pointing fingers..
This has to be the biggest EPIC FAIL in history …
For the record, this is my real name, registered with my real email .
I have clearly appreciated Rashmi’s kindness to atleast reply and respond to comments, which many many others dont do.
Secondly, Ive myself questioned as to why rashmi entertained a spammer called alladeen.
and finally, I wish i would be part of the film somehow, since its a good decent watch but not GREAT at all, atleast could have given the guys there some input.
I have been a film student myself years ago , and coming from that background I know how difficult it is for someone to come fresh in any industry. It takes alot of effort and money to make a movie. Reviews should not mislead people, views may be alrite.
But this is a specific case of a blog which has a very high regard ..MissMalini.com 1000s of people read it daily and Rashmi is clearly not experienced enough to be a film critic having passed out in the recent couple of years.
Regardless, I highly appreciated Rashmi’s manner of handling constructive criticism. and replying back in a very kind way with alot of politeness…
As for you “Ramp Watcher” … you gotta watch the launch you do on someone before checking yourself out. Get a real name ….
September 5th, 2012 at 11:50 pm
AWWW….Poorva are you one of her office buddies supporting her…u shud do therapy for ugly people.
RAMP Watcher…seriously?!
How old are u..dat u r censoring the word FUCK???
Rashmi is her real name…lol…who gives a fuck…whatever the name is u cn easily judge d person by what they write..
lets see if u guys are better movie makers dat u call other movies LAME….and people like me take a good ass review outta it?!
i dont give a rats ass if the movie is a flop or a hit..i am here to spread the hatred…
give regards to milf malini!!
September 6th, 2012 at 1:16 am
One of the worst films to come out of Bollywood this year. In comparison, ‘Joker’ seems like a masterpiece (YES, it is that bad). The filmmaker seems to have very little idea about writing, handling actors, framing/compositions and executing a film as a whole. And yes, about India. The film has every cliche you would expect to see in a trying-very-hard-to-be-funny/sweet film; with the most amateurish bunch of lead actors you would ever see in a film.
September 16th, 2012 at 3:24 pm
Plain old story served in a new packet. This one doesn’t make much sense as this kind of stuff you will find in any romantic novel getting sold on the bus/railway counters across India. Something fresh was expected in screenplay but that too was very little appealing. Go get a normal romantic novel from your shelf, and read it again, that will pause better than watching this one.