From Kaminey to Basterds...

I was just going thru the archives of Bollywoodhungama.com (a.k.a. IndiaFM) to see which were to movies that came to screens during the almost 3 months that have passed since my last post... This was especially important since I couldn't remember anything significant in the period other than Kaminey, Wake Up S!d & Inglourious Basterds... I realised, that I really hadn't missed anything... There have been movies with great promise (What's Your Rashee, Blue), a few comedies (Life Partner, Do Knot Disturb, Daddy Cool) and those that just couldn't figure out what to do (Main aur Mrs Khanna), but most sank without any traces... There were some like Wanted & All the Best (both of which I unfortunately tortured myself with) which did bring in the masses but did little for us real cinema lovers...

Anyways, Kaminey was a revelation... The portrayals were superb all around, from Shahid (x2) to Priyanka to Amol Gupte... Even the Bengali bros. were effective in their roles... Vishal Bharadwaj continues to show his proficiency behind the camera... And of course, there was the music... Dhan Te Nan to Pehli Baar Mohabbat to the title track... all gems in their own genres... This is one movie I'd definitely but for my DVD collection...

Next up was Tarantino's masterpiece in the form of a spaghetti-western style world war 2 satire, called Inglourious Basterds (no spelling errors) ... The movie features a mind-blowing performance from a relatively unknown Austrian veteran actor, Christoph Waltz & another one from French actress Melanie Laurent... Waltz's performance almost gaurantees him an Oscar nomination... There are also some good performances by Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Eli Roth & Daniel Bruhl... Of course, there's no doubt that all of these performances are fueled by Tarantino's brilliance as director... (I watched it twice on the big screen and it is going to become another part of my DVD pile)

Another one I watched twice in the cinema was Wake Up S!d, from newcomer Ayan Mukerji and produced by Karan Johar... Ranbir plays the titular character of final yr student who hasn't grown up to a T (and wears some great Tees on the way.. :P) ... Konkona is great as usual as a goal-oriented woman from Kolkata who comes to Mumbai in search for a job & independence... Wont go on about it since this is a movie everyone should watch and learn from.. There is, quite literally, something for everyone...

Another good film I watched was Julie & Julia, which is directed by Nora Ephron and stars Meryl Streep & Amy Adams... The subtext of the title proclaims it is based on Two True Stories.. Amy Adams plays Julie, who is a government employee with ambitions of becoming a writer, and a love of cooking... she sets herself a goal of cooking her way through Julia Child's cookbook (524 recipes in 365 days) and begins a blog about her 'adventure' ... This part is set in 2002-03... Julia Child is played by Meryl Streep, positioned in the 50s, when she was learning French cooking and subsequently wrote the book.. The two stories inter-twine as the movie progresses and parallels are drawn between Julie & Julia, and the problems they encounter and the solutions they find... Both Streep & Adams deliver good performances in an overall simple movie that succeeds in making one smile...

Moving on to what is in store this winter, 'Ajab Prem...' is releasing this week, along with Bhandarkar's Jail... I'm intrigued by 'Ajab Prem...' not only due to pairing of Ranbir & Katrina, but also because it is from Rajkumar Santoshi who is making a comeback to comedy after Andaz Apna Apna (heck, even the name makes smile... :D)... Then there is Kurbaan (Saifeena) on the 20th Nov and De Dana Dhan on 27th Nov (Akshay, Suniel, Paresh & Priyadarshan, with Katrina added for good measure, can they recreate the magic of Hera Pheri ?)... In December, there is Paa (Amitabh playing a 12 yr old, with Abhishek as father.. definitely must watch), then Rocket Singh (Ranbir again) and to end the year, 3 Idiots (Rajkumar Hirani's take on Chetan Bhagat's bestselling Five Point Someone)...

On the Hollywood front, we will have A Christmas Carol (Jim Carrey directed by Robert Zemeckis in a Disney film), 2012 (apocalypse expert Roland Emmerich is at it again), Avatar (James Cameron's epic which he waited to make until technology supported his vision) and Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr. playing the world's most famous detective, with Jude Law as sidekick & directed by Guy Ritchie)...

Well, it promises to be a 'Cool' winter...

Of Milna... Bichhadna .. & a Happily Ever After...

How can someone get away with making multiple movies around the same theme (stated in the title above) while still creating that 'difference' which wins audiences' hearts ? I guess you'll have to ask Imtiaz who's done just that with Socha Na Tha, Jab We Met & now Love Aaj Kal...

For those who did not get the similarities, let me take you through them... A guy & a girl meet... enjoy each others' company (to different degrees, admittedly) ... separate from each other due to each wanting different things in life... and then reunite, after discovering that, infact, they can only live with each other !

In Socha Na Tha, Abhay & Ayesha meet as prospective bride / groom... And become good friends realising they both hate the concept of arranged marriages & turn to each other to share their sorrows of the 'rishta' process... though they initially try to help each other find the perfect match, they do end up falling in love, and through a series of understandings & misunderstandings, they finally unite, to elope & get married...

In Jab We Met, Shahid & Kareena meet in a train, where Shahid has run away from home & Kareena is returning home... The misunderstandings occur much sooner here as they miss the train at Ratlam (... ki galiyaan... :P) and then slowly find their way back to Bhatinda (meeting a lot of song & dance, en route).. when they find out that Kareena's family is lining up an arranged marriage for her, they run away to unite Kareena with Anshuman (I don't know the actor's name ... ) & then they separate when they reach Shimla (where Anshuman seems to reside) ... As fate would have it, Anshu aint interested so a shamed Kareena decides to withdraw from the world & takes up a job at a school ... Shahid, in the meanwhile, has decided to make his company a success & wises up in life... Until... dhan te nan ! Kareena's family tracks him down and demands that he lets them meet her... A confused Shahid then catches up with Kareena & tries to takes her back home, while a shamed Anshu realises his mistake & offers to meet her family & get married... As they go back to Bhatinda, & Kareena reunites with the rest of her clan, she realises she no longer loves Anshu & wants Shahid instead... They end up running away from Anshu to come together & of course, live happily ever after...

Love Aaj Kal is a little different... Here, Saif & Deepika actually date each other for a while though they are both aware that each has completely different ambitions (Golden Gate bridge & restoration of India monuments, respectively)... When Deepika gets the chance to pursue her dreams further, they amicably break up (and throw a party to commemerate the break up), but they don't realise how close they had gotten to each other... Here begins a truly different angle, where Rishi Kapoor starts narrating a similar experience he had when he was youngster in Punjab (young Rishi = Sardar Saif).... the comparisons intertwine to give a good effect... As their life goes on, they keep their friendship intact, constantly calling each other, until they both start dating others.. They meet again when Saif visits India with his new girlfriend, but manages to spend more time with Deepika than with the new gal... At the same time, Deepika's relationship advances to the level that her guy (Rahul Khanna) proposes marriage to her and she accepts... She also tells Saif that they'll have to get out of each others' lives if they want to progress... They finally break-up & Saif departs to leave Deepika with her wedding preparations.. Things remain awkward between them even at the wedding where Deepika is constantly thinking of Saif even as she takes the pheras... Whn she goes on the honey moon, she decides she cannot live with Saif still on her mind & runs from Rahul to catch up with Saif... Saif, however has just gotten an offer from the Golden Gate Inc. so he gives her the 'good news' and she decides its best if she stays out of his life... After spending some time at San Francisco, which he initally enjoys, but soon gets bored of, he too decides that he cannot live without Deepika & rushes back to Delhi to try & meet her... In Delhi, Rahul informs him that they split up since she could not get over Saif, and they reunite at Purana Quila, where she is working on restorations, to ... ahem... live happily ever after...

Well, through that extended write-up, I hope I have succesfully illustrated the common thread between the 3 films... If not, I guess I have reviewed 3 films in one shot... Which one did i enjoy the most ? I guess it has to be Jab We Met... Though I always appreciate Socha Na Tha because of the natural-ness of the performances & the writing... Love Aaj Kal was also good on its own stead, though its probably not one of the movies I can watch over & over... However, I can keep listening to the songs from LAK to no end... Chor Bazaari do Naino ki... pehle ki aadat jo hat gayi...

Yaaron, Jee Bhar Ke Jee Le Pal...

Yeah, the header is from the hit song from 'New York' which I just returned after watching & obviously have been humming since... Plagiarism & inspirations aside, there's no doubt its a great & catchy song... But back to the point...

Yes, the 'Junoon' is back in my 'Jeena' ever since watchable cinema has started hitting the big screens again... New York (which I quite liked, & I think Taran Adarsh over at Bollywood Hungama did a great job at reviewing it, so I'm not even going there) is the first hindi film I watched in a cinema since my last post, though I've caught up on lots of Hollywood over the past 10-15 days... Lets see... Monsters vs Aliens, Star Trek, 17 Again, Wolverine, Terminator Salvation... These are in the order in which I watched them, though looking at it another way, I liked the first 3 where as the last couple were just about passable...

The Hangover is due tomorrow, and I've heard great things about it... I mean, its got an 8.4 on IMDb and is already 131 on the top 250, all in 3 weeks... Its already being called one of the best comedies 'Ever'... Which other movie can boast of something like this ? Yeah, I know... 'Up' has a similar story (technically better, since its an 8.8 with a rank of 22 and is gunning for the 'best animation ever' tag...) But then, its not released here yet, so I exempt it from this reckoning...

Transformers 2 should be coming here soon, and I hope that lives up to the hype, and of course Ice Age & Harry Potter will be back in July too....

Bollywood also shows some promise with Kambakht Ishq, Love Aaj Kal & Kaminey lined up for July & August...

All in all, it seems we'll have a healthy 'baarish' of cinema this monsoon, even as the H2O variant seems to be shying away...

"Hai Junoon....ooooooo-oo-oo-oo.... Hai Junoon sa jeene mein....."

Dearth of Cinema...

Yes, thats exactly what I am feeling currently... There's a damned 'famine' in the world of 'good' cinema releasing in India... I live in a suburb of Mumbai called 'Navi Mumbai' (or New Bombay, if u like...) and we are fortunate to have 3 'multiplexes' in our close vicinity... Oops, did I say 'fortunate'... I'm sure our friends of the Producers Guild wouldn't agree on that statement... They have conveniently withdrawn any forthcoming films from releasing in multiplexes... And they want the public, through the media of course, to think that they are 'missing out' on something...

But wait, has anyone checked the Release schedules for April ? Conspicuously, there aren't too many big releases scheduled in April anyhow... I had noticed this even before the entire hullaballoo over 'profit-sharing' had begun... The reason... IPL2...

Yes, the big Bollywood producers were smart enough not to schedule any major releases during the IPL2 season, especially after the solid beating films had gotten last summer over the debut IPL season... Seriously, the only films slated to release in April'09 (as per bollywoodhungama.com) are Nagesh Kukunoor's '8x10 Tasveer' & some movie called 'Meri Padosan' (??)... Tasveer is produced by Percept Picture Company, which is not routinely associated with too many 'main-stream' films... And as usual, the big producers will steam roll them in this fight over 'revenue shares'.... However, the producers' plans must've been dented somewhat by the delay in IPL2... But its not really a big issue for them... A delay of 8 days will not dent thier bottom lines... And the multiplex owners have already started tying up & making plans of screening IPL on the big screens....

So who are the losers here ? One is clearly the smaller producers like Percept, which rake in a huge chunk of their revenues from the mutliplex junta... The other, is clearly the avid cinema-goer who prefers the comfort & flexibility offered by mutliplexes over the monotony of the single-screens... I think it'll be a pity if Nagesh Kukunoor's Tasveer loses out in case it is not released at multiplexes... Poor Nagesh has already suffered at the hands of BIG entertainment which apparently backed out half-way from his Aashayein, sayin it wasn't bankable enough... Percept had stepped in there too & will now be releasing the film... I seriously hope that Percept decides to stay out of the battle & release Tasveer in multiplexes too... From their point of view, the film would get an unimpeded run at the box office with no others films slated for release, provided of course, that the film is any good... But going by Nagesh's track record, it should be something to watch out for...

I am a fan of cricket as well as movies, but my appetite usually needs a healthy mix of both, to avoid an upset... :P ... I can only hope that there are some good angrezi movies releasing in April, which make up for the lack in Hindi entertainment...

I will try & keep the blog updated with my experiences, if any... until then.. good bye...

Of Emosunal Attyachar & the 'Monkey in Me'...

Well, to start off, I must apologise for not being regular (again)... I keep having these phases where I just procrastinate about things that I know I wouldn't have to put too much effort in... Things like, writing... Writing is a gift, I guess, that I have... I have always been better in communication with the 'written' word than the 'spoken' word.... In fact, most people (possibly, all people) who know me would concur that I'm a very quiet person... Some might use the word 'Reserved'..... I guess it is true to some extent, since I take quite some time to open up to people when I'm in the speaking mode... Switch to the writing mode, however, & I think people would see a completely different side of me.... Many persons have even admitted this to me.... A case in point is that I have much better & more meaningful conversations with people with whom I'm not that close when I'm on text chat with them....

Getting back to the point, I was trying to say that I put off 'writing' on my blog because I know it really wont take too much effort.... yet, whenever I do get down to writing, it does give me a sort of pleasure that very few other things give me in life... one of those few 'other things' is watching movies....

Which leads me to the update of my cinematic experiences in the past few months (yes, I just realised that I've not blogged since mid-November'08)... I'de mentioned that I was looking forward to Dasvidanya (a masterpiece, if I may say so), RNBDJ (a simple but effective film) & Ghajini (left me a little disappointed since I thought the excellent performances were let down by a weak screenplay, especially in comparison to the original Memento)... I also saw OL!LO! which was really a revelation.... My brother watched the first 20 mins of this movie every day for more than a month, and though I cannot boast of similar records, I did love the performance of Manjyot Singh (who played the young Lucky) & I became an even bigger fan of Abhay Deol.... which brings me to Dev D....

Dev D is our answer to Hollywood greats like Trainspotting (which I've yet to watch) & Requiem to a Dream.... It's a modern day take on Devdas (duh) & relates the story to real life incidents from Delhi (the infamous MMS scandal & the BMW 'kaand')........ The performances are mind-blowing.... the characterisations are extremely good & I'm kinda running out of words to praise the movie further.... I was discussing with someone that Chandramukhi's character is the best portrayed though Dev is the obvious gray-shaded hero.... hats off to Anurag, Abhay, Mahi & Kalki... I'm looking forward to Mahi in Anurag's next, Gulaal, which releases in 10 days....

Now, on to Delhi 6... This is actually the movie which brought me to write this post... since I just got back from watching it... I'd thought I'll watch it in Delhi itself (I was there the weekend it released) but could not get the chance to do so.... Back in Mumbai, I couldn't find anyone to go with me during the week since most people had not heard the best things about it.... Even today, I'd orginally planned on watching Benjamin Button, but I got late & watched Delhi 6... alone, by the way.... Coming back to the point, I don't regret watching it.... the film uses many parallels to point out some of the many hypocrisies which exist in our society today... the usage of parallels is the only similarity with RDB, though, and the comparison with RDB is what, I think, has led to people not liking the film... if one appreciates the film on its own, I think it is an excellent effort which would open the eyes of anyone who understands its true meaning... on the performances front, I think the character actors took the cake here, away from Abhishek, who also plays his part perfectly, but he's the outsider, so his character is pretty straightforward in that respect.... Waheeda Rahman, Rishi Kapoor, Om Puri, Supriya Pathak, Pawan Malhotra, Atul Kulkarni, Divya Dutta, Vijay Raaz, Deppak Dobriyal, Prem Chopra & the rest deliver excellent performances that showcase the amount of talent we have in our industry.... I also liked the performance of debutante Aditi Rao Hydari, who plays Rama, the unmarried 'bhua' to Sonam Kapoor.... I hadn't watched Saawariya, so this was my first experience of Sonam ... I've pointed out to many people that I like expressive faces in actresses since they can say so much 'more than words'.... (I can't help but hum the song in the mind now) .... Sonam is a prime example of that.... she has beautiful eyes that can pretty muich have a conversation on their own.... I should mention that another recent debutante whom I liked in this respect was Anoushka Sharma, of RNBDJ fame....

Wow... this is already such a long post.... I think that's enough for now... I'm looking forward to Benjamin Button this week & then Gulaal next week.... until then... Good Night, & God Bless !