A good start to 4 weekends of expectedly good movies....

It's a good feeling when producers who traditionally make movies that are poles apart, come together to make cinema.. I guess it all started when Anurag Kashyap and Karan Johar worked on a compilation of films dedicated to 100 years of Indian cinema - Bombay Talkies.. Their next collaboration brings together 2 faces of the youth of Hindi cinema.. The lady in question has proven herself before, and carries the weight of expectations on her shoulders.. The man wasn't able to stand out amongst 2 other newcomers in his debut, but the film fraternity seem to be concurrent in their opinion that he has a bright future.. Of course, we're talking about Parineeti Chopra and Siddharth Malhotra..

Siddharth's second coming shows that the expectations that his peers have aren't misplaced.. The young lad who came to Bollywood to become a director shows that he does have the talent to pull off a role which we have seen all too often, but yet, make it his own.. The character Nikhil is beautifully crafted and even better acted.. Second time is extremely lucky for Sid and I surely hope he carries forward the good work in the future too... 

Parineeti is already hailed as a powerhouse performer, since she stood out amongst the ensemble cast of Ladies vs. Ricky Bahl, and then reinforced that with Ishaqzaade and Shuddh Desi Romance.. She has an uncanny knack of choosing roles that are completely 'hatke' and delivering brilliant performances in each one.. Her role as Meeta will make you laugh and cry, all in the span of a few minutes, at different times during the movie...

Onto the director, Vinil Mathew delivers a powerful film in his debut feature... He's quite experienced behind the camera, having directed few of the recent Cadbury ads and classic jewelry store 'Men will be men' ad.. The film is well paced and even a minute missed will be regrettable later on.. The supporting cast is excellent and performs their roles perfectly.. Manoj Joshi is memorable as a stern Gujju pappa with a soft heart for his daughter... There's also a surprise package in 'Daya' who turns out to be a gem of a performer, with talents beyond acting

All in all, Hasee toh Phasee is a power packed 2 hrs 20 mins which will definitely be part of my collection forever... 

P.S. - I've tried very hard not to give away anything in my blog, because I do want everyone to go watch it ! 

Ambarsariya se Banarasiya via Agra

It's rare that the last 3 movies I saw in cinemas were all movies that I an watch a million times over and over again... I cant remember the last time this ever happened (if at all)...

The title of the blog should, as always, give the clues to the movies I'm talking about...

Fukrey is the 1st one.. This is one of the funniest movies I have seen in a long time... It seems to be inspired by Delhi Belly, especially considering the amount of twists & turns & mistakes & misunderstandings.. Hunny, Lali, Zafar & Choocha take us through a entertaining, if unlikely, ride through Delhi... They are accompanied by Neetu ma'am, Priya and Panditji, while being pursued by a villain called 'Bholi Punjaban' (Innocent Girl from Punjab)... The funniest amongst them is no doubt Varun Sharma making his screen debut as Choocha...  The performances are exemplary, even if the storyline is a little loose... All in all, a laugh riot !

The next was Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani... Ranbir Kapoor is becoming one of the most bankable stars in the Hindi film industry, with this becoming his third superhit in a row (Rockstar & Barfi previously)... This is more commendable considering that this is only his 10th leading role... The film is definitely entertaining, though hardly original... The director, Ayan Mukherji, probably got lost in getting inspired by too many movies, so he tries to retain some of his charm from Wake Up S!d, while adding a bit of a road trip with friends theme from ZNMD, and topping it with a love story from an Imtiaz Ali movie... Well, going by the box office returns, it seems that Ayan mixed 3 winning formulae to get a new & improved one ! So what if Aditya Roy Kapoor looks like he just continued his character from Aashiqui 2... So what if Farooque Sheikh's role got overshadowed by his cross-eyed-ness.. The truth is that the songs are amazing, the production work is awesome, Deepika looks gorgeous (and is learning how to act!) and Ranbir, is as charming as ever... YJHD is a film that I can watch over & over...

Last, but definitely not the least, is a love story called Raanjhanaa... This is a movie that most people discounted after looking at the lead actor, K Dhanush Raja... The general buzz was that this ugly looking dude cannot possibly pull off a hero's role in a Hindi movie... Well, Dhanush has proved everyone wrong... He should now be asking the Hindi audience 'Why were u so Kolaveri?' To be fair, even I did not expect much from him... The only reason I wanted to watch it was because I had loved the director's last film, i.e. Tanu weds Manu... A 140 minutes later, I was left with a gaping mouth... 'This guy is awesome' ... Dhanush has pretty much the most expressive face I have seen on an actor, ever... The effortless transition from a school kid to a twenty-something was simply amazing... And his character of a 'Die Hard' romantic could not have been played better by anyone... I should not discount the rest of the cast, however... Sonam proves yet again how under-utilized she is as an actress... Abhay Deol is effortless as usual, and is immensly likeable in his little screen time... The best friend 'Murari' played by Mohammed Zeeshan Ayuub is outstanding, as is 'Bindiya' played by Swara Bhaskar... Aanand L Rai loves to shoot in real locations, and it shows... A R Rahman's music grows on you like it should, and 'Tum Tak' refuses to leave my mind alone... The story is intriguing instead of being predictable, which adds so much more into the experience... My final word, 'Must-Watch' !!!

Khwabon ke, tinko se, chal banaye aashiyaan...

I had heard a lot about 'Barfi! before I finally saw it... The music was some of the best this season, and that alone would have sufficed to pull me to the cinema hall... The cinema-goers of Bangalore, though, had other plans for me... A house-full first weekend ensured I had to wait a bit longer... This did turn out to be a blessing, since I got to watch it with my significant other... :)

Back to the movie... Now, I'm not going to comment on the merit of the selection of this movie as India's entry to the Oscars... Now that it is done, I trust the Oscar jury much more than the folk who shortlisted it here, to make the right choice...

That said, this movie is definitely near the top of my list of best films this year... A simple, heart-warming story, with a suspense angle to boot, it is further propelled by the stellar performances of the entire cast... We must doff our hats to Ranbir, who continues to pick roles very few others would have, and make them his own... I think he's chosen some excellent films in the past couple of years, and has graduated with ease from the typical casanova roles to the niche Jordan & Barfi... It would be unfair of me to ingore Priyanka Chopra who, like Ranbir, has pulled off another excellent performance... I have always maintained that she's showing an amazing improvement with every film, and there is no exception here... The romance that follows is touching to say the very least... Ileana is the also extremely good in her first Bollywood appearance, and I will not be surprised to see more of her soon... Saurabh Shukla, Ashish Vidyarthi, Rupa Ganguly and the rest of the cast all deliver and make this film an all round joy to watch...

Some people called the movie 'slow' but I believe it was the correct pace to show the story of Barfi. The script is amazing & some of the scenes will definitely move you to tears (atleast they did for me)... Anurag Basu has given us a romance which we will not forget for the rest of our lives...

Thoda sa tera sa hoga, thoda mera bhi hoga... Apna ye Aashiyaan...

Movies... Where dreams are made...

Hi... After another prolonged absence, I return to writing today... I stand inspired by Martin Scorcese, who's directed a cinematic masterpiece that opened in cinemas in the US in December... The name of the movie is Hugo...

Hugo is adapted from an illustrated book by Brian Selznick and is about a boy name Hugo Cabret... That's all I'll say about the story, because frankly that's not what impressed me about the movie... In fact, it's a little slow and I stopped watching it the first time around because it just went on without really going anywhere...

However, the next time I started looking at the other aspects... The movie is simply awesome to look at... The visual appeal is simply stunning... And I saw it in 2D whereas the movie is shot in 3D, so I can only imagine how good it must have been with another added dimension... The cinematography is amazing too (possibly why it won the Oscar for it)...

What interested me even more was that it was more of a telling of the roots of cinema than a simple story... It shows the genius of a man named Georges Melies who pioneered some of the earliest special effects in the movies (way back in the late 1800s & the early 1900s)... Even the Lumiere brothers, who practically invented the moving picture, credit Melies as the 'creator of the cinematic spectacle'... Well, its a fitting tribute by Scorcese, who's created another cinematic spectacle for Melies... However, this part is relegated to a mere 30 minutes in a 2hr long film... The rest of the movie is dedicated to Hugo searching for the truth about his father's death, and that's where the plot is lost... In creating a cinematic spectacle, someone forgot to include a compelling story-line.. That's probably why even though it was met with critical acclaim, it failed to set the cash registers ringing and didn't really earn up to it's potential... Even at the Oscars, the awards it won were all technical ones, Cinematography, Art Direction, Visual Effects, Sound Mixing & Sound Editing...

Well.. I will next attempt to watch another tribute to cinema of the mid-twentieth century, namely The Artist.. This movie pretty much took away all the other big Oscars this year, and promises to be an exciting watch... Till then, au revoir !

P.S.: The title of the blog is a para-phrase of one of Melies' dialogues in the movie to a young boy in his studio - "If you've ever wondered where your dreams come from, you look around... This is where they're made".

Oh Nadaan Parindey, Ghar Aa Ja...

Yes.. This had to be the movie which brought me back to blogging, it being Imtiaz Ali's latest offering to cine-goers... Have there been other movies since July which have been worth blogging ? Hell yeah.. I can count off Delhi Belly & ZNMD right away, apart from a bunch of Hollywood flicks.. But lets not go there today.. Today belongs to Ranbir in & as Rockstar !

Ranbir as Janardan Jakhar (aka Jordan) catches the attention from the very start and shows the immense talent & range he possesses... From a student having fun in the corridors & lawns of Delhi University to an angry musician, it all comes across as a natural performance that few others could have pulled off... It is said that the initial story idea had been pitched to John Abraham who had agreed, but was later replaced since the script demanded someone much younger... I think they made the right choice.. ;) What also works in Ranbir's favour is the amazing chemistry between Nargis Fakhri & him.. Though it is amply clear that both acting & Hindi language are not her best talents yet, she does manage a decent performance as Heer Kaur... For her part, she looks gorgeous for the better part of her presence on screen & that should be enough for most audiences... As a character, Heer is rebellious & adventurous like most of Imtiaz's heroines but at the same time respects her family enough to try & draw a line between family life & naughtiness... Piyush Mishra is his usual brilliant self as a ruthless music studio boss & Kumud Mishra puts in a commendable role as 'Khatanaji', Jordan's well-wisher & manager... Aditi Rao Hydari, Shernaz Patel & the two young ladies playing the roles of Jordan's niece & Heer's sister also give good performances...

Mohit Chauhan does well as the 'voice of Jordan' and this movie could easily bring him back into the league... A.R.Rahman as usual pulls off an amazing set of musicals which seem to be perfect for every setting, be it the live & angry 'Sadda Haq', the sufiyana 'Kun Faaya Kun' or the haunting 'Tum ho'....

To those of you who haven't watched it yet, please do... Rockstar is easily Imtiaz's best from a direction front, though I tend to agree with many that it lacks a certain something in the story... That is made up for by excellent performances, music & overall techincal aspects which make it my current favourite...

Summer of Cinema

There have been a range of releases in the past month or so... I had left off in the 1st week of May and had planned to watch 3 movies then.. I did watch 2 of those... Chalo Dilli & Fast 5... Chalo Dilli was very average fare though Vinay Pathak impressed as usual... Fast 5, however, was quite the entertainer... The action is well-paced & doesn't leave you time to blink... Vin Diesel & Paul Walker have their customary roles & are pursued by Dwayne 'the Rock' Johnson... There's no use going into a storyline, since, there isn't one... :)

After this, there came Ragini MMS... Now, this was a movie big on hype & marketing & had a lot of expectations around it... Well, the actors do not disappoint for sure... The performances are fantastic to say the least... The story, however, lacks depth, when you keep in mind that it is a psychological thriller...

Stanley ka Dabba, was the next in line, and was a treat to watch... A simple story-line, with stellar direction & amazingly natural performances that make your heart melt... This is one that should not have been missed...

After that was the run of the biggies from Hollywood... Pirates - 3, Hangover 2 & Kung fu Panda 2... Pirates was a bit of a bummer & come to think of it, I can't remember the plot all that well apart from a couple of mermaids and Penelope Cruz... :P

Hangover 2 is a fitting sequel to the hilarious comedy & follows the capers of the wolf-pack in Thailand... The follow-up is more explicit, shocking & about as funny, and even has time to pack in a car chase... Can't see how that could go wrong... And for that added bit of luck, there is another cameo from Mr.Tyson as well ! This was a hangover you wouldn't want to get rid of...

Kung Fu Panda is a film that I caught very late, last week in fact, though it has been in theatres for about a month... I really enjoyed it and will leave out any further explanations with the expectations that you watch it too...

X Men - First Class is another of the big hollywood releases that came our way & this too was a good watch.... The film provides a look into the origins of some of the other central characters from this much-loved super hero series... Magneto & Prof.X find their respective characters in the movie as they leave their alter-egos, Eric & Charles behind... We are also introduced to a younger Mystique, a newly created Beast & many other characters that will probably enthrall us in the years to come...

Rounding up the Hollywood brigade was the 3rd Transformers movie... This was released with much fanfare (on a wednesday, at that) so that it could be coordinated with the world release dates... Though the film delivers on the promise of action & excellent visuals (in some of the best 3D seen so far), the plot is too long drawn and one tends to lose interest as the film unfold... At 2 and a half hrs, it is one of the longest Hollywood productions in recent times, but fails to hold the audiences' attention for the most...

At the time of writing this, I have just returned from another film which was been eagerly anticipated... However, this film is deserving of its own personal space.. Hence, I will attempt to write a bigger piece on this movie soon... Bhaag, bhaag ... :)

3 nights, 3 movies

After a long hiatus, this week had a lot to offer for cinema enthusiasts.. As I flipped through the newspaper on Friday, I could see ads for 6 movies which I had been wanting to watch.. As I write this blog, I have watched 3 of those movies and plan to watch the rest over the next 3 days..

The first movie is 'Shor in the City'... I started to want to watch this movie only after hearing the positive buzz it had created in the days leading up to its release... I was not disappointed after watching the excellent performance from the cast, outstanding technicals by the crew & all-round brilliant direction from the film-makers... The script is taut & unpredictable, yet believable (probably since it was inspired by true events)... And the fact that the film-makers have used mostly fresh talent is even more note-worthy...

The next movie was 'Thor'.. For the uninitiated, Thor is one of the comic book super-heroes who forms part of the 'Avengers', the team of super-heroes from Marvel Comics... Marvel studios has been working on the series of films that will tie-in with its 'Avengers' movie (due for release in May'12).. The previous films in this series have been Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk & Iron Man 2.. Thor is the 4th film, and will be followed by 'Captain America - The First Avenger' which is due for release in July this year... Now that the introductions are through, Thor proved to be an engrossing watch, though, for obvious reasons, it is not an 'intellectually stimulating' movie... There is plentiful action, that too in 'glorious 3-dimensions' and the inevitable subtle tongue-in-cheek reference to the most successful films in the series so far, i.e. the Iron Man duology... The titular character is one that the audience will immediately identify with even though he is derived from a Norse myth - arrogant, chivalrous, brave, powerful... The other familiar faces in the ensemble are Anthony Hopkins, Stellan Skarsgard, Rene Russo & Natalie Portman...

The third movie was Source Code... Wikipedia describes it as a 'mystery techno-thriller' and I broadly agree... The concept for the movie is new, even though it will warrant inevitable comparisons with other films like Deja Vu & even Inception... At the risk of giving something away, I will refrain from revealing any more, but I will recommend it was a good watch...

The next 3 I have in my sights are I Am, Chalo Dilli & Fast 5... I'm hoping to catch these over the next 3 days and will make sure to scribble here about it when I do...

Encore !

i'm not even going to bother explaining this time.. No excuses... But I'll just say that the movie I watched today inspired the title of the blog, which seemed apt in describing the return to writing...

As I discovered today, 'Encore' means 'Once Again' in French... I've heard the word used many times in the context of music concerts, when the artiste returns to the stage at the end of the performance, due to the crowd cheering & demanding 'more' ...

The movie in question here is this week's release, Utt Pataang..

The film reinforces my appreciation of the work done by Vinay-Ranbir-Rajat-Saurabh-friends in making films that entertain audiences with fresh material without going the way of the so-called 'mainstream cinema'... The stories that they tell are as believable as they are unlikely.. The performances of the cast are outstanding, and playing double roles too absolute perfection seems to some naturally to them..

In this case, the double role is from Vinay Pathak, who plays the simple & heart-broken Ram, as well as the French-speaking casanova don, Lucky... Saurabh Shukla plays private detective Nandu, who is Ram's best friend... Mona Singh plays Koyal, a girl who's just broken up with her fiancee and falls in love with Ram... Mahie Gill plays Ram's ex Sanjana, who's now trying to con the don ... They all play their roles brilliantly and give extremely natural performances...

The story & direction is by first-timer Srikanth V Velagaleti, and the screenplay & dialogues are by Saurabh Shukla... They succeed effortlessly in keeping the audience riveted to the events of one night that changes everyone's life...

Anyways, enough said.. In keeping with tradition, I'm not going to divulge any more... Please go & see for yourself...

A Prolonged Absence...

Wow... A 5 month hiatus.. That's a long time... And its not that I've been too busy, or that there haven't been enough good movies to write about... The primary reason why I did not get the urge to write was that I had already read something close to what I'd have written on a subject somewhere else..

Take for instance, the masterpiece from Hollywood this summer, i.e. Inception... I simply loved the movie, and a post on it would have been a natural extension for my post on The Dark Knight.. But I don't think anything I'd have written would be 'original' in any sense, having read so much about it before & after I watched the movie.. Anything that I thought would be interesting about the film would already have been covered...

That brings me to what brought me to write this post today... I have seen a few movies in the past couple of weeks that the critics would have panned for various reasons like lack of a plot, too much violence, predictable storyline, etc etc etc. However, these movies proved to be extremely entertaining, especially to a male, action-loving audience. These are the movies which prove to be excellent breaks from the monotony of office life while not forcing you to think beyond what is visible on the screen. There will be no hidden plot elements that you will intelligently recall as the story develops ("Hey, look at that.. They'd shown that same thing in the first scene, remember!") and no moralistic lessons to learn... The movies in question here are the A-Team & The Expendables.. Both movies are mindlessly fun to watch, though the humour in A-T would score a few extra points ("He's trying to fly a Tank")... It is amazing to note that Sylvester Stallone, at the age of 64, can pull off a movie like this, especially since he's directed & co-written it as well.. Kodos to you, sir.. (P.S.: To be fair, I watched Salt too which could fall into these categories above, but lets just leave that out of the reckoning since it made the audience feel plain stupid. No offence, Angelina)

I also watched Peepli Live & Aisha which I'll not dwell too much upon, since neither impressed me too much, frankly..

Due on my list of must-watches is Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai & Lafangey Parindey...

Till next time... Cheerio...

Who's on the line ? Tell me Who's calling ... ?

Ahh.... It's a relief to see a hindi psychological thriller which does not leave the audience feeling stupid due to the sheer predictability of the cliched screenplay & settings... That's not saying that the script is not predictable.. But it is presented in a way that is most original & intelligent... As a friend, who typically hates the song & dance routine of Bollywood, put it, its not like most hindi movies... In fact, I read on a review on PFC that it's nice to see that the scenic locales of Cochin have not been used for the actress dancing around on a boat with the actor in tow (both deep into a song routine)..

The director realises the importance of the Pledge, the Turn & the Prestige in any thriller while at the same time respecting the discerning cinegoers' intellect... This means that there are tidbits & hints left over during the first half which all tie up in the second half as the mystery is unravelled.... All this is pretty impressive, especially considering that the writer / director is a debutante... I guess Excel Entertainment have made it a habit to get promising writers & directors in their fold... Farhan himself is a good example, and so is his sister Zoya ..

On the topic of Farhan, it is impossible not to shower laurels on his performance in the film... He is simply outstanding... His performance & transition from the shy, reserved & constantly bullied Karthik to the sharp, outgoing & aggresive Karthik is commendable... Deepika too seems to be headed in the right direction... Not only does she look amazing in the movie, her acting skills have improved considerably over her expressionless Bachna Ae Haseeno & Love Aaj Kal... Oh, and did I mention that she looks amazing... ? Well, she does, really... Uff Teri Adaa, I like the way you move !

Well, next on my list are Road Movie & Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge... which I'll hopefully cover within the week... I've covered many movies during the time I've not posted (November was the last one) though am not in a mood to get into that now... Will try and catch up over the coming posts...

Till then, cheerio !

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 !

Jaane Kyun, Dil Jaanta Hai...

I just came back from Dostana, one of the most hyped movies of the winter (if you can call it dat in Mumbai), and came bak feeling not too impressed... I mean, its not as if it wasn't fun... John luked gr8, Priyanka was smoking hot, and Abhishek was the cool dude he's made himself of late... Some of the scenes were hilarious and the expressions on the actors' faces priceless... but the story didn't really pack a punch...

Going into unchartered territory for mainstream Hindi cinema ( ... the gay theme .... ) one would have thought a better crafted script would have come out.... wat it makes itself to be, is a series of predictable encounters, expecially in the second half where one thought that things were just getting to be interesting... I read a review that said the film was 'insensitive' (yes, must'be been the only journo who didn't get a goodie bag after the premiere) and I tend to agree in some portions... the gay-bashing is quite apparent & there are other instances too which seemed very inappropriate... wont say anything more at the risk of giving anything away.....

One thing I did note is the increasing prowess that Priyanka is showing in her roles.... I was really impressed with her in Fashion, and here too, she seems the most real among many over-the-top characters in the film... her expressions seem authentic & her portrayal flaw-less.... kudos, Priyanka.... keep it up....

I'm looking forward to Dasvidanya this week too... especially in the fear that it wont last another week in the Navi Mumbai theatres.... after that it'll be up to December with RNBDJ & Ghajini.... i can't find any update on the release dates of Hollywood movies, so don't know the scene dere...

Civic Sense in India

Got a nice mail on civic sense in India... Really hilarious.. (And maybe we should take a few lessons... ?) .... Reproducing it verbatim as under:

15 Rules That India Lives by:

1.The Other Side Law:
If my side of the road has a traffic jam, then I can start driving on the wrong side of the road, and all incoming cars will be rerouted via Meerut.

2. The No Queue Rule:
If there is a queue of many people, no one will notice me sneaking into the front as long as I am looking the other way.

3. The Mind Over Matter Law:
If a red light is not working, four cars from different directions can easily pass through one another..

4. The Auto Axiom:
If I indicate which way I am going to turn my vehicle, it is an information security leak.

5. The In Spit Of Thing:
The more I lean out of my car or bus, and the harder I spit, the stronger the roads become.

6. The Cinema Hall Fact:
If I get a call on my mobile phone, the film automatically goes into pause mode.

7. The Brotherhood Law:
If I want to win an argument, I need only to repeatedly suggest to the other person that I have illicit relations with his sister.

8. The Baraat/ Marriage Right:
When I'm on the road to marriage, all the roads in the city belong to me. To ME.

9. The Heart Of Things:
If I open enough buttons on my shirt, the pretty girl at the bus stop can see through my malformed chest into the depths of my soul.

10. The Name Game:
It is very important for the driver behind me to memorize the nicknames of my children.

11. Parking Up The Wrong Tree:
When I double-park my car, the road automatically widens so that the traffic is not affected.

12. The Chill Bill Move:
When I park and block someone else's car I am giving him a chance to pause, relax, chill and take a few moments off from his rushed day.

13. The Ogling Stare:
If you don't ogle and drool at every hot Chick that passes by, you're gay.

14. The Bus Law:
If I stop my bus at the correct place near the bus stop, the city will explode and blow into 6 million pieces.

15. The VIP Rule:
There are only 3 important persons in this city -Me, I, Myself!

You know.... just maybe....

786

'Saat Sau Chhayaasi' (Seven Hundred & Eighty Six) is one of those numbers which have an iconic status in Bollywood parlance... 'Bismillah number' as the number is referred to commonly, due to the numerical value of the opening phrase of the Qur'an ('Bismillah' or 'In the Name of Allah'), is considered 'lucky' and 'sacred' by many Muslims in this part of the world...

786, thus has been used in a number of Bollywood films as the call-sign for the leading men of the respective movies... One of the first I remember is in Yash Chopra's "Deewar" (1975), wherein Amitabh Bachchan, in one of his iconic roles as the 'angry young man' wears the Billa no. 786 on his arm as a license to unload goods at the docks... A fellow worker (Rahim kaka a.k.a. Yunus Parvez) explains the significance of the number to Amitabh in one of the first scens on the docks...

In 1983, Amitabh used the number again in his role as Iqbal Khan, in 'Coolie'... Once again, his Billa no. is 786 as a Coolie in a Mumbai train station...

Amitabh has said that he finds the number 'auspiscious' for him since Deewar was one of the huge hits that catapulted him into superstardom and also because he survived a near fatal accident during the shooting of Coolie...

In later years, Mithun-da starred in a movie called 'Billa No. 786', but I confess I only just found out about this while Googling the words right now...

The most recent recurrence however is again attributed to Yash Chopra in Veer Zaara for Shahrukh Khan's character, Veer Pratap Singh.... "Kaidi no. saat sau chhayaasi... allah ka nek banda"... There was even an entire poem starting with the line "Main, kadi no. 786....." that SRK narrated about his experience in prison in the movie ... Skeptics may point out that this was another way in which SRK tried to one-up the Big B, but I don't think that's ever been the case ... Anyhow, who am I to argue on this...

As I wind up the post, I must give credit to SET Max which prompted the idea in my mind as Deewar was airing today.... I started Googling on the roots, and voila.... you have your dose of bollywood gyaan....

Until next time.... cheerio !

Zara Hat Ke, Zara Bach Ke, Ye Hai MUMBAI MERI JAAN....

Powered by: Chakpak.com	Mumbai Meri Jaan

I was born in Bombay in 1982, and shifted to Delhi in 1988 where I have 'grown up'....

In 2004, after completing my engineering degree, the city beckoned me again with my first job. Four years on (except for the yr spent in S'pore/Dubai spanning 06 & 07) I'm still here.... I was here when the 26/7 floods happened & spent 18 hours stranded on a bus that day ... I have seen the 'Spirit of Mumbai' in action at these times... It was just a week after I'd left for Singapore that the train blasts of 11/7 took place.... a week later, I even kept the 2 minute silence (while still in S'pore) at the same time as the whole of Mumbai did....

Yesterday night, I watched the movie 'Mumbai Meri Jaan' and was completely swept away by it... the simplicity of direction and the subtle treatment of the subject was simply amazing... the cast was outstanding in every role, so much so that not even a single person should be called a 'supporting actor'.... Irrfan Khan, Kay Kay Menon, Paresh Rawal, Soha Ali Khan, Madhavan, and a host of other little known names make this movie a memorable watch....

It is a fitting tribute to the city which picks itself up everytime anyone tries to push it to the ground & stands taller than before... The film should be made mandatory viewing for all Indians and wouldn't be surprised if the 'Tax-Free' tag is not added in a few days time...

Once again, a salute to the undying spirit of the 'Maximum City'... SALAAM MUMBAI !!!

Tere Mujhse Hai Pehle Ya Naata Koi...

Yunhi Nahi Dil Lagata Joi...
Jaane Tu......... Ya Jaane Na.......

On popular demand, I'm going write a piece on another lively movie of recent times.... Jaane Yu.. Ya Jaane Na... In hind-sight, I'd planned to write it as I came home immediately after watching the movie, but there was a power cut that time... It just got side-lined after that...

The debut vehicle of famous nephew Imraan Khan (if u don't know whose nephew, pls feel free to Google...) and of director Abbas Tyrewala, who's in the past been the successful screenwriter behind such films like Main Hoon Naa and also written lyrics & dialogue for various films (Munnabhai, Salaam Namaste, Welcome... to name a few) is a refreshing 'feel good' story about a group of friends... The lead duo, Imraan & Genelia have put in gr8 performances & share an excellent on-screen chemistry... they play 2 best frnds who do not realise that they're MFEO...

The story goes on as other the frnds watch in despair since the 2 don't even take the hint about a possible spark... the performances of the frnds are also noteworthy as are those of the family... One to particularly watch out for is that of Rajat Kapur & Kitu Gidwani... Prateik Babbar is another surprise package (he's the son of Raj Babbar & the late Smita Patil).. I wont give away more of the story here since that'll just ruin it for most, but please do note the ending lines...

It's a must-watch....

Maane Tu..... Yaa Maane Naa....

And yes, MFEO = Made For Each Other....