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...

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 !

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...

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....

One weekend, Two movies...

It was a busy last week, wherein I've seen a total of 4 movies (including one repeated twice) over the past 8 days... The one I saw twice was "Get Smart"... (no, I'm not much smarter watching it the second time) ... One helluva movie... (a good review by my frnd on http://without-an-h.blogspot.com/)

The next was "Made of Honour"... there's not much in the story so I'll just give it away... it's 'My Best Friend's Wedding' with a different ending... no prizes for guessing wat the difference actually is... One might wonder that it doesn't boast of the most famous of starcasts & the story is used, so what is left in the movie... the answer is that despite this it manages to hold its own with over-all good performances & an intelligent screenplay...

The last was "Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic" which is another sugar-coated Hindi movie (to quote a friend who hated it)... the story is predictable & performances are ordinary... though I did not get bored, I wouldn't say I'll watch it again even if I was paid to do so..... As Taran Adarsh puts it for many movies - "Average Fare"....

Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed...

These are the lines which keep repeating themselves during the movie 'Sarkar Raj' which I saw this morning... (for the few reading the blog who do not know what the title means, here's a helpful link... http://www.geocities.com/mahaabhaarat/glossary/page2n-z.htm)

The movie is interesting for the afficianados of the first 'Sarkar' who want to see the growth of Shankar Nagre (Abhishek Bachchan) from where he left off at the end of the first... that's exactly where this movie takes off from ... The plot is an intersting mix of the Dabhol project, the Thakerays & Shiv Sena, 'The Godfather' and many more twists in between a-la RGV... I wont give away too much for anyone who's intending to watch it...

Though the movie did get my attention for the entire length, I must say I was not too impressed... It's the same old story repackaged with one more Bachchan (Rai) but the numbers even up at the end....

Back after a hiatus....

Hello boys ... I'm baaackkkk !!! :-P.... (For the uninitiated, that was Randall Quaid's line from Independence Day.... I don't mean any gender discrimination...)

Its around 6 months since my last post, & I wonder what I have done in these past months ... For one, my laptop was stolen from my home, so I'm still kinda lost without it... Also, work's gotten pretty hectic, & I'm struggling to reach some kind of work-life balance, however cliched that may sound)...

But I'm happy to report that I've still been watching all the movies (though I've not seen Jodhaa Akbar yet)... The last I saw was Mithya... a brilliant movie in every sense ... Rajat Kapoor behind the camera & Ranbir Shourie in front of it... the movie is perhaps the best satire to come out of Indian cinema in a long time (the only reason I say 'long time' is that I have watched a certain movie called Jaane bhi Do Yaaro which is a class apart)...

Other than that, my DVD collection has built up considerably.... I watched Charlie Wilson's War yesterday, but was quite unimpressed... Tom Hanks, Philip Seymour Hoffman & Julia Roberts starred in the movie, but the screenplay (by Aaron Sorkin) was not good enough...

Juno, on the other hand, was very good... Diablo Cody has written a witty story & has been supported in front of the camera by a brilliant performance from Ellen Page...

I'll get back with more reviews soon, & hope to be more regular...

Cheerio !!!

I'm Back ... & so is RGV...

After a 5-month long hiatus... I'm back !!!

I'm now working full time with Reliance Retail helping them set up their newly launched hypermarkets all over India... I just got back to Mumbai (my new home) after a month long stay in Ahmedabad where we launched Reliance Mart...

Well, thats enuff about my job... on to more exciting stuff

Though there r a lots of movies I've seen recently, there r none i'd particularly like 2 write about... Chakde was one of the best movies in recent times & Heyy Babyy was a wholesome entertainer... Ratatouille was amazing & Transformers was average... But what stole the show was RGV ki AAG... I don't remember seeing such a wholesome load of Crap in my life... For all those who thought Salaam-e-Ishq was the worst... we have a new contender in town !!!

I thought the movie was an utter insult to the original Sholay... if RGV wanted 2 spoof Sholay I think he should have just gone ahead & done so, rather than get caught in the dilemma of whether to spoof or to remake... even the Big B has embarrassed himself by becoming a mere caricature of Indian cinema's greatest villain...

I think that's sufficient bashing for now... I'll try 2 keep the blog up 2 date with the latest in my life...

Ciao for now...

Ta Ra Rum Pum

As I was preparing to leave my house to watch this movie yesterday, one of my friend's strongly opposed my plans. Her exact words were, "nahiiiiiiiiiiii .... don't!!!!!!!!!! .... i've seen it ... it totally sucks!!!!!!!! ... spend ur money elsewhere ..." I explained to her that it was the only movie I cud watch wid my family and that another frnd had told me it was "cute & a one time watch" so it cudn't be that bad... She finally submitted and said "so when r u leavin for the gawdawful saccarine fest called tararumpum ..." (for the uninitiated, saccharine means 'sweetener' and pertains to the word 'Shona' which finds wholesome use in the movie).

However, she also proceeded to give some more 'vishesh tippani' on the film... "that movie totally pissed me off ... redundancy at its best ... i think rani does only those kinda movies ... in which she is like the fulcrum for the whole house ... n the heroes r just spineless morons ..."

After this kind of an appetizer for the movie, my expectations were zero... Maybe that's why I quite liked it... :-)

Ta Ra Rum Pum is another movie from the Yash Raj Films (YRF) camp that attempts to do something different with the Hindi film, to get across a larger message for society with a story devoid of "bad guys" and maintaining enough value for the entire family to watch. Director Siddharth Anand's second movie (after Salaam Namaste) has proved to be something that all people, from adults, to the youth & the kids should be able to relate to... The story & situations of the movie are something almost everyone who has watched the ad will know... A successful racer, who loses it all in a race accident... and the tale of how he & his family brave the circumstances & succeed....

A carefree man who stumbles upon an early success in life ... This is Saif's character called Raj Veer Singh (RV) in the movie... He is uneducated, is a highly successful racer and loves to splurge... Rani's character (Radhika) is the opposite ... She plans everything, is pursuing her degree & is penny-wise even though her father seems to be a millionaire... They hook up, get married and have kids... RV becomes hugely successful and the audience waits for the "crash" which everyone seems to have seen in the trailers...

Yes, the crash changes everything for RV... After a gap of 1 year where he recovers from injuries, RV gets back to racing, but seems to have lost the "killer instinct" with which he raced before... After a series of losses, he is kicked out by the team... On the street, with no income, RV & family find it tough to cope with the lifestyle they have become used to... The loans for the house and the cars are unpaid and the family is forced to shift into a low class society, with no assets to speak of... And RV still doesn't have a job...

The rest of the story deals with how the family learns to cope up with poverty... RV becomes a New York cabbie, Radhika plays the piano at restaurants & clubs, and the kids save their lunch money so they can contribute to the school fees... have tears in your eyes? Well, so did I...

But after all, TRRP is a Hindi movie, and a happy ending is inevitable... In the end, RV teams up with his pal from race-days, Javed Jaffery, and gets back to the track to earn enough money for his son to have an operation... Obviously, he wins the race... And success returns to the family...

Like a grade school fairy tale, the filmmakers give us a "moral" at the end... not to spend beyond your means, live wisely, plan your future... Gosh, that was like a "message issued in the interest of the public"

However, there were ridiculous sides to the movie as well... For starters, Who the f~#k calls their kids "Princess" & "Champ", even if they're only nicknames ??? (I found out their actual names, Priya & Ranveer, on another review, n I swear I didn't hear them in the movie ...) And why was the first half so cramped up with songs??? And how the hell did they manage to find four animated bears (named Ta, Ra, Pa & Ma ...) to sing n dance with on the kid's birthday (I just cant make myself use their so-called names) and that too at a Disney store, which was magically open for them late at night, without any burgler alarms or the sort...

Hehehe, between these inanities, I still quite liked the movie...

Coming up next, hopefully, will be a bit on YRF and how they've contributed to Indian cinema...

Gurubhai a.k.a Dhirubhai...

Spoiler warning !!!

Hell, that sounded just like a Wikipedia article... but then, for those of u who don't want me 2 spoil the movie for u, u can stop reading right here...



Mani Ratnam’s Guru is a story of a villager who dreams big and makes it big... Abhi's performance is one of his best in the title role as Gurukant Desai. The story follows his life starting as a teenager who travels to Turkey in search of work, and finds his inclinations to setting up his own "bij-nuss"... he finds lucrative ways of making money even in Turkey and returns to his village back in Gujarat as a young man who has made a little money in "phoren" lands... He wants to travel to Mumbai to sell polyester; but Guru needs more money to set up shop… he marries Sujatha (Aishwarya soon to be Bachchan Rai) only for the money he’ll get as dowry… Sujatha’s brother Jignesh plays a close friend of Guru’s, who becomes a business partner after Guru’s marriage…

The story then goes on to show how Guru fights the odds to start trading polyester in Mumbai’s Masjid Bunder area, and slowly goes on to expand his enterprise… Along the way he meets newspaper editor - Manik Dasgupta (Mithun-da), his grand-daughter Meenu (Vidya Balan), the journalist - Shyam Saxena (R. Madhavan) and others who help and/or oppose Guru and his ways… Through a series of expansions, IPOs, new plants et al, Guru & his Shakti Corp. reach the pinnacle by becoming “India ki No.1 company” (applause !!!)

Yes, Guru is shown bending and breaking laws, bribing officials and other corporate activities that easily classify as “un-ethical”, but Mani Ratnam somehow manages to show Guru in a positive light… Shyam keeps writing negative articles about Guru & his law-breaking schemes. Shyam regularly throws blows at him but Guru in the end always finds a way out…

The only failing point is peraps the music... A.R. Rahman has composed the score, but the songs are ill-placed and hamper the continuity of the screenplay... 'Tere Bina' is the best song by far... the songs also play in the background where they suit the situations more aptly...

All official announcements have denied any “relationship / resemblance to any persons, living or dead”, but anyone with a knowledge of Reliance & Dhirubhai Ambani’s past will easily have caught the obvious ‘inspiration’ drawn from the names I mentioned… For the uninitiated, Dhirubhai went to Yemen at the age of 16 where he worked for Royal Dutch Shell (in the movie, Guru worked for Burma Shell…) and returned to India to set up shop at Masjid Bunder for the trade of Polyester as well… The various scams of Dhirubhai are well chronicled in the unauthorized biography “The Polyester Prince” but have never been officially admitted (the book is banned in India)… Mithun heads the newspaper “Swatantra”, which has obvious similarities to Indian Express, which attacked Dhirubhai earlier. Guru’s scams are mysteriously similar to those allegedly done by Dhirubhai… Even the cars that Guru is shown to drive early in his career are the same that Dhirubhai is known to have driven…

And to top it all, Gurukant Desai is affectionately called “Gurubhai”, which has more than an obvious resemblance to Dhirubhai…

For the record, my frnd Nisheeth provided me with a commentary during the movie which pointed out the various similarities that I have mentioned above… But I have researched Dhirubhai Ambani (on Google & Wikipedia … :-D) after watching the movie and confirmed all these… I’ll post links to the articles after compiling them…

Well, that’s it for now…

Wishing Abhi n Ash all the Best !!!