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....."