Ajab Pram ki Gajab Kahani…………..

Every individual has a story which is different and the way it is narrated to the third person adds class to it. In the similar fashion Raj Kumar Santoshi narrated Perm’s Gajab Story and that too in style.
The director was back into comedy group but after a long duration, his first comedy venture was Andaz Apna Apna which won all hearts and it’s a family entertainer full of laughter till date and Raj Kumar Santoshi did the same trick again hitting it hard on the Box Office and striking the right chords among the audience.
The director’s work has spoken for him and we all are a witness of it. His direction has 13 ventures in his kitty and some of them are simply a treat to watch: Ghayal, Ghatak and Damini gave Sunny Deol’s career an action punch; with Andaz Apna Apna he came into comedy with Salman and Aamir in the lead to trap the entire nation into his laughter net. With China Gate, Pukar, The Legend of Bhagat Singh, Khakee, Halla Bol, Lajja and Family: Ties of Blood saw him bring different issues into limelight and these ventures saw great performances from actors such as Amitabh Bachan, Ajay Devgan, Rekha, Manisha Koirala, Anil Kapoor and others. And now with his latest venture Ajab Prem Ki Gajab Kahani he has given the audience a perfect laughing gas to get rid of their worries for few hours.
The movie did have a good story and well narrated too, but not to forget the performance from Ranbir and Katrina who have done justice to the character of Prem and Jennifer respectively. Pritam has once again done his homework well and the singers have provided finishing touch to the music director’s efforts.
The singer who seems to be the hot property of the industry: Atif Aslam has struck the right chords once again, and the song “Kaise Bataye” is on every individual’s lips.
Well the movie was a delight, but it also seemed that Raj Kumar Santoshi did try to mix few of the scenes with his other comedy venture Andaz Apna Apna. Eventually landed balancing the scenes in a beautiful.
All in all the movie was worth watching and all of us would say “Paisa Vasool…………. “.

The Hangover: A treat to watch

“When was it that you had the worst hangover”? Do you recall the things you did when you were high on cloud nine? Well you all must have had answers to the two questions that I put up to you. But, how about I ask a similar one: “Have you every been so high that you don’t remember any events/incidents between the time you got high and till you were out of your hangover”? Do you have an answer now? Let’s make things a little worse for you: those moments when you were high were the best you ever lived till date, but you can’t recall them. How tragic!
Well the movie Hangover takes you on such an adventurous ride where four men land up in Vegas for Bachelor’s Party (groom, his two friends: teacher and the other a dentist and the groom’s brother-in-law) get high in Vegas and they can’t recall any incident from their best night ever. They lived the best moments of their life from stealing a cop’s car, getting their dentist friend married to a striper and getting him pull out his own tooth, breaking into Tyson’s bungalow and stealing his tiger, helping a local mafia to win eighty thousand at the casino, landing up in the hospital: but how tragic that they can’t recall any of the incidents. When they are over with their hangover, they realize that the groom is missing, and the three of them (two friends of the groom and brother-in-law) set out on a hunt to find their friend with the few clues that they have of their previous night; which lands them up with a baby belonging to the striper, hand cuffed at the police station, getting Tyson’s tiger back to Tyson’s bungalow, winning eighty thousand at the casino to repay the local mafia and finally finding their friend (groom) at the roof top. They have their digital camera which helps them to know what they really did that night. Well it’s a definitely a fun ride where they all race against time to get the groom to his wedding.
A bollywood movie “Sunday”, starring Ajay Devgan, Ayesha Takia had a similar plot related to Ayesha Takia not remembering what happened on last Sunday. But this Hollywood treat is definitely different and much more entertaining. All the actors especially Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, Heather Graham have done justice to the characters and they do keep entertaining you throughout the movie. The movie maintains a constant pace all through which has helped to maintain the flow of the movie which holds the viewers to their seats and their popcorn.
It is a definite movie for all viewers to watch with friends in the near theatre, thank you Todd Phillips for such a hilarious and entertaining summer treat.

Movie Review: New York

Release of Yash Raj’s Banner product “New York” was a definite treat for all the bollywood fans and much awaited movie to be watched as it had been a dry patch for all the fans for almost two months as the long battle between the multiplexers and the distributors/producers ended giving all a relief. And Aditya Chopra left no stone unturned to provide the viewers with the latest entertainment that the Yash Raj banner had for all its fans.
Well, what happened after 9/11 in the States, had changed the perception of the entire world towards the Muslim community, and the suspect actions taken against them is very well known to the entire world, Movie “Khuda Ke Liye” did throw light on this topic and they sent a message to the world that; “All Muslims are not terrorists“. Well, Yash Raj banner picked up the same topic but they portrayed a different side of the story where- innocent people who land up in the suspect list and their journey after their release.
Well, the movie isn’t just about the FBI or the Detention Centre or about how people take up the route of terrorism. We should not forget that we are watching a Yash Raj Production, so there are good and smart looking people around (John, Neil, Katrina), good clothes and good locations, good frames and of course good music ( Hai Junoon, Mere Sang) and a good directional effort from Kabir Khan and a well supported producer effort from Aditya Chopra. All in all, a perfect treat for the hungry audience of the bollywood who had been denied a good decent meal for a couple of months.
Well the movie does loose out of a little, there is confusion as to whose story is it: “Sameer’s or Umar’s”. The first half is not impressive, especially the college portion, thanks to Hai Junoon which holds the audiences to their seats. Every actor has done justice to the characters: if was great to watch John with some acting performance, Neil too has proved his acting skills apart from his good looks, Katrina has matched the requirement of the character in the film and she looks so pretty (Love you) and Irrfan has done what he is best at, hats off to all of them.
The movie has definitely sent a message to the people around the world, as to how life changes for people who undergo such a trauma of being a terror suspect and that all Muslims are not Terrorists and the society does create situations which force them to take the route of terrorism which they think it to be as Jehad.
Over all, it’s a movie to watch in the theatre with your friends, family, girlfriend/boyfriend and everyone so go for it, thank you Kabir and Aditya for such a treat.

Bollywood’s bitter battle: Producer/distributer & Exhibitors

Being a citizen of such a nation where films are not just a source of entertainment but also have a great impact on the lives of the people. They swing to the tunes of the music, cry and laugh with the artists, the dialogues become the punch line, the costumes of the artists are in demand among the consumers and the fashion and trends are set by the artists, the artists are worshiped, tickets are sold well in advance and there are long queues at the booking counters. Such is the craze of the film industry in our country and when we are denied such source of entertainment how fury can one get, it is not just the industry’s loss but ours as well.
While the Producers and Exhibitors are battling it out over the revenue which would be shared between them, has left the audience without any entertainment from the industry. As none of the movies are being released due to the battle and it has forced the bollywood fans to fall back to the old memories and revise the magic of the oldies such as Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachan, Vajayntimala, Nutan, Rekha and others.
The recession has definitely hit our entertainment industry as well but we need to remind producers and exhibitors that in recession period quality also matters, which the industry has failed to provide to its audience. The multiplexes do attract viewers because of the infrastructure that they provide and the viewers do pay for the comfort and facilities that are provided to them; but paying a very heavy price for things not required is not at all feasible. Audiences do curse the directors and producers when they are disappointed after watching the film, in fact some of us do walk out of the theater in between of the film. They cannot provide us with even an original work which would entertain us and make us feel proud and ask for more, the quality has drifted to the drains earlier the name of the director or producer or in fact the banner’s name was enough to attract the viewers but now a days its just the fan following rest the script, direction etc is just crap.
When they fail to deliver what is expected from them than why this battle, it is just ruining everyone’s time, just stop fighting and let the movies hit the theater and sit back and let us enjoy because we know that you will be showing us- the similar plots and inspired plots which bollywood is known for because originality is sometime which none of the industry people seem to know. So please end this battle and roll your dice and keep your fingers crossed……………

Gulaal: Power, Politics, Revolution:- Perfect Kitchri

After the success of Dev D, Mr. Kashyap gave the Indian audience a perfect taste of power, politics and corruption all in all a pre-summer treat in form of his latest venture “Gulaal”. After having seen the promotional trailer of the film one could have expected the movie to be an entirely different venture from the director’s past projects (such as Black Friday, No Smoking, Dev D).
You would be well aware of plot of the project, as I have delayed myself from updating my blogs (due to few reasons), so I would not get to the plot, neither would like to discuss it as everyone would have their own outlook on the plot, (else you would be bored while reading the blog).
But the plot does reflect and tells us about the guts of a fattu lover who proves to his superiors that he does have balls. The college politics once again gets attention, the frontier and crave to gain power by any means is just the sole objective of the plot.
This project of Mr. Kashyap has some of the fine performance by Kay Kay Menon and Aditya Srivatava (it’s again a delight to see both of them share the space on screen in Mr. Kashyap’s venture after Black Friday), hard hitting dialogues, good locations and music that perfectly creates the required taste that the audience would have expected.
However, during the film it did feel that you are watching Mr. Kashyap’s venture, it felt more like Mr. Bhardwaj’s venture. It could be due to the fact that we had not seen such projects from Mr. Kashyap’s kitty or the impact of Dev D was such that I failed to connect, what ever it may have been it definitely is and will remain Mr. Kashyap’s venture which has again hit the right chords among the audience. But I just wanted to ask the Director Sahib a question (fortunately I have never managed to find an answer to it myself either) “Why are you people in such a hurry to end”. While you begin perfectly and than end in such a rush that the second half of the plot becomes too tight to digest. Please slow down so that we audience can connect as to what is happening, I do want to remind you that we, the audience do not have the ability to think as the script writer or director, we see and understand what you show us not how you want us to see.
Anyways all in all Gulaal is yet another success gem in Mr. Kashyap’s crown, so all cheers to you Sir, Keep up the great work, looking forward to your next venture.

Billu: “The Chitrahar”

I happen to see Mr. Priyadarshan’s new venture Billu Barber (Opps! Sorry), it’s only “Billu”. Well, I had heard about the controversy that the movie was going through and also read the director’s statement in the magazine India Today, he stated that, “When a foreigner calls us slumdogs, we listen ? And when an Indian calls a barber by his name, we protest?” I decided to watch the film as to know what was so important in the film that name from “Billu Barber” to “Billu” made Mr. Priyadarshan upset. After watching the film I concluded that he wanted to bring a barber into limelight as the film had nothing to offer to the audience.
The plot of the film was nothing new; we have all heard the story in Katha Parayumpol and Kuselan. Krishna and Sudama‘s friendship tale is the tale which every child hears from his/her grandparents and that is what is the base of the plot. The film has the comedy trio of Priadarshan Om Puri, Rajpal Yadav and Asrani, the only missing link was Paresh Rawal, and he must be busy entertaining others?
The humors of the film are normal which would not make you laugh or even bring a smile to your face; some of them are even lost as Irrfan Khan is not able to carry them off properly. It is not that he has not done justice to his character, infact he has outplayed all the characters of the film. The expression, his dialogue delivery and the dept in eyes speaks volumes. Whether he is renovating his umbrella or is speaking on the phone, he has outplayed the entire cast of the film.
Shah Rukh Khan is just fine has not much too offer to the film expect the explanation that he gives about the quarrel between the Khans in the film industry and his emotional speech and crying for last 15-20 minutes, which he has performed to his potential, else apart from that he has managed to be again young and match up the dancing steps with three young ladies of the industry. Billu’s wife Lara Dutta needs to do her homework a little better and his children need to be a little grateful to their father.
But while watching the film I had a feeling that I was watching a television show on Dordarshan, called “Chitrahar”, it use to be telecast on Wednesday, 7:00 p.m. by Pooja Bhatt. She use to throw a little knowledge about the films and music and than we had a beautiful song to be watched and heard. This movie was nothing more than a Chitrahar and Shah Rukh’s entry seems like a rework of Harry Baweja’s “Love Story 2050”. The movie was just another disappointment from Priyadarshan’s bag. It seems he would again have to go over his old films and find a plot to remake it in Hindi so that he can increase his list of hit film in bollywood. Well all we can say the stars that please tell/act out a story which we all can appreciate and enjoy, else sit back and free us from the burden of watching pathetic movies.

Dev-D: “Emotional Atyachar”

Well, finally I happen to see Dev-D, the movie much talked about among many of my friends. Anurag Kashyap, the man who has given us different taste of cinemas at different level of understanding in his own unique style. Well what can I say about him, we have all seen his master pieces: Black Friday- that reflected his hard work and his potential as a director and was well appreciated by the audience.
No Smoking: though this film was his innovative way to stop or rather help and support the government to stop the consumption of cigarettes, but the concept and the idea was way beyond the understanding of cigarette consumers. How I wish it would have been a success as it would at least help passive smokers.
And now our director is back with the old wine in the new bottle. And he has done well, Thumbs up with vodka for our director. Well the Devdas of 21st Century is what we needed to see and that’s what he has given us, with the same emotions, betrayal, misunderstanding and loads of Vodka and joints. Infact, our Dev is nothing less than a “Charsi”, but that is what a heart broken lover boy of our time would do to get over with the emotional atyachar. (As there are more drugs available than before.), and finally gets back to his senses knowing that getting has will eventually destroy him. Good work director sahib this is what today’s heart broken Romeos need to learn. What do you think?
Our Paro has done her homework well and the amount efforts she takes to send her topless photo to Dev via the internet and in carrying the mattress to the fields and back without much of its use and also freaking out to the tunes of the music on her wedding does win her the audience’s sympathy.
Our Chanda is no less than Paro, she has also done justice to her character. From getting involved in the sex scandal MMS, getting her father killed for asking him a question and to becoming a sex worker. Her ability to switch over to language on he phone to satisfy the needs of her customer is amazing, not only that her love for Dev is nothing less than Paro’s and that’s what got her love.
Anurag Kashyap has shown the entire film from his perspective and it seems that our director may have had to face situations which lead him to see and show the audience his kind of world. But above all the film is all about attitude towards life and that’s what is needed in the world. He has managed to bring the DPS scandal and the incidents of drunk driving (Remember, which had our Sallu bhai running over with his car killing and injuring people sleeping on the pavement) in limelight too. But whatever it may be the director has done a wonderful job by ending the film in Chanda’s favor.
There still remains few questions which director shahib needs to answer as to what the songs were badly choreographed and linked loosely to the film and above all why on earth did you give the film such a bad ending.
Well, Mr. Kashyap all I can say is that the film too off like Black Friday and ended like No Smoking, over all your Devdas, Paro and Chanda impressed everyone (I hope) and the charsi environment that you created for me scares me and I think I should offer you Thumps Up with Vodka and take your leave else I may land up thinking that my drinking water is Vodka and my room is as dirty and filthy as that of a Charsi. So, drink and smoke to your success and hope that your next film Gulaal is another good treat from your side. Till than cheers…………

Delhi-6: "Jai Monkey Man"

I watched Rakeysh OmPrakash Mehra’s Delhi-6, while I was in Bangalore. The streets, the people, havelis, the rickshaw pullers, food all made me nostalgic about Delhi and I longed to go back (though I am not a Delhite but have spent 6 yrs in Delhi), no doubt Purani Delhi rocks. But the film oh!!!!!!!!!! again a tragedy.
Our director ROM who has given us films like Rang De Basanti in the recent times has failed to recreate the magic and charm that the audience expected from him. What a sheer disappointment!
Mr Mehra, seems to be vary fascinated by the use of media channels in his films, his last film had the entire country’s response towards the death of five young men who had killed the defiance minister and now in his latest movie Delhi-6 the response of the people over Kaala Bandar (Monkey Man), who had made into the news few years back. (I don’t recall it my self when the Monkey Man had left his fear among the Delhites). Also, he seems very fond of bringing a foreign element in his films, in RDB he had a British girl who taught a bunch of young and reckless youths a lesson on patriotism, now in Delhi-6 a grandson brought up in New York travels to his native land with his dieing grandmother.
Instead of the plot of the film (as most of you must have watched it by now) lets get into the film (leaving behind the plot). The movie is more of a kind of episode of a television serial. The initial half of the film seems to be a story or rather pages narrated from Rohan’s (Abishek Bachan) diary. Where he meets his own native family members and experiences of the time spent among them. The chemistry between Om Puri and Pawan Malhotra is well established and executed. Atual Kulkarni has done a fine work but I think Divya Dutt has performed well and done justice to her role. Well Sonam Kapoor would have to work a little hard to impress the audience as she seems more passionate towards being an Indian Idol rather than her role in the film. Rishi Kapoor and Waheeda Rehman were fine in their part but could have been better. Junior AB’s performance was also fine and his frequent conversion from Hindi ascent to English and vise-versa seems to be too much for the audience to handle.
Rakeysh OmPrakash Mehra had been so busy with his locations and the sets that he simply forgot about the script of the film, and also the Ramayan performance by the Ram Leela mandali was also the disturbing element in the flow of the film. The music provided by AR Rehman (the man who brought back 2 Oscars, to India after a gap of 100 years) has done his homework well and the music is simply loved by all, but the linking of the songs to the loose links of the films simply ruins the charm of the music, Masakali is such an example.
The second half of the film is too racing for the audience to understand what really happened. Why are the directors in a hurry to end the film all of a sudden? The Hindu- Muslim fight over their religion is nothing new for any Indian we have seen it happen. But the person who has taken advantage and stolen the entire show is the Kaala Bandar/ Monkey Man.
Overall the film Delhi-6 is just another disappointment from the film industry and the much hyped director Rakeysh OmPrakash Mehra. Whether this movie will leave its impact or not but the Kaala Bandar/ Monkey Man will definitely leave his mark onto the film industy.

...........Barks of the Slumdog

As February draws to an end, the entire film industry can feel the heat of the “Oscars”. Though the Official entry to the Oscars from India faced a setback, the country still has the tunes of A R Rahman, who has forced the entire world to swing to the tunes.
Danny Boyle, the man who has given hits such as Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, 28 Days Later has yet again hit the bull’s eye. This time he has turned his attention towards the slums of Mumbai. The slums of Mumbai has always been the centre of attraction and exploration for our Bollywood directors and we all have seen it on the screen several times (Salaam Bombay, Satya, Company, etc.) and this time the slum goes international. It had caught the eyes of Danny Boyle who has shown it to the entire world through his much acclaimed film ”Slumdog Millionaire”.
The Plot of the film is a fairy tale and the audiences are expected to keep their brains where is belongs and without giving it much stress, they are advised to enjoy their popcorn and watch Jamal win millions and also his lady love Latika.
Danny Boyle has done justice to the script and also has done a great job as a director. The slums have been shown as they are to the audience to enjoy, one cannot ask for anything better than that from Mr. Boyle and his crew. The entire cast crew of the film whether it is the child or the senior artists all have done justice to the film and all of them deserve applause for their performance.
Not to forget the man behind the soundtracks who has left the entire world humming to his tunes, Mr. A R Rahman, the man has once again proved to the world that he is one of the finest in the business. His work has not only been recognized but he has also earned three Academy awards nominations. It’s certainly a great achievement for him and a delight for his fans back home.
Well, the entire world is going gaga over “Slumdog Millionaire”, (even I have liked and praised the film), but at the same time a series of questions struck my mind.
1.Haven’t we seen better storyline or better films than Slumdog Millionaire, the same year of its release?
2.Haven’t we heard better compositions from Rahman?
(Well this one is for Hollywood where the entire world hears it, while the others were for Bollywood which only we and other Indians/people understanding Hindi listen to), over al we have had better composition from him.
So, why such a hype about this film “Slumdog Millionaire”?
In Rang de Basanti, Rakesh Om Prakash Mehra brought a British Girl to the country to direct a film on young freedom fighters; she landed up teaching the young and reckless youths of the country about patriotism. Well this time we have an English director who shows the entire worlds the actual life of the slums of Mumbai, the life of poverty and misery, the ugly and dark side of life that one leads after riots. Well we are aware of all these facts because we live by it but we need a foreigner to tell this to the world why are we too ashamed to tell our own story. (These areas of life have been touched earlier by our directors too but they failed to make an impact.)
It is really strange to note that the script, film location, soundtracks, cast and crew was in our own country but we saw the entire film from the perspective and eye of a foreigner. We go gaga about our film industry being one of the biggest in the world and sing praises about it, well my friends this same film industry has failed to produce a film which could win an Oscar and make the entire country proud. There are countries which are much smaller than our country but they have mastered the art of making quality cinema which has entertained the entire world and also managed to win Oscars. Our country has the finest script writers, finest actors, great directors, lyricists, music directors but still we fail to make one quality film which can be make the entire country.
Slumdog Millionaire has gained attention all over the globe and whether it is worth the attention is an opinion of the audience across the globe. I too praise the work and efforts of the entire crew, but the amount of attention and hype that it has created is just a little difficult to digest.
A R Rahman winning an Oscar would be a great achievement for him but not for our film industry, if the people say that, “Look at Slumdog Millionaire as an Indian film”, than I would consider it like “a daal tadka” with an English cheese taking away the entire taste, which certainly we Indians can’t enjoy. Can we?
It is high time for the Indian film industry to wake up from its sleep else again another film will be directed in our territory showing our culture and land but with another tadka and flavor of foreign director, and you never know it may win an Oscar again.
So, Dear producers, script writers and directors, please wear on your thinking caps and get moving, till then Jai Ho……..