Movie Review: Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi

“Did you ever think that every individual has a love story of his/her which is special and extraordinary?”

Well, if you did not think than wear your thinking cap and do the required brain storming, because any individual can have a breathtaking and inspiring love story to tell.
Love does not differentiate between the ordinary and exceptional, the uninteresting and interesting, the unattractive and attractive. Because love knows no distinction.
Love can happen to anyone and once it does it engulfs us into it completely and gives us those miraculous experiences that only love can yield.
Well, I know that I am sounding like a Love Guru…but hey this is what the most awaited movie of Yash Raj banner wants us to know, think and believe.

Welcome to the Review of Aditya Chopra’s Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, starring Shahrukh Khan, Anushka Sharma, and Vinay Pathak.

After a long hibernation period of 8 years, Aditya Chopra wakes up to take the bollywood with a storm to give it one of the biggest hit of the year and taking his list of directorial films to a hat rick.(Other two films directed by him are Dilwale Dhulhaniya Le Jayenge and Mohabbatein.)

The film plot is a love story of a simple man Surinder "Suri" Sahni and his wife Tania "Taani" Gupta whom he has married after her marriage was cancelled because her fiancee was killed in a bus accident on the wedding day, and her professor father suffers a massive heart attack, he asks her and Surinder his favorite student, to marry so that Taani will not be alone after he is gone. The couple agrees, and Taani finds herself in a routine and loveless marriage in Amritsar.
Tanni joins a dance class, which would also help her to participate in the competition with the reality television show “Dancing Jodi”.
Surinder with the help of his friend Balwinder "Bobby" Khosla gets a make over into "Raj" to impress his wife and let her know how much he loves her. She fails to recognize him (as he shaves his mustaches and removes his glasses, and with a different hairstyle, clothing and demeanor), eventually she beings to feel that Raj's personality and nature are more in tune with hers.

Does it not sound familiar to Amol Palekar’s Golmal….(Look change over)…..

Raj is a loud, rude, outspoken and fun-loving person. He joins the dance class and by chance/ divine intervention becomes Taani's partner in the competition.
Well than begins the journey of their love story and the rest you all know as you people must have seen the film.

The positive part of the entire film is its simplicity. The simplicity of the cast (three main characters), the simplicity of the location and of course the realness of Shah Rukh Khan’s innocent shy character. The idea of “ordinary” was perfect; hats off to Aditya Chopra, this simplicity could not be achieved any better.

The biggest flaw is the twist Aditya Chopra attempts which is “Raj”. This is the typical character that’s been in almost every Yash Raj production. A handsome dude who shows the heroine a new way to live, and matches up with the qualities that the girl wants in her hubby.

The problem with the film is its length and a part of movie looks unrealistic when Suri turns into Raj very fast and it is unbelievable.
The movie moves in fine tune for the first hour, Surinder’s interaction with Taani is entertaining and interesting. As Raj steps in, the film moves away from the track and enters into the path of a typical Shah Rukh film.
The storyline after certain duration becomes predictable, but the dialogues hold them in place.
The music is composed by Salim-Sulaiman who has also composed music for Aaja Nachle, Chak De India and Roadside Romeo.The music of the film is good and the songs are shot beautifully and the locations look fresh. But the only song which is imposing is “Haule Haule”, rest all songs are also good but seems to be forced into the film at the wrong junction which spoils the rhythm of the story.

Shahrukh Khan continues his popular trend of introducing a new female faces to the big screen (Amrita Rao in “Mai hoon Na”, Deepika Padukone in “Om Shanti Om” and now supermodel Anushka Sharma).

Performances from the three lead actors were carried out well. Shah Rukh’s simple common man trying to get things right for his wife keeping her happy by asking her out for movies, getting a new car, allowing her to join dance classes so that she is happy is acceptable and also loveable and charming, though the Raj character was overplayed many times (the age factor too shows up on his face at times which indicates that its time for him to drop his lover boy image).
Anushka Sharma is definitely one of the best debutant actresses of this year and has displayed maturity in her character which would certainly make producers stop at her doorstep. Vinay Pathak’s role is well executed and effective as Surinder’s best friend.

Overall the movie is limited to the first hour and a few scenes in the middle, other than that it’s two and a half hours of a weak storyline. The Khan-Chopra tagline will catch one like wildfire and the monetary return could favor the distributors, but don’t expect this to be a Dilwale Dhulhaniya Le Jayaenge or even a Mohabbatein, Adi we expected something better from your directorial bag…………..

Overall, It’s yet again another disappointment from the Yash Raj banner……

Movie Review: Dasvidaniya

Dasvidaniya

(The Best Goodbye Ever)

As the song from the band Agnee says: “Kabira jab paida hue toh jag hasa hum roye, asisi karni kar chalo hum hase jag roye…”

Knowing the fact that you are suffering from cancer and have only few days to live and enjoy all that the world has to offer to you. So you want to make everyone happy and live life to its fullest……!!

Well, this would seem very familiar to most of us as this storyline is heard as well as seen on screen.

Remember, Hrishikesh Mukherjee's “Anand”, where Rajesh Khanna tries to make things merry and jolly all around himself, knowing the fact that he is suffering from cancer, similar act was carried by Shahrukh Khan in Nikhil Advani’s “Kal Ho Naa Ho”, also Rob Reiner’s “The Bucket List” starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson.

Shashant Shah’s Dasvidaniya starring Vinay Pathak is just another well executed film, which keeps the audience attached to their seats and moves them along with the rhythm of the film leaving them just praising the work of the actors, scriptwriter and the director.

Though the movie is inspired from Rob Reiner’s “The Bucket List”, but it is not a crime to get inspired from a movie (though the out come of both films were different).

“Dasvidaniya” derives its name from the Russian word for ‘goodbye’, (a fitting farewell to the hero from the film’s only Russian connection.)

The name of the movie is a pun on the list of ten things to be done and is derived from the Russian phrase “do svidania”, meaning good bye.

Vinay Pathak, best known for his simpleton act in the hit comedy "Bheja Fry", plays Amar Kaul, a 37-year-old timid and lonely bachelor living out a humdrum middle-class existence in a Mumbai suburb, whose existence is forgotten among the millions of people in the pool of Mumbai’s ever-increasing population.

This story evolves around a man who makes a list of things to be done every day, finds himself diagnosed with stomach cancer and the last three months of his life, laughing at him. He then makes a list of things that he has desired to do in life, but could not do them, so he finally makes a final list of ” Thing to do Before I Die.”

The List made by Amar Kaul :

• A new car
• Guitar
• Boss ka boss
• Neha
• Foreign Trip
• Mumma
• Rajiv
• Love
• Photo on the front page
• Vivek

The music given by Kailash Kher is worth a treat to the ears, especially Alvida, Mumma.

The pace of the film does slacken in the second half, but brilliant acting by Vinay Pathak, Rajat Kapoor, Neha Dhupia, and poignant dialogues make up for its shortcomings.

The movie’s best scene can be considered to be the love proposal made by Amar Kaul to his childhood love Neha.

Amar Kaul leaves behind gifts for his loved ones, which leaves lasting impression and a smile on all the audiences, and they would be able to relate to themselves and think of the if they were in Amar Kaul’s situation.

Amar Kaul is well linked with the common man who has always wanted to do things but kept them on hold, due to the regular struggle in life. This is exactly what the common man wants from the movies which they can relate it to themselves.

Life is a precious gift from God and we humans are simply lucky to cherish this gift, but are we making the best use of this opportunity given to us.

Every general person spends half of their life earning bread and luxury for their family and the remaining half of their life is spent in the struggle to achieve it for their families.

So, where does he/she have time for themselves, all that he/she has dreamed or desired to do is kept himself and buried with him to his grave.

Therefore here is a question to all those holding onto their desires within themselves:

“How do you want to be remembered when you are gone from the lives of your loved ones, just leaving tears in their eyes or driving them back to the memories which will make them smile over all the memories spent with you.”?

Think and make your LIST of Things that you want to do, which you had been holding within yourself. Reach out for those desires and dreams and make all efforts to achieve it. Remember there is no such word as Impossible because the word Impossible itself says I-M-Possible………

Sayonara, Adieu, Goodbye, Alvida, Khuda Hafiz are just words that we often use. But we need to do things for which we have been longed to do in life, for which our loved ones will cherish us with a smile on their face not tears in their eyes.

So there all the viewers go and enjoy it as it is a worth treat of 2008!! , and all the producers this one’s for u all:

"Big budgets and Star cast don’t make a good movie — good scripts do…."

Darjeeling @ Me

In the fast changing landscape of India, one needs to be grateful and thankful for a few that remain constant.
(Though every thing around is changing due to the global warming).
Like the splendor and magnificence of the Kanchenjunga at sunshine, with the first rays of bathing its snow capped peaks in soft hues of pink turning into molten gold.

Believe me friend; it is a treat to the eye which every individual would love to experience, and this image everlasting and priceless.

Surrounded by Kanchenjunga’s glory lies Darjeeling---“The Queen of Hills”.

It is said that, “An Englishman visiting darjeeling wrote in the 1830s “it is a sleepy place up in the hills with cold wind , suitable for the Europeans to recover from the heat and disease of the plains.”

While some say, “Here the voice of god is not heard, but seen.”

Gracefully and exquisitely beautiful, this hill station once the summer resort of the British government during the British Rule, is the pride of West Bengal.

Darjeeling----- Dorjee meaning thunderbolt and ling meaning place in Tibetan language.

Hindus believe that it is the place where the Lord Indra’s thunderbolt struck. The town was named after the Dorjeling Monastery, built on the Observatory Hill in the 18^th century by the Buddhists monks from Sikkim. In 1780 the monastery was attacked by the Nepalese army and they built the Mahakal Mandir dedicating it to Lord Shiva.
Darjeeling was discovered by General Lloyd in 1928 and was laid out by Lord Napier of the Royal Engineers. At an altitude of 7,000ft, it is abundantly forested with vegetation and tea gardens.
It is a full fledged town catering to the requirements of sahibs, memsahibs and the elite of Bengali society escaping the hot and sultry summer of the plains.
Darjeeling’s tea is the finest in the world and the town well deserves the title of “The Champagne of Teas”, commanding some of the highest prices in the global tea market.
Dr. Campbell grew the first batch of tea bushes, (the bushes are said to have been smuggled from China.) Tea plantation were established and growing in demand.

The earliest tea estates were the Makaibari and Allobarie tea estates in1857 which were later followed by Takvar Tea Company , Mundakoti and Darjeeling Tea Company. The Dooteria, Nahore, and Margaret’s Hope Gardens were planted in 1862, while in Kurseong , The Springfield and Castleton Tea Estates were build in 1971.

Chowrasta is a socializing place in the town where people of all ages would walk up in the evening.
Above the chowrasta is the Mahakal temple of Lord Shiva, climbing the steep, winding path can blow away anyone’s sails, but it is worth every painful step.

The view from the temple is very beyond belief! The temple is an interesting mix of Buddhist and Hindu sentiments. Prayer flags flutter across the perimeter of the temple, wavering overhead like colorful birds against the sky and showering flowers and blessing upon the devotees.

A little below the temple is observatory hill from where one can have a beautiful view of ----the nature, boys playing cricket on the road, young couples stroll hand-in hand and rosy-cheeked youngsters in smart school uniforms hurtle homewards along the steep road.

Darjeeling is home to some of the best schools in the country namely, St. Joseph’s School, commonly known as North Point/ NP, St. Paul’s School, Loreto Convent, etc.

The toy train ride is one of the major attractions. The tourists take short and enjoyable ride from Ghoom Station to Darjeeling Station.

The train takes around 8 hrs from Siliguri to Darjeeling. If an individual wants to travel through the lap of the nature, one should take the toy train ride up to Darjeeling. The Darjeeling Himalayan railway has been recognized by the UNESCO as the world heritage site.

There are many other places worth a visit, just a short car ride away from main town. These include Himalayan Mountaineering Institute commonly referred to as H.M.I., Zoological Park, Ropeway, Natural History Museum, Peace Pagoda, Buddhist Monasteries, Batasia Loop and War Memorial, Senchal Lake, Tiger Hill, Rock Garden, Happy Valley Tea Gardens, The British Cemeteries.

Darjeeling is one of the places that an individual would love to come to beat the stress in life and to reunite with the Nature. It has been a home away from home for many outstation students like me.

Everything here seems to be make me go back to my old school days and sends a nostagic shiver down my spine, I just long to go back to the hills, i miss everything about it: the unpredictable weather, the narrow streets, momos, thukpa, drinking tea with frend at chowrasta, the walk on the Mall, watching Football Match in Fog, the festivals such as diwali, dashein, bhai tika, Keventer's, Glenerys', The Park, Mahakal Mandir, Mahakal Market, Rink Cinema, Benis Cafe, Movie Parlours, Penang, Das Studio...................well the list would just not end..........but I can assure you friends that, once you visit this place you are bound to love this heaven on earth.

One can be sure to return to this lovely place. Lingering memories of the sunshine over the Kanchenjunga, the quite beauty of the tea gardens and the unsurpassed warmth of the place will only serve to drive you back to the place. Every individual visiting the Queen of Hills is bound to be struck by the thunderbolt.

Welcome,

Births, Festivals, Graduations, Weddings, Retirements, Funerals,

....... are just bumps in LIFE.

We slow down, look around, think about our life and then,

once we are over the bump ...we speed up to our usual pace ......

and Race ahead in life.....