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……..

Year Review: 2008 at a Glance

…………Year 2008……….
(Good, bad and the ugly)

Every year has an impact of its own on every individual and these lasting impacts shape the forthcoming year for us. The year 2008 left behind many incidents on the entire world, some of them are memorable while some of them leave behind a bitter taste.
If I think of a review for the year 2008 from the world’s perspective than I would land up being unfair or rather disappointing many countries as many incidents and events that have occurred have been un-noticed and are beyond my knowledge. Therefore I though why to disappoint the world, when many of the events did take place in my own motherland – “India”.
So, I welcome you all to the review of the year 2008.
Before I thought of writing this article I thought of throwing a question at my friends and analyzing or observing their answers and thoughts on it.
So, I asked them “How would you define/recall the year 2008?
For some of them it was another terrorist attack at heir brains, which kept them busy scratching their heads, while some declared it as “A stupid Question”, but for some of my wise and thoughtful friends it was a question to be thought over.
I received some very interesting answers; some of them said that 2008 was;
·A year of their personal achievements.
·A year for their struggle for management schools.
·A year of birth of their niece.
·A year of history being written in American Presidential elections.
·A year of Bihar floods.
·A year of economic depression.
·A year of terror.
·A year of common man breaking his silence.
·A year of Indian sports.
·A year of Action and Drama.

Well, it was interesting to note that the youths of India are well aware of their surroundings and the various incidents that are affecting it. It was totally their perception and I too agree with it.
But I also feel that a year can be divided into three phases, namely:
·Good.
·Bad.
·Ugly.
Oops! It sounds like Clint Eastwood’s movie, “The good, bad and the ugly”.
Well for me I would say Good Phase of 2008, would be the Indian sports. When the entire world was down with the Euro ’08 fever, which saw Spain’s domination over Germany and a high energetic performance of Rafael Nadal making him just unbeatable on the clay and ending Roger Federer’s wining streak at the Wimbledon and also pushing aside Federer to take World No. 1 position. While these actions were taking the entire world by storm, Indian sportspersons were also adding enough excitement and energy to the high drama that the sports were providing to its viewers.
The Indian cricket team had just destroyed the winning streak of Australian cricket team, and they were dominating the further series against Sri Lanka when Ajantha Mendis did cast a spin web over the Indian Batting line up which the Indians failed to understand, and this is a series that they would like to wash off from their entire year’s performance. The Indian Cricket Team were just unstoppable after the loss to the Sri Lanka, they bounced back to beat them, Indian team faced a humiliating defeat by the Proteas, but came back hard to win and level the series, they destroyed Australia in the Border-Gavaskar trophy, sending a message to the Australian that their days as the world’s best are on the verse of extinction. England too faced similar fate as that of the Australians giving Indians the confidence and encouragement to move ahead and rule the world of cricket. The Indian Cricket also saw master blaster Sachin Tendulkar surpass Brain Lara’s 11,953 runs in Test Cricket to become the world’s highest run scrore in the history of Test Cricket. Indian Test Captain Anil Kumble and former captain Sourav Ganguly hung up their boots from the national side ending their remarkable carrier.
The game of cricket will also be remembered for Indian Premier League, which not only brought big money into the bags of the players and player auction but also saw cheerleaders providing much needed entertainment to the audience, also the world’s best players competing against each other in a domestic tournament.
While cricket was not the only sport where Indians were making news, there was an important sport event that took place in China--Beijing Olympics where sportspersons such as Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt were leaving their mark, so the Indians thought of leaving theirs as well (though it was just a small mark, but we should remember, a small but effective).
Abinav Bindra won the gold medal in the Men’s 10m air rifle becoming the only first Indian to win a gold medal in an individual event at the Olympics, while Sushil Kumar and Vijender Kumar won bronze medal in Wrestling Men’s freestyle 66kg and Boxing Middleweight 75kg respectively.
There were other Indian sportspersons who shook the sports arena in the respective field of expertise:
1. Indian golfer Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia won the MGF Indian Masters and at US PGA Championship Jeev’s performance is the best by any Indian so far at any major tounament, he finished 9th.
2. Indian Tennis Team qualified for the Davis Cup World group play-off.
3. Indian shooters Gagan Narang and Ronjan Sodhi won bronze medal in 10m Air rifle at ISSF World cup in Beijing and gold medal in double trap event at World cup in Belgrade respectively.
4. Indian Junior Hockey team retained their Junior Asia Cup hockey title.
5. Indian football team qualified for the 2011 Asian Cup by winning the AFC Challenge Cup and also Dempo became the first Indian club to qualify for semi-final of AFC Cup.
6. Badminton player Sania Nehwal became the first Indian to reach the semi-final of Singapore Open Super Series, also won the Chinese Taipei Grand Pix tournament and further went on to break into the top 10 of the badminton world.
7. Viswanathan Anand retains his world title after defeating Vladimir Kramnik.


Well , it was not just sports where we Indians made news it also in other fields such as in Space world our scientists did make a lot of noise by setting a world record by launching Polar satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C9) that will place 10 satellites in the orbit in a single mission.
Also the Indian scientists have been successful of the Chandrayaan-I, which ejected Moon Impact Probe (MIP) which landed on the moon making India as the fifth nation to deliberately land an object on the moon.
Once again the Booker Prize did come India’s way and honored Man Booker Prize for Fiction to Indian writer Aravind Adiga for his novel “The White Tiger”.

At the Miss World event our Indian representatives also made their presence felt, Parvathy Omanakuttan Nair, was the first runners up of Miss World 2008, she was the second runners up of Miss World Top Model 2008.

While these events were taking place in and around the globe and all these achievements were bringing a smile on the face of Indians there was another Individual who seemed to be more than a Rock Star who made not only India but the entire world to swing and dance to his music. Well friends I am referring to none other than Mr. Barack Obama.
The United States Presidential Elections 2008 turned out to be not less exciting than the Olympics or the Euro Cup, and the results was just too much too handle for the entire world. Mr. Obama was the only talk of the year whether it be men, women or children all their hopes were linked to his victory, and people hoped and wished that the 44th President of USA would bring a change to the world that would benefit everyone, as he himself was creating history by becoming the first black man to the President.


Well the year seems to bring a lot of cheers (well I am pretty much sure about the fact that there are many more good events that did take place but I have not mentioned it, I ask you to please pardon me for that and do leave behind a note sating what I missed.),so now we should take a look at the so called Bad phase of 2008.
If you think for your self bad thinks overlap the ugly but it is not necessary that all bad things end up being ugly they can be controlled from turning ugly, so I think the bad and ugly would overlap so I will try to distinguish the two and hope to attain my objective.

The year 2008 brought many events which Indians consider it to be bad and these things could have been dealt in a better way. Since we began praising the year with India’s achievement in the sports arena, so I would like to bring the bad curtain down on the sports, well the loss to the Sri Lanka’s Mendis mystery and the Proteas humiliations have been discussed above, but the Sydney Test match did draw a lot of attention where Andrew Symonds and Harbhajan Singh were involved in the racially abuse controversy which did find Bhajji guilty and was fined for calling Symonds “monkey”. Well it seems that Harbhajan Singh is fond of getting himself into news not through his Performance but also through other means, this time he made news, when he slapped Sreesanth during an IPL match between Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians.
The terrorist attacks in Mumbai made the England team to cancel the last two ODIs and they returned back to England, later after certain opinions they decided to come back to play the test matches.
The government of India also directed the Indian cricket team not to tour Pakistan; also the financial and security concerns landed up in postponed the first edition of Twenty20 Champions League, featuring 8 teams from 5 nations till October 2009.

The Men’s hockey team failed to qualify for the Olympics for the first time in 80 years, and the women’s hockey team too followed the same fate. The other hopes for the medals at the Beijing Olympics ended the country’s hopes (but India did get medals from other sportspersons), the sportspersons who failed to perform at the Olympics were:
1. Manavjit Singh - Shooting (Trap Men)
2. Rajyavardhan Rathore - Shooting(Double Trap Men)
3. Anju Bobby George - Athletics (Long Jump)
4. Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupati - Tennis (Men’s Doubles)
5. Dinesh Kumar - Boxing (-81 kg category)
6. Sania Mirza - Tennis (Women’s Singles)
Well, its not just sports where tings went wrong for the Indians but things did go wrong at the Parliament when our ministers went on to show bundles of money in the session stating that they were being bribed by the government to support them, well such events which sends a message to the entire world as to how our country is governed by our beloved ministers, this is Indian Politics and the loop hole is as clear as a crystal which would help them to plan and carryout their activities in our country.
The encounter incident at Jamia Nagar in New Delhi brought a great amount of tension in the locality and also the Muslim students leaving in that area. It did bring a lot of disturbance in the life of the students as the police verification took the residential areas with storm. The department at various cities of the country failed to act to the hoax phone calls regarding to the bomb blasts and also after the incidents the security wasn’t as the expectation, the incident stating at a Mumbai terminal states it all as to how effective our police are.
Maharastra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Mr. Raj Thackeray accusing Mr. Bachchan did catch up a lot of attention but that wasn’t enough for Mr. Thackeray he needed more of the limelight so he decided to clean Mumbai and free it from the North Indians residing and working here, well Mr. Thackeray it seems that you are really missing the times of independence when we were desperate to free India from British. One needs to remind him that India is for the Indians and they have every right to live in any part of the country (except the border and areas related to security issues).so when was it that Maharastra or Mumbai was not for North Indians, this incident led to the North Indians being beaten by the MNS followers making Mumbai an unsafe place for the all the North Indians. The incident also led to the death of Rahul Raj, a 23 year old boy from Patna who was living in Mumbai, who hijacked a bus and wanted to send a message to Raj Thackeray. His death sent an anger wave among the students of north India and the student body in Bihar went on roads protesting against MNS and Raj Thackeray.
Well, its time for our ministers to grow up and stop all these unwanted troubles in our country which will only end up dividing our country. We need to be conscious and not follow such activities stop all such events against each other which would not benefit any one but the politicians.
It is better if I move on with the last and the third phase of the year Ugly else I would land up mixing the bad and the ugly; so this phase would be more of the terror that has affected the entire nation in the year 2008 and if I am not wrong that this year’s most Important Personality of the Year award would goes to the “Terrorist”.
The series of bomb blasts in Jaipur, Bangalore, Ahemdabad and Delhi made them the most actively involved people in the world. They kept challenging the security of the country and kept the entire country on high alert throughout the year making a mockery of our security system.
Well, the terrorists were not the only people who stole the show in this phase of 2008; it was also the Bihar Floods, which seems to be one of the worst floods, affecting over 2.3 million people in the northern part of Bihar.
But what made even bigger news and shook the entire world was The Collapse of Wall Street. The collapse of the Wall Street left the entire world in the economic insecurity, there was job cut in every sector and the share market just crashing every day and the economic crisis made the countries close their market temporarily. The economic crisis has not affected the companies but has also affected the common man as well with the inflation rate soaring up to a great level. The dollar price rising in no good sign as the jobs are being reduced and salaries being cut the, unemployment rate rising is certainly an issue of panic. The export order reducing by 40%-45%, and the fresh graduates not being recruited for jobs is just not good sign for the youths of the country. We have seen and felt its heat in India as well the job cut in the airlines hospitality service, the panic in the IT sector, the share market etc all the heat we have faced so its difficult to express the feeling of the crisis.
While the crisis was what everyone was troubled and worried about when the terrorists decided to end the year own their own note leaving behind an impact which would mark this year to their name. The 26th November 2008 Mumbai attack which left not only made the Indians cry but also the entire world, it also broke the silence of the common man to ask its government to wake up and make them aware of fact that they have been elected to be our leaders to govern our country. The Mumbai incident took many lives destroyed the emotions and the security of the country, ATS chief Hemant Karkare along with many police officers of the Maharastra Police Department lost their lives.
The Mumbai terrorist attack united the entire country and the people came out to the streets to question the government regarding their security and welfare. The candlelight rallies were carried out in the entire country.
The year ended in with terror and the New Year 2009 began with terror as there were a series of bomb blast in Guwahati, Assam.
So, what do you think “How will you Define, recall the year 2008”? and will the year 2009 end on a better note than 2008……

Movie Review : Ghajini

Ghajini

As the year 2008 (a high voltage action year), approaches towards its end and the entire country is busy with their preparations to welcome the New Year with new hope and prayer on their lips.

Bollywood’s wait for the year’s most talked and awaited movie to hit the theatre is also over as Aamir Khan’s Ghajini stormed into the theatres on the 25^th December wishing all a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year ’09.

Welcome to the Movie Review of “Ghajini”

Aamir khan is back towards the end of the year promising to give bollywood its biggest hit of the year (similar to TZP).The Movie had made enough news with the hair style, eight pack physique, tattoos etc…

And it was bound to make much more into news when it hits the theatre (whether the film is a success or not) and that is exactly what it has done.

After Shah Rukh Khan’s “Rab ne Bana di Jodi” not making much impact at the box office and the industry had not given the audience the required amount of action that the year had given them, so A.R. Murugadoss decided to do the needful, with the remake of his South Indian Ghajini (Surya Shivkumar, Asin Thottumkal in the lead), teaming up with “Mr. Perfectionist” Aamir Khan and Asin Thottumkal to give the audience a power punch treat at the year’s end.

The movie’s promotions hade promised a lot of blood shed and action which would even make Rambo, Van Damme and Jason Bourne run for cover.

Let’s not talk about the Plot of the Film as most of us must have watched the film, but here is to inform all those people who are making a gaga over the plot and the story.

Ghajini is a remake of the South Indian hit film directed by A.R. Murugadoss’s “Ghajini” which was great hit in the year 2005, which was inspired by director Christopher Nolan’s “Memento” in the year 2000.

The movie deals with the short term memory loss by Aamir Khan, his memory lasts for only 15 minutes, and it seems that director A R Murgadoss too suffered from the same while making the hindi version as he has managed to achieve and retain only about 15% of the original South Indian hit “Ghajini”.

It is good to see a makeover image of Aamir khan as an action hero; last we had seen him in John Matthew Matthan’s “Sarfarosh” in the year 1999 as ACP Rathore.

There many loopholes which weaken the film and make the audience restless:

The length of the plot is too long to hold the audience to their seats for 3 hrs and above. The Villain ”Ghajini” played by Pradeep Rawat does not impress and has been put in such a situation which he cannot handle, was there no other bad man available in the industry to match up with eight pack Sanjay Singhania.

The short term memory related to take revenge for the murder of Kalpana should have been internally linked with memory flashes or sporadic dreams.

(But hey no comment about the plot as it has been admitted to have been a remake of South Indian “Ghajini”, so let’s leave the plot as it is).

Jiah Khan fails to impress after Nishabd It has been a total loss for Jiah Khan to do either an item dance or speak Hindi, both are beyond her ability.

Well the movie is not as bad as you would think after reading my blog, there are few positive credits to it also:

A great performance by Aamir Khan, his performance is a treat to watch, the expressions, looks on his face and his eyes and the attitude with which he carries himself could not have been any better. No matter how this movie is accepted by the audience, but Aamir Khan’s performance would be remembered and would be rated as one of his best performance till date. Hats off to you Aamir, you were simply great.

All applause for A R Rehman, the music is simply awesome and it leaves the entire country humming again to the beats of Rehman.

Asin Thottumkal’s entry into bollywood could not have been any better, she seemed to have the maximum fun, she plays the similar role that she did in South Indian “Ghajini”, and she is warm, loud, emotional and beautiful. (But she will face a good competition for the “Best New Debutant” as Anushka Sharma has also given an impressive performance in her debut film “Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi”).

There is a brilliant choreography of the song Behka. Also a great cinematography by Ravi K Chandran and not to forget the thrilling action sequence by Peter Hein.

There are other scene sequence which does bring a smile on your face such as, Asin been first seen by Aamir helping disabled kids, the first meeting between Aamir and Asin, the platinum card event at the pani puri stall, Asin’s proposal acceptance and her plans towards marriage and the New year party incident all these does make you smile, but on the other hand the fact that Sachin has not yet told Kalpana that he is Sanjay Singhania leaves the audience in a little saddened towards the love story.

Above all “Ghajini” is a onetime watchable movie (that too in a theatre), you can watch it for Aamir Khan’s performance and A R Rehman’s music. Don’t compare it to the South Indian “Ghajini” and please don’t have high expectations from the film else you would end up disappointing yourself.

Watch it with Popcorn and treat yourself at the year’s end with this action flick.

And if you are still not satisfied with it and want some thing more on the short term memory loss, some good and original work than watch Christopher Nolan’s “Memento” and for desi and original “Ghajini” watch the south Indian “Ghajini”.

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.....