A group of seven young high school students (two girls and five boys) plotted provernut operation, which will provide them with a cloudless future. They decided, under cover of darkness to get inside the test center and steal the answers to the upcoming test, which will provide them with all excellent marks.
In the new film has got a great torment. Scheduled for release in March 2003, he was then transferred in September of that year, and later – in January 2004, thus, pausing with the release of nearly a year.
It is not a mainstream cinema. Not something worth paying with my hard earned Saturday. A great movie from most accounts, for e it was heavy, very heavy. I would love to watch this movie again when I am on a 10 day holiday and want to conciously watch “Good Cinema”
Stress buster is my first port of calling, which this movie was not. My wife declared it a sick movie, my daughter (12 yrs) enjoyed it but was surfing about sub-conscious mind immediately after the movie.
If you are a fan of “Good cinema” or a fan of “socially relevant cinema”go ahead and watch it.
This blog is turning into such a no-brainer entertainment blog, and I thought I had more to offer to the cyberspace. I shall do interesting social experiments soon, I promise, but first My Name is Khan. I had read enough reviews, including this, to realistically lower my expectations. And it helped. I guess I was the only one laughing hysterically, in the theatre, when Shahrukh was stabbed. Also, I appreciated the fact that they were emphasizing on the correct pronunciation of “Khan”. Next up on the agenda: Make ‘em write “larka” correctly.
However, I have just seen one of my most favorite movies of recent times. Salman and Prabhudeva’s “Wanted”. OH WHATA SHAHKAAR, I proclaimed! Masala done right! Oh why did the divine Ayesha fell for that goon?! How can she fall for that horrible man, whom she loves so much! SURPRISE: He’s an undercover cop! Oh a thousand angels angels had a collective sighs of relief. A million butterflies fluttered their wings for the first time. Everything was colorful, again!
But the biggest WTF screen shot was during this scene, when the baddie girl is warning Salman’s character that he’s being targeted by the rival gang.
There was a PIA plane!
What the hell! Was that a vague reference to the links between the Mumbai and Pakistani underground (i.e. the gang is in hiding in Pakistan, and it was insinuated by adding the PIA livery on to a generic plane taking off, in which case kudos for authenticity), or was it just plain dumb luck? I couldn’t confirm if PIA flew Boeing 737-300 to Mumbai from Karachi. Perhaps I’ve got too much time on my hands.
Though found this picture when I was trying to find more on the plane. Me *hearts* Northern Areas (or is it Gilgit-Baltistan now?).
Hot ‘Amisha Patel’ at Sanjay Dutt Wedding Anniversary party
Sanjay Dutt hosted a wedding bash . Actress Amisha Patel has graced the party. Take a look at the hot photos of amisha at this event.
This weekend I saw the movie, “My Name is Khan“. It was a lovely, entertaining and deeply moving experience for both me and my husband.
For writers unfamiliar with Bollywood movies, I high recommend beginning to watch them.
Though long, they are a wonderful artistic creation to behold. As with any art form, not all are excellent.
A significant number have moved and restored hope to my consciousness over the last decade such that I now have a collection of around 100 DVD’s of various Bollywood movies.
My children, ages 10 years to 23 years love them and even purchase their own. Through a contract made with Fox/Searchlight Pictures, Bollywood, located in Mumbhai, India, will now have its films shown on the big screen throughout America.
This is a wonderful venture that ideally will lift the craft of American movie-making from the dearth of ideas and imagination.
Should the reverse occur, and the screen writers and directors of Bollywood lower their standards for acceptance in the United States, the entire world which it has served quite well in the field of movie entertainment will suffer. I, for one, will be extremely sad.
As for writers, I encourage you to begin watching Bollywood movies. Unlike American made movies, Bollywood movies follow a script more like that of a novel, thus delivering a movie experience from which writers, while very much entertained, can also learn.
As with all engaging and entertaining stories, “My Name is Khan” presents a dilemma, and then attaches to that a deeper yearning and desire.
The protagonist, Risvan Khan, played by ShahRukh Khan, the world’s most successful movie star, a Bollywood legend second only to the ultimate master, Amitabh Bacchan, has Asperger’s Syndrome, and thus has great difficulty receiving and giving physical touch.
Actress Kajol, plays Mandira, who is Risvan’s wife.
This problem and need forms the simple yet sturdy narrative thread pulling all the scenes together that form this movie into a quite moving and quite transformational drama involving both the characters and those of use viewing it.
Asperger’s Syndrome forms a major aspect of the central character’s personality, the difficulties he encounters throughout the course of the movie, and the choices he makes in response to these obstacles. And yet the movie is about much, much more than a man with Asperger’s Syndrome.
Without saying anymore and giving away spoilers I again encourage you to go see this movie, be entertained, and also learn from it.
A story is about a single dilemma.
It is most helpful to attach that dilemma, if not physical, to a tangible and material desire.
Having done that a writer than having established the basis for her or his narrative thread, has but then to write or sketch the various path her or his central character will take to accomplish and gain that material object.
The roads which they can take are numerous. But with a clear goal set before them, the journey can prove full of discoveries and revelations that both engage the heart and soul while entertaining the mind.
We spend so much of our time, innumerable hours doing those things required to maintain our existence.
We seek entertainment that takes us away, that also brings us back with a greater understanding of who we are, and deposits us at a place closer to our essential self and identity.
Like artists of other media and forms, writers approach our craft with a deep, and persevering desire to peel away the layers that stand between the masks that hide and protect our most vulnerable selves from ignorance of those in the world and us.
The one clear goal of our mind’s imagination is that of binding heart and soul, that of our readers, but foremost our own.
It’s surprising to see a movie on world peace and the portrayal of Islam coming from a man who is known for churning out tear-jerking love stories and family dramas. It’s even more surprising to see filmmaker Karan Johar using a character with Asperger’s Syndrome (a form of autism) to prove his point. Although the film succeeds in the mission, it is the central character of Rizwan Khan (Shah Rukh Khan) that you feel like carrying away more than the film because of a sloppy storyline and a stretched second half.
Right from his childhood, Rizwan Khan is told by his mother that human beings can be distinguished only as good or bad as religious differences pose no meaning. Despite, his autistic condition, Rizwan possesses a special skill of repairing all kind of gadgets. Hence, he can ‘Repair Almost Anything’. He meets a pretty single mother Mandira (Kajol) when he is forced to migrate to the US with his brother Zakir (Jimmy Shergill). However, the 9/11 attacks change everything including the equations between Rizwan and Mandira. Now, Rizwan has only one mission – to meet the President of the United States just to say, “My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist”.
It is the character of Rizwan and his innocent activities that makes the film possible. He makes you laugh, cry, enlighten as well as rethink on certain issues. His each and every interaction is memorable, especially his comments, “Liar liar” for those who are ‘bad people’.
Johar deserves appreciation for bringing to light an important issue and for trying to spread the message of humanity. Also, he shows the plight of innocent Muslims after the 9/11 attacks without the use of melodramatic and round-the-mill dialogues. Plus, Rizwan’s encounter in Georgia is memorable and moving.
However, having said that, the problems in the story and script are too big to ignore. These include: -
A character suffering from autism easily travels from one unknown destination to another without facing any problem whatsoever because his condition.
Too many incidents added after the interval tests one’s patience. Needless to say, this also increases the length to a large extent.
The motto of Rizwan (of meeting the President just to say that he is not a terrorist) isn’t appealing enough to generate backing from the audience.
The reason for Rizwan getting arrested when he was standing in the crowd appears weird.
Communal riots are shown taking place in Mumbai in the year 1983. They never happened in that year.
Sadly, the list doesn’t end here.
It takes the genius of Shah Rukh Khan to make the character of Rizwan possible. Because of SRK’s charm, one doesn’t feel awkward or uninterested while watching an autistic character. He achieves perfection with regard to the mannerisms, way of speaking and gestures of an autistic character with ease, which is hugely difficult. In short, this surely deserves a place in SRK’s top 5 performances ever.
However, My Name Is Khan is not just about SRK. Kajol shows her brilliance as much as him. The actress achieves mastery while depicting every emotion whether it is love, comedy or tragedy. It is because of the absence of Kajol that some non-talented glam dolls have acquired the top spot these days. Jimmy Shergill, Soniya Jehan and all the supporting characters play their parts well. Zarina Wahab, as Rizwan’s mother, deserves special mention.
Because of the negative points (mentioned above), My Name Is Khan turns out to be just a one-time watch. Still it can be considered special because of SRK’s performance and the issue it focusses. The film is definitely going to enjoy huge profits because of the hype and the huge scale release but the collections are expected to come down after the first week or so.
I had no plans of watching this movie. So, all of Friday evening and Saturday morning I kept looking for tickets of Ishqiya and Valentine’s Day; so I could celebrate love on that day. But thanks to the ‘n’ number of prints of MNIK, other movies hardly had any good show-timings. I left it at that and just shutdown the laptop.
Come Sunday morning and something had to be done, else Honey would be angry with me. I did plan a lunch but a movie before or after lunch would have been better, I thought. Non-chalantly, we drove round the city from Koramangala to Marathalli, heading for Forum Value Mall. But soemthing inside made me take a right at this junction and stop at Innovative. I wanted to quickly run-in and check if Ishqiya was still available but no, I was a bit late for that. With no choice left, I picked up 2 tickets for MNIK for 3pm.
2.50pm, and we were outside the auditorium. We walked in quitely and sat in our seat. In a few moments I was beaming with pride. Fox-Searchlights presents… wow! Fox presenting an Indian movie, that really felt nice. The movie had hardly begun and SRK had already mouthed the lines ‘MNIK, and I am not a terrorist’. Quite a few people turned up late for the show, but they did not miss a thing. The movie was far too slow for that.
Within 50 minutes I was yawning and did not know where to rest my head, on my shoulder or on Honey’s or in my palms covering my eyes. The movie was nauseatically manipulative. When a director makes the audience feel for the character, it works well. But when he tries to force something down the throat, all we can do is puke. Here, I did not feel anything for the character because there was no build-up. We could easily see-through the motive, and how contrived it was; just to get the audience to react emotionally. The message was nice, there are just good and bad people. But they went on and on with it; not sparing a sinlge opportunity to use this line to effect.
Lot of things were loud, as expected in Karan Johar movie. But I would not like to blame him entirely. SRK was the co-producer and he must take blame for the bad product too. Let me shed light on some of the glaring and obvious over-statements of the movie. All through the movie SRK is in blazer and trouser and other essential casuals. But during the 9/11 homage, he turns up in a blistering white pathan-suit and with a skull-cap. WTF! Why did he suddenly go out of character? And if that was not enough, he suddenly starts chanting verses from Quran, only to exaggerate the Islamic-phobia. That was a dis-service to the the community, more harm than good was achieved and Karan stereotyped the faith. All through Rizvan’s childhood, they neither showed him offering namaz; nor did he ever witness his ammi offering one. But conveniently they slip him into namaz mode only because they happened to write a golden line ‘namaz neeyat se padhi jaati hai’. Intentions are good, no doubt; but over-exaggerated, trying hard to pull every string of human emotions.
Another point of contention is Kajol’s addressing of SRK. Pre-marital mode, she called him Rizwan; but suddenly after marriage she starts calling him Khan. Who calls their hubby by their surname or last-name? But no, Karan Johar cannot cinematically drive home a point; so he has to drill it down by way of dialogs. So, we know that Khan caused the problems and not Rizvan. And last of my complains is with meeting-the-Prez scene. It was shown that SRK did not like shaking hands and he just says a ‘Hi’. But when he meets the Prez, he shakes his hands. No problem with that at all, special situations call for special greeting. But, he says ‘Salaam Walekkum’ to the Prez and not a ‘Hi’. Why? Why in the name of Lord would he do that, if not to show an Islamic pride. I would not have minded this, if he had greeted everyone in the movie with ‘Salaam Walekkum’, but he chooses that moment to say it. How suggestive is that?
As already mentioned before, the movie was long drawn and boring. Kajol’s wailing scene was overdone, reminded me of Karishma’s screech in Fiza; but Fiza at least deserved that scene. Here its done only to make sure that Kajol walks away with all the awards. I am quite sure SRK will also win awards and accolades for it, and not just Indian felicitation but international awards too. Karan will have some more trophies to adorn his showcase. But, do they deserve it! That’s the question they should ask themselves.
Rizvan Khan could have been a simple man with simple needs and how he reacts to post-9/11. But they chose to make him autistic because it suited the purpose of trying to show the inherent innocence of the character and his lack of knowledge of the way this world works; thereby seeing people in black or white with no shades of gray. I felt Jimmy Shergill’s character should have had a better progression than SRK’s, simply because he has done all the hardwork and obtained a scholarship, he has been loyal to the country and still his wife comes under fire. So, his charcater should have grown more and some substanial points should have been made through him. But Karan used Jimmy as a prop, that was a wrong move.
I have one last issue to bring up. Instead of first tackling and speaking about how muslims are discriminated in US, shouldn’t SRK see that back-home in India, in fact in western part of Inida, there were 2 major riots; Gujarat riots and Bombay riots. So, first let us solve our issues and douse the fire at home, then talk about the problems that muslims, not just Indian muslims, face in US. But they don’t have the balls to do that. Firstly, the movie may have got stuck with censors and if not, then the people on other side of the fence would have opposed the release of the movie. So, they took the more convenient path of blaming all ills on the general intelligensia and taking liberty in showing FBI’s iron-fist and tough security measures at airports; thereby generating more sympathy for the character. I would rather watch a stark portrayal of the after-effects of riots in movies like Parzania, Firaaq, Aamir than watch a glossed up and emotionally manipulative movie like this. These guys should just stick to candyfloss stuff rather than take such serious issue and make a mockery of it. By the way, can anyone tell me what was khan’s SSN number and what kind of visa was issued to him?
Kicking off in style for a day of Bollywood Glam, Valentine Redyard (of 13Cherry), Ruby69kill Moonites (of Deviant Girls fashion brand) and Plum Hartnell opened up with the Japanese edition between 5-8pm. The sets managed to reach music lovers everywhere, from late-nighers in Japan and Australia to early risers in the US. Valentine and Ruby focused on retro and modern J-pop and psychobilly, where Plum got us all groovy with his bollywood set (yes, playlist requested!) More music later, follow the blog for postings about the event – here’s the very first snap of ruby69kill “duracell” moonites in her killer bunny outfit, as well as the fav track of Valentine’s set!
Ending a long week with an SRK movie is a rare treat. One that when sighted should certainly not be ignored. The icing on the cake is going with a gang full of girls, some of who, like me, cry when the man cries, laugh crazily at the his jokes, and sigh each time he gives those really cute dimpled smiles. Hmmmm
And so here’s my two cents on the bollywood badshaah’s latest movie. Direction wise, story wise, and really with handling more mature movies, I think that Baby Johar is getting better with each movie. I perhaps differ from 90% the people who watched the movie in claiming that KANK was his best made movie until MNIK. Of course, like any of his other movies there were heavily dramatic scenes in MNIK which made you wish for a fast forward button. But then again how can you watch a bollywood movie without even a dash of cliched dialogues, and a couple of over dramatic scenes?
A successful movie is one which a director paints a picture, displays the protagonists, makes you laugh, makes you cry, but most importantly, ends the movie with a message. A message that keeps the viewers thinking for at least a day after watching the movie. Karan Johar’s point in this movie was simply that ‘the world is made of two kinds of people…the good and the bad.’ Why then do we carry out prejudices with us against people of certain races, color or even places?
In addition, projecting a topic like asperger’s syndrome, which is unew to a lot of the audience, demands a lot of guts. While this gives the director a lot of freedom to do whatever he wants with such a topic, some care must also be taken to ensure that the portrayal of the disorder isn’t overdone. Being familiar with the topic myself, although I claim I am no expert, it is evident to me that the entire team of MNIK did a lot of research prior to beginning the portrayal of the lifestyle and the thinking of Rizvan Khan. Directing a movie which doesn’t have the usual naach gana, romatic scenes, and cliched dialogues that bollywood’s audience is used to is indeed a challenge. And for me this movie was enough proof to show that Karan Johar is a very good movie maker, who gets better with each movie.
The music of the album — amazing voices, brilliant melody, combined with magical lyrics is blended really well in the movie. SEL never cease to amaze me with the magic that they create every time they pair up with KJo. I almost wrote a solo post on my favorite song tere naina, but was at a loss of words each time I initiated a post. All I could manage to do was get lost in thoughts listening to my favorite line ‘ naina sharmaaye jo, yaake bha aaye jo, thamke ruk jaaye dono jaha…’ All the other songs are equally good, but this song is one of its kind. Truly a valentine’s day song, for any lover
And I saved my favorite part of the movie to the last — King Khan! No amount of accolade will be enough for SRK’s brilliant performance in this movie. Athough I am a huge fan, I rarely find his acting to be good. Overacting has dominated most of his career, and I wont deny that. But in this movie, he outdid all of his previous movies. I would go as far as saying that this was one of his best performances in his careers, the others being swades, chak de, kal ho na ho, and KANK (yes! I loved KANK). I did miss seeing those dimpled smiles, long and wide armed post, and romantic dialogues with the most passionate of eyes, which simply makes my heart skip several beats, but he gets to walk away with the award for any success that is credited to this movie. If nothing else, the movie is a must watch for his performance. Screaming and clapping for him in the theatre was certainly worth it
3 Idiots
Dev D
Kaminey
Love Aaj Kal
Paa
Wake Up Sid
BEST DIRECTOR
Anurag Kashyap
Dev D
Ayan Mukerji
Wake up Sid
Imtiaz Ali
Love Aaj Kal
R Balki
Paa
Rajkumar Hirani
3 Idiots
Vishal Bhardwaj
Kaminey
BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE (MALE)
Aamir Khan
3 Idiots
Amitabh Bachchan
Paa
Ranbir Kapoor
Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani
Ranbir Kapoor
Wake up Sid
Saif Ali Khan
Love Aaj Kal
Shahid Kapoor
Kaminey
BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE (FEMALE)
Deepika Padukone
Love Aaj Kal
Kareena Kapoor
3 Idiots
Kareena Kapoor
Kurbaan
Katrina Kaif
New York
Priyanka Chopra
Kaminey
Vidya Balan
Paa
BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (MALE)
Amole Gupte
Kaminey
Boman Irani
3 Idiots
Neil Nitin Mukesh
New York
R Madhavan
3 Idiots
Rishi Kapoor
Luck by Chance
Sharman Joshi
3 Idiots
BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (FEMALE)
Arundhati Nag
Paa
Dimple Kapadia
Luck By Chance
Divya Dutta
Delhi-6
Kalki Koechlin
Dev D
Supriya Pathak
Wake Up Sid
Shahana Goswami
Firaaq
BEST MUSIC
AR Rahman
Delhi-6
Amit Trivedi
Dev D
Pritam
Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani
Pritam
Love Aaj Kal
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
Wake Up Sid
Vishal Bhardwaj
Kaminey
BEST LYRICS [Lyricist, Song, Movie]
Gulzar
Kaminey
Kaminey
Gulzar
Dhan te nan
Kaminey
Irshad Kamil
Aaj din chadya
Love Aaj Kal
Javed Akhtar
Iktara
Wake Up Sid
Prasoon Joshi
Masakali
Delhi 6
Prasoon Joshi
Rehna tu
Delhi 6
BEST PLAYBACK SINGER (MALE) [Singer, Song, Movie]
Atif Aslam
Tu jaane na
Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani
Javed Ali – Kailash Kher
Arziyan
Delhi-6
Mohit Chauhan
Masakali
Delhi-6
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan
Aaj din chadya
Love Aaj Kal
Sukhwinder Singh – Vishal Dadlani
Dhan te nan
Kaminey
Sonu Niigaam – Salim Merchant
Shukran allah
Kurbaan
BEST PLAYBACK SINGER (FEMALE) [Singer, Song, Movie]
Alisha Chinoy
Tera hone laga
Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani
Kavita Seth
Iktara
Wake Up Sid
Rekha Bhardwaj
Genda phool
Delhi-6
Shilpa Rao
Mudi mudi
Paa
Shreya Ghoshal
Zoobi doobi
3 idiots
Sunidhi Chauhan
Chor bazaari
Love Aaj Kal
Shiv Sena’s reign of terror in Mumbai-India’s financial hub is on full display. According to the Hindustan Times, cinema halls in the city will not screen ShahRukh Khan’s movie “My Name is Khan” because Shiv Sena has threatened them not to do so.
“A section of cinema hall and multiplex owners have decided not to screen the movie on grounds of security in view of the threats from the Shiv Sena, according to industry sources.
However, other independent theater owners where the movie is scheduled for release have adopted a “wait and watch” policy before taking a final decision on the issue by late Thursday.
As per latest indications, at least three major chains of multiplexes, Fun Cinemas, Fame, and INOX have decided against releasing the movie, while other major cinemas like G-7, Maratha Mandir and some other single-screen cinemas have stopped advance bookings for MNIK, the sources told IANS.”
Why is Shiv Sena against ShahRukh Khan? Bollywood’s leading actor, loved by millions-not only in India but in South Asia, North America and Europe? Khan is a Muslim who dared to speak honestly when the Indian Premier League(Indian version of cricket league, similar to soccer leagues in Europe) failed to sign any Pakistani players. He expressed sadness over the incident.
Shiv Sena, a Hindu radical outfit with very narrow view on Muslims and neighboring Pakistan could not stand Khan’s honestly. Now they are determined do anything they can to hurt Khan.
But is Shiv Sena’s radicalism and hate mongering hurting Khan? It seems that because of Sena’s threat Khan is getting more attention from the media-national and international, and he is also gathering support. Meanwhile, Sena is receiving lot of negative attention and criticism. So, Sena is the loser here.But this loss does not bother Shiv Sena because those who are rational and see this
ShahRukh Khan
Image via Wikipedia,
incident as blatant terrorism are not Sena’s audience.
Shiv Sena’a antics are targeted towards those who are already fearful of Muslims and Pakistan. No matter how many analysts say that threatening ShahRukh Khan is a bad PR, Shiv Sena could care less. For them, gains have been made.
Neha Dalvi a new beauty face from Mumbai, India. Neha Dalvi is ready to compete in “Miss India 2010” and “Miss World 2010“. Neha Dalvi has done many endorsements with a lot of brands. She has won several best female model awards in many colleges.
Ishqiya, a weird word which does not exists in dictionary. One can only wonder why Vishal chose such a word for naming his film, but then Vishal, as we know him never spoon feeds his audience. So it is bit natural he would like his audience to think through the name and come up with their own interpretation of it. It could be Ishq kiya squeezed into one word, but on watching the film, the meaning of Ishqiya takes totally different significance.
The movie starts with someone singing “ab mujhe koi intejar kahan, Wo jo behte the aabshaar kahan”. A soft light slowly lit the voluminous contours of Krishna (Vidhya Balan) in a dark room. The image and lyrics beautifully depicted the agony and happiness of a wife who waits for her husband and now that her husband is back, her life is lighted and tears are gone (Aabshaar means waterfalls. Here it means the tears falling from her eyes). Such is the power of lyrics by Gulzar. Needless to say similar beauty in the lyrics has been bestowed over the entire film. The best one would be the romantic ballad Dil toh bachha hai ji which beautifully shows the emotion of an aged man going through the juvenile emotions of love.
Aisi ulji nazar unse hatt ti nahi
Daant se reshmi dor katt ti nahi
Umar kab ki baras ke safaid ho gayi
Kaari badari jawani ki chatt ti nahi
Walla ye dhadkan bhadne lagi hai
Chehre ki rangat udne lagi hai
Darr lagta hai tanha sone mein ji
Dil to bachcha hai ji
Dil to bachcha hai ji
Thoda kaccha hai ji
Haan dil to baccha hai ji
Krishna is widow of a Verma ji, a local gangster who died in an accident in explosion of gas cylinder. Khalu Jaan (Naseeruddin Sah) and Babban (Arshad Warsi) are two thieves who double cross their boss and are on the run. They landed in the house of Krishna in Gorakhpur to take shelter and cross the border to Nepal. But what starts here is a tale of love, deceit and revenge.
A great of deal of attention has been paid to the names of the character. Vidhya balan is called Krishna. The Sanskrit word Krishna means “black”, “dark” or “dark-blue” or some one with dark blue skin. Here the meaning goes skin deep. The character is dark and her feelings blue. Also if one thinks of Krishna as in Krishna bhagwan it seems apt for her character with multiple love interest. Naseerudin Sah is called Khalu Jaan which means uncle suiting his age and the portrayal of old age love. Arshad warsi is Babban which brings into mind Babban Sher, which means a wild and crude creature. Babban is similar in terms of wildness and crudeness of his sexuality.
The high point of direction by Abhishek Choubey is the location and the dialogues. Shot in real locations, it brings out the life in UP very well. Whether it is the dilapidated house on the shore of a river or the lanes of gorkhpur, locations are stark real. The dialogues by Vishal are pitch perfect with creating the right atmosphere without any dilution. Take the scene when Krishna tells Khalujaan that he can not lie properly. Khalujaan replies “Agar aurat hota toh pata nahin chalta ki pari hoon ya tabayaf” telling her that he knows about her and babban’s relation. Or the dialogue by Babban “Ye sahi hai Khalu, tumara Ishq Ishq aur hamara Ishq sex”, showing the attitude towards love between two generations. The dialogues have a crisp feel with none of the person talking more than 2 – 3 lines at a single stretch. With melodramatic dialogue coupled with a normal one liner to give a comic touch. Like when Krishna says “Ishq mein sab bewajah hota hai”, Babban replies “bag phata hua hai, koi aur bag hai?”
Ishqiya is actually Sholay revisited in western spaghetti . The impression of Emir Kusturika style is evident in many scenes. The dance sequence between Khalujaan and Babban in the starting, the brass brand background score while they follow Kakkar to the beauty parlour. Infact the look of the character khalujaan seemed similar to the ones of Miki” Manojlovic in Underground. The starting of the song Dil toh bachha hai also seemed very much European.
If it could be said, Ishqiya is a film on the vagaries of love. Innocent love by an aged man, blossomed over small flirtations and old songs. An adult love which starts when the carnal desires are fulfilled. Obsessive love that leads to revenge or love as cards in the card game. Only here the game is much bigger and dangerous. The only redemption in this complicated tale of love is that none of the love that has been shown is amateurish. This is the love between adults with meaning much deeper than what normal love stories attributes Love to be. This is a bold take on love where Love means different for different person.
Even though the film is on different varieties of love, the backdrop of the story provided enough scope of social commentary without actually getting deep into it. It gave us a peek on how kids play with guns in the hinterlands of UP. In the words of Nandu “Chuttar dhone se pahle tamancha chalana sikhate hai”. The kidnapping spree in the cities like Gorakhpur and north UP and Caste wars that is going on for years in that region were also touched upon without moving away from the actual story line.
Coming to acting department, nothing needs to be said for Naseer. Arshad has also proven himself. Both work as charm in a chacha bhatija role. But the stealer this time is Vidhya Balan. She proves that to look sensuous you need not shed clothes, nor to look the part you have to try hard. She was just their perfect as Krishna with her eyes doing what she lost on the accent front.
All in all a great film from the stable of Vishal Bharadwaj and kudos to first time director Abhishek Chaubey for coming up with a film which entertains yet do not undermine the intelligence of the audience.
R Madhavan has got reasons to smile. After the super success of ‘3 Idiots’, he is all set to bounce back with yet another big film titled ‘Teen Patti’. R. Madhavan is thrilled about the new character he dons in the film.
Madhavan excitedly informs, “I have graduated from a student in ‘3 Idiots’ to a professor in ‘Teen Patti’. The film is based on a fresh and different concept which falls under the category of a hard-core masala film.”
He goes on to add, “As far as the story is concerned, it’s about greed, lust and money. It also showcases the reality of how youngsters today give up anything to make a quick buck. In a nutshell the story narrates on what happens when they start living life on edge.”
Apart from R. Madhavan ‘Teen Patti’ also boasts of Amitabh Bachchan, Ben Kingsley and Raima Sen in lead roles. The film is directed by Leena Yadav and is slated to release on February 26, 2010.
The other day, I was driving along in my itty-bitty car, listening to my all-time favorite song, when the thought occurred to me, “This song was meant for me. This has to be MY song. It should be played at my funeral.” I started brainstorming about other things that I felt a close kinship to. Now, understand that these random items are not simply things that I like; they are things that represent me, that I was destined to fall madly in love with, things that make me feel whole.
Before I start, you readers are aware that I’m not big on just blabbing about nothing without involving my readers in some way, so I am going to try to make this interactive. As I write (or type, rather), I really have no idea what 5 things I am going to list (except for that one song). SO! I will make 5 stipulations for my five things. And you can play along, thinking of the five things that were meant for you! Feel free to post your five things as comments! I would love to compare…
Here is the list: A song (one that has YOU written all over it; always has, always will), A food item (something you have loved forever), A location (one single spot; not a city or country), A hobby (something you have always enjoyed doing for downtime), A chore (in other words, something that nobody really enjoys doing but you somehow find it amusing).
1. My song: “Varaaga Nath” from the Tamil film “Sangamam.” I have tried, and tried, and tried in vain to find the English translation of this song but after two years of an unsuccessful search, I think I’d rather not know. I know what the song means to me. It means life, happiness, chasing your dreams, ups and downs…And all that ushy-gushy stuff. My heart rate increases exponentially whenever I hear it. However! I did find a video of the song from the movie on YouTube and will share it with you here!
Go there and you will be sure to find it!
^^^ This is the best image of “Sangamam” I could find. Very 80’s.
2. My Food Item: Peanut Butter. I am obsessed with peanut butter, though, I am not a huge peanut butter sandwich fan. I just like peanut butter ON things. Apples, bananas, tortillas, crackers, granola, cookies (any kind), ANYTHING! To me, peanut butter is the universal condiment. It makes my heart swoon.
I must say that this was the most difficult question to answer because there are many foods that I absolutely love. I almost picked sweet potatoes, but I don’t consume them on a daily basis. Then, I almost picked tomatoes but they don’t make me smile like a nice glob of crunchy peanut butter (although I do ask for extra tomatoes EVERY time I go out to eat and tomatoes apply to the dish).
It is true. I will generally consume peanut butter in some form on a daily basis. Even it’s just a little bit, I still eat it every day. I love that stuff.
^^^ The Fresh Market has one of these things. It’s SOOOOOO good. Geez, I just ate breakfast and now I’m hungry again…
3. My local: This is also a difficult question. I am very tempted to spout out some place that I have never been to where I’ve always wanted to go ::cough:: INDIA ::cough::. But I won’t do that. How can you know that a spot was meant for you if you’ve never been there?
The fact that I have not traveled much does not help this situation. Nonetheless, I have had the luxury of growing up in one of the most beautiful regions of the United States of America (in my humble opinion) and I hike… A lot. My place is: Roaring Run Falls. Back in my high school years, some of my friends and I made the tradition of an annual hike to Roaring Run after classes let out in June. We would literally walk out of the building, get in our cars, then drive to Roaring Run for a late afternoon hike. Before that, I hike to Roaring Run as a Girl Scout. It was one of my first hikes. Whenever someone asks me to take them on their first hike, this is the place I choose.
Also, Roaring Run happens to have a huge level of biodiversity! I would know- I do research there. The magnitude of different species of Ephemeroptera (mayflies) is astounding. We always leave these sites with vials fulls of mayfly nymphs, groaning at the identification that lays ahead of us.
^^^ It took forever to find a picture that I was satisfied with. And you know what? I’m still not satisfied.
4. My hobby- This is easy. Hiking. I was meant to hike. My legs were built short and sturdy, like a billy-goat. When there aren’t mountains close by (sad day), I LOVE to walk. The act of walking is one of the most refreshing hobbies one can take part in. Just ask Elizabeth Bennett from Jane Austin’s “Pride and Prejudice.” One of the reasons I loved her character so much was simply because she liked walking.
^^^ See! She likes walking!
I was recently asked what my favorite season was, and truly, I find this impossible to answer. BUT! One of the reasons I love summer is because it is never to cold to go on a walk…or a hike! Everything about it is meant for me. That glisten you get on your forehead once your muscles warm up. The peanut butter and apple waiting to be eaten at the top, jostling around in your pack. Dried mud on your calves that you’ve kicked off your hiking boots as you ascend… The greenery… The wildlife… Ok, I’ll stop. I have a bit of cabin fever. Can you tell?
^^^ “Wait for me! I wanna go!”
5. My chore: Dishes. I actually kinda enjoy doing dishes. Cleaning the kitchen in general is somewhat soothing to me. Of course, this isn’t always the case. But when Time finds me and there are dishes to be cleaned, more often than not, I will tend to the mess. One of my favorite things to do when I am home alone is put on some good music (usually the Bollywood variety) and dance around the house as I clean the kitchen. Shhh. Don’t tell anyone.
^^^ Now THERE’S something you don’t see every day!
Alright readers…this entry turned out to be a lengthy one! And now that I look at the clock, I am reminded that at some point, I have a Soils test to prepare for that is tomorrow. Agh.
Quick update: I stopped applying to graduate schools after I reached number 10 and have already gotten into a couple. Matter of fact, this week I am being flown out to one of these places for interviews! YAY! A free four-day vacation for me! I will update you all as soon as I can! Now it’s your turn to think about 5 things that were meant for YOU!
Paa is an emotionally engrossing film. The performances by all three lead actors are brilliant. The story is gut-wrenching. By the end of the movie, you have to hand it over to Bollywood filmmakers. They know their craft and keep raising the bar. In an year crowded with some movie gems, Paa has the content and the capacity to hold it’s own.
The main story idea is remarkable enough, a 60-years plus actor, by far one of the greatest ever actors, playing a 12-year old geriatric, owing to a rare genetic disease. Fathered in the movie by his own real-life actor son. No wonder there was huge anticipation for this movie before it’s release. Frankly, I was queasy about watching a movie on a 12-year old suffering from a disease that makes him look 60 years – who wants to see diseased children – but the script and direction are impeccable, and you never feel sorry for the child/adult, but are absorbed by his antics and the other things happening around him. Huge cinematic achievement.
The movie is so likable because of it’s positivity. One might be in a hopeless situation – in this case an ailment which is incurable – but one doesn’t have to stop living the life one would otherwise live. Make the most of it – that is in our hands.
This year’s Berlinale features established filmmakers wandering into unfamiliar territory. Martin Scorsese gives a Dennis Lehane tale all the gaudy trappings of a Hammer horror film. Zhang Yimou puts down his ornate sword-play films for a farcical take on the Coen Brothers. 24 hour party person Michael Winterbottom even takes Texas by the tail in a full-blown film noir. Matters of faith also loom large in films from Germany, India and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Berlin is a broad church.
Read the first part of our Berlin Film Festival Competition preview.
The Killer Inside Me
Lou Ford is one of author Jim Thompson’s greatest antiheroes. Ford’s a psychotic charmer who keeps the peace in a town populated by mattress-happy dames and lowdown double-crossers. Guerilla filmmaker Michael Winterbottom (The Road to Guantanamo) isn’t everyone’s first choice to helm a Lone Star noir, but Casey Affleck seems just the right feller to fill Ford’s bloodstained boots.
Mammuth (Mammoth)
It’s easy to take Gerard Depardieu for granted, yet the shaggy icon delivers. Here he plays a worker who can’t retire until he finds his last six employers. That sends him on a journey around France astraddle his Mammoth motorcycle. Among the figures from his past is Isabelle Adjani, asleep for the last four decades. Written and directed by Benoît Delépine and Gustave de Kervern (Louise-Michel).
My Name is Khan
While Aamir Khan’s blockbusting 3 Idiots leads Bollywood’s bum-rush on the global mainstream, Shah Rukh Khan remains Indian cinema’s most charismatic star. He takes a risky role in Karan Johar’s film. Khan is an autistic Muslim who runs afoul of Homeland Security post-9/11. B’wood is better known for songs than subtlety, but its ram-raid approach to issues guarantees a unique emotional wallop.
Na Putu (On the Path)
A different take on Islam comes from Bosnia-Herzegovina director Jasmila Zbanic, who won the Golden Bear in 2006 for Grbavica. Zrinka Cvitesic plays a woman whose husband (Leon Lucey) embraces Islam after a job at a Wahhabi commune purges him of bad habits. Desperate for a child and haunted by her country’s violent past, Cvitesic struggles to cope with her convert hubbie’s new world.
Ototo (About Her Brother)
Yoji Yamada directed his first film in 1961. Eighty-one movies (!) later, he’s enjoyed a career renaissance with the mature wushu films The Twilight Samurai and The Hidden Blade. Yoji closes the Competition section with a domestic drama about a sister (Sayuri Yoshinaga) who invites her terminally-ill brother (Tsurube Shofukutei) to die at her already-divided home.
Please Give
Beginning with 1996’s Walking and Talking, filmmaker Nicole Holofcener has established herself as an answer to Woody Allen, wryly chronicling the foibles of New York’s moneyed class. Her fourth film stars Catherine Keener as an unscrupulous antiques dealer who soothes conscience with charity. A confrontation with her neighbor’s daughters—Rebecca Hall and Amanda Peet–prompts further wry navel-gazing.
Rompecabezas (Puzzles)
Here’s a puzzle: What is it with Argentine filmmakers’ obsession with the middle-aged? Lucrecia Martel’s former assistant director Natalia Smirnoff borrows The Headless Woman’s Maria Onetto for her debut. Her suburban housewife has the knack for solving jigsaws. It brings her to the attention of an elderly millionaire. A date at the world puzzle championships changes her life in oh-so-subtle ways.
San qiang pai an jing qui (A Simple Noodle Story)
The guy who staged that ostentatious Beijing Olympics opening ceremony remaking Blood Simple? Sounds like the sort of notion that comes after that second bottle of baiju. Zhang Yimou—yep, he made Hero–even dials back the setting of a noodle shop owner’s disastrous plan to bump off his adulterous wife a few centuries. The results play like all the bits in a kung fu film that aren’t kung fu.
Shahada (Faith)
The Muslim experience is heavily represented at this year’s Berlinale. Burhan Qurbani’s first film looks at three Germans who find their religious identity compromised by the pressure of contemporary melting pot Berlin. Qurbani is himself the son of Afghan refugees and grew up in Germany. His 2007 short Illusion won a jury award at the Hamburg International Short Festival.
Shekarchi (The Hunter)
Ali is released from prison and sets out trying to put his life back together. He lets off steam by hunting in the forest. All seems well until a political demonstration leads to tragedy. Ali finds that the woods are also his refuge, as he plays a game of hunter and hunted with Johnny Law. Iranian filmmaker Rafi Pitts (Zemestan) stars and directs this in-no-way-indebted-to-First Blood thriller.
Shutter Island
Martin Scorsese’s latest film also looks like his loopiest. ‘Tec Leonardo DiCaprio visits an island-bound asylum for the criminally insane to sniff out an escaped inmate. A hurricane leaves him stranded on the rock, where he smells a rat among the hospital staff and becomes haunted by his tragic past (aka Michelle Williams). Drawing on the stuff of drive-in nightmares, Scorsese turns the Gothic up to 11.
Submarino
The family unit is always rife with drama. Nobody knows that better than Dogme 95 figurehead Thomas Vinterberg, who crashed on the scene with Festen. Jakob Cedergren and Peter Plaugborg play a pair of estranged brothers. One is a violent alcoholic. The other is a junkie raising a son on his own. Do these wrecked men have anything to offer one another? Based on the novel by Jonas T. Bengtsson.
Tuan Yuan (Apart Together)
When China fell to Mao Tse-tung, Kuomintang soldier Liu Yansheng skipped to Taiwan. Now he’s back, seeking to find the love he lost. Director Wang Quan’an returns to the Berlin Film Festival after winning the Golden Bear for Tuya’s Marriage in 2007. Leaving behind Wang’s rural dramas for an epic era-spanning romance, Tuan Yuan is due to be the competition section’s opening film.
The movie talks about sports used as a medium to bring the two brothers together. Sports and Music are the passion that we share! The movie is awesome, not because of the awards it has already won, but because of the timing. It is released when Aman Ki Asha is in the air.
LAHORE is a compelling tale set against the backdrop of competitive sports on the international arena. The story revolves around the potentially portentous lives of two brothers from Rajasthan. When fate takes them on a convoluted path that challenges the bedrock of all that they believe to be good and decent in human behavior, life-changing choices have to be made that will bring either sorrow or absolution. Deep emotions are evident in the movie when interactions between citizens of two nations, which fought three wars, are shown.(www.glamsham.com)
So a game of kick boxing eh? Who is gonna win? India? Pakistan? Indians and Pakistanis will watch it for sure. Some may like it, few may hate it. If it talks about peace, it will be used as a tool to spread peace. Why not? Anything that can be done to improve the relationship should be done. So, talking of the winner. I think both the countrymen will take out their hard-earned money to watch this movie and to witness the winner. No the winner is not India, not even Pakistan. No, winner is not even the game of kickboxing. No, not even “peace” or “friendship”. THE WINNER IS GONNA BE HOLLYWOOD! Yes, It’s a Warner Bros. production! Long life Hollywood! Long live USA!
Striker is build-up as a crime film. But the association of the title ‘Striker’ with game of carom mars the usual ‘underworld-action’ generated curiosity. May be story relates to underworld, betting and sharp-shooter i.e an innocent victim picks up the gun to avenge his loss.
Now to expect something from Striker would be too much optimism. The Director Chandan Arora has been editor to may of Ram Gopal Verma flicks which include Company, Jungle, Mast etc etc. He started his directorial venture with RGV style movies remember Mein, Meri Patni aur Woh & Mein Madhuri Dixit Banana Chahti Hoon. Now RGV style underworld caper – Striker. may not click. People will wait for MNIK releasing on 12th Feb’2010. Which also, till date, incidentally failing to emotionally connect with the audience. “>
My verdict – Striker may do average business.
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I am not at all delighted to boast that I was right. While all the 3 films, Ishqiya, Rann and Road to Sangam, did gather good reviews but the B.O. fate has been different. Ishqiya is a hit. Rann unfortunately flops and R2S a non-starter. Too much hype, too much BigB, has again marred the BO prospects of a good film.
full story and pictures inside click read more.
I had no plans of watching this movie. So, all of Friday evening and Saturday morning I kept looking for tickets of Ishqiya and Valentine’s Day; so I could celebrate love on that day. But thanks to the ‘n’ number of prints of MNIK, other movies hardly had any good show-timings. I left it at that and just shutdown the laptop.
Lot of things were loud, as expected in Karan Johar movie. But I would not like to blame him entirely. SRK was the co-producer and he must take blame for the bad product too. Let me shed light on some of the glaring and obvious over-statements of the movie. All through the movie SRK is in blazer and trouser and other essential casuals. But during the 9/11 homage, he turns up in a blistering white pathan-suit and with a skull-cap. WTF! Why did he suddenly go out of character? And if that was not enough, he suddenly starts chanting verses from Quran, only to exaggerate the Islamic-phobia. That was a dis-service to the the community, more harm than good was achieved and Karan stereotyped the faith. All through Rizvan’s childhood, they neither showed him offering namaz; nor did he ever witness his ammi offering one. But conveniently they slip him into namaz mode only because they happened to write a golden line ‘namaz neeyat se padhi jaati hai’. Intentions are good, no doubt; but over-exaggerated, trying hard to pull every string of human emotions.
Ishqiya, a weird word which does not exists in dictionary. One can only wonder why Vishal chose such a word for naming his film, but then Vishal, as we know him never spoon feeds his audience. So it is bit natural he would like his audience to think through the name and come up with their own interpretation of it. It could be Ishq kiya squeezed into one word, but on watching the film, the meaning of Ishqiya takes totally different significance.
Directed By
Striker is build-up as a crime film. But the association of the title ‘Striker’ with game of carom mars the usual ‘underworld-action’ generated curiosity. May be story relates to underworld, betting and sharp-shooter i.e an innocent victim picks up the gun to avenge his loss.