Bollywood Unlimited with Hollywood

AAJA NACHLE Music Clippings (Madhri Dixit): Exclusive!!

2007-10-18T12:44:00.000+05:30

I am quite sure that I am the first to bring you this post. No more self-promotion. Yash Raj Films' Madhuri Dixit-starrer AAJA NACHLE's soundtrack has just been released. It's here for the first time. Too tired to elaborate about this films.

Earlier posts here:
http://bollywood-unlimited.blogspot.com/2007/08/wallpapers-of-aaja-nachle-laaga-chunari.html
http://bollywood-unlimited.blogspot.com/2007/08/aaja-nachle-teaser-exclusive-madhuri-is.html
http://bollywood-unlimited.blogspot.com/2007/10/aaja-nachle-music-preview-first.html
http://bollywood-unlimited.blogspot.com/2007/10/aaja-nachle-theatrical-trailer-madhuri.html

So here it goes. I think it's pretty good. Will grab the CD today.

1. Aaja Nachle
Singer: Sunidhi Chauhan

2. Ishq Hua
Singers: Shreya Ghosal, Sonu Nigam

3. Show Me Your Jalwa
Singers: Richa Sharma, Kailash Kher & Salim Merchant

4. Ore Pia
Singer: Rahat Fateh Ali Khan

5. Soniye Mil Ja
Singers: Sukhvinder Singh, Sunidhi Chauhan & Madhuri Dixit

6. Is Pal
Singers: Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal

7. Koi Patthar Se Na Maare
Singers: Sunidhi Chauhan, Shreya Ghoshal, Sonu Nigam

8. Dance With Me
Singer: Sonia Saigal

9. Nachle (Reprise)
Singers: Sunidhi Chauhan & Marianne

Note: The Audio files included here are for demonstration purposes only and are mere clippings of the entire songs. They are not meant to infringe any copyright or patent whatsoever. You are strongly encouraged to buy the music unit if you want to listen to the songs.

AAJA NACHLE Theatrical Trailer (Madhuri Dixit!!)

2007-10-15T20:49:00.000+05:30

It's pretty much a record by now. First I gave you the wallpaper, then the first theatrical teaser, then the music listings. It's the turn for the first theatrical trailer now. Of course, we are talking about Madhuri Dixit's less-hyped comeback film AAJA NACHLE.

This is a Yash Raj movie. If this is irking you a bit, this movie has been written by Shahrukh Khan's Chak De! India writer Jaideep Sahni. The lyrics are by Sahni and Piyush Mishra. Music by Salim-Sulaiman. Director is Anil Mehta. Okay, no more crew listing. Straight to the promo.

The promo kicks off with a nostalgic narration by Madhuri. It shows us an almost-destroyed open-air theater. Gradually we are informed that this is Ajanta theater located at Madhuri's hometown. It's the place, we know, that nurtured Madhuri. It taught her dance, it taught her songs. 'Twas the place when there were all friends of Madhuri. Meanwhile we see some supposedly old-day shots with a beautiful Madhuri dancing and laughing. It's the place that gave her the life to live. Cut to present, the people there are doing nothing but ruining the heritage of Ajanta. But, now, supposedly U.S.-returned Madhuri won't let that happen. Clap!

Then enters the central theme of the film. We see Mads dancing practically everywhere in her town with almost everyone. She is trying to infuse laughter and entertainment into the dark, gloomy, morbid lives of people there. She is trying to make them happy. But the conservatives don't want a change. A puritan Kunal Kapoor threatens Madhuri that he won't let it happen a la song-n-dance culture of America to be brought in the small town. There is a hesitant like Konkona Sensharma since she has never ever danced in her life. There are aspirants like Vinay Pathak and Ranvir Shorey who will do anything to be a part of the cultural program.

Meanwhile, some impressive shots of Madhuri dancing in the town with kids and adults plays out with the breezy track Show Me Your Jalwa in the background.

In the final minute of this 150-second trailer we see Madhuri challenging a head-honcho of the town that she will make everyone in the town dance. Claps again! Then we hear the title song in background with some shots of rehearsals, wars, burning cars, fighting people, sad faces and of course, some people destroying theatre sets-- everything captured beautifully by DoP Mohanan (Don '06) .

Whoa! A load of promise there. Firstly, a MADHURI film. Then, thankfully and courageously, no lead opposite male actor. Plus, perhaps, a compelling story. It makes a lot of self-reference. Perhaps for the first time in a mainstream Bollywood film we see a background of theatre, play and opera. Not many films are out there which are about song and dance with the help of it. A promising cast out there. The small towns are largely ignored in Bollywood. It's probably the first film we see where the topic of moral 'regulation' of arts and culture has been touched.

And there's one smile to mesmerise the entire nation. SHE is back.

I wager this film will rock for me if for none else. 11/30/2007, where art thou?

Do post comments after watching this. And rate!

Charles Foster Kane starts blogging!

2007-10-05T18:49:00.000+05:30

This is a great pleasure to inform you that my best friend, who is known in the blogging community by the pseudonym Charles Foster Kane aka Antonio Ricci has finally started his own blog. He will rock! He also tells about my contribution here.

His site is: http://charles-foster-kane.blogspot.com/

AAJA NACHLE: Music Preview (First!!)

2007-10-05T18:23:00.000+05:30

Please don't be surprised that I have done it so fast! Even I'm not. It's become a habit now. Okay, maybe I am over the skies now. Let's come back. The exclusive track listing of Madhuri Dixit's till-now-less-hyped comeback vehicle, AAJA NACHLE is here! This is produced by Yash Raj Films. I gave you the teaser sometime back. Needless to say, this Yashraj film is produced by Yash & Aditya Chopra. The combos of Chak De India are here: Jaideep Sahni (writer and lyricist) and Salim-Sulaiman (music). So, we may hope that it will rock. Let's see the list now. It does promise a musical treat.

1. Aaja Nachle
Singer: Sunidhi Chauhan

2. Ishq Hua Hi Hua
Singers: Shreya Ghosal, Sonu Nigam

3. Show Me Your Jalwa
Singers: Richa Sharma, Kailash Kher & Salim Merchant

4. Ore Pia
Singer: Rahat Fateh Ali Khan

5. Soniye Mil Ja
Singers: Sukhvinder Singh, Sunidhi Chauhan & Madhuri Dixit (definitely it will be a speech!)

6. Is Pal
Singers: Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal

7. Koi Patthar Se Na Maare
Singers: Sunidhi Chauhan, Shreya Ghoshal, Sonu Nigam

8. Dance With Me
Singer: Sonia Saigal

9. Nachle (Reprise)
Singers: Sunidhi Chauhan & Marianne

So, go for it!

LAAGA CHUNARI MEIN DAAG Songs: First! and Exclusive!!

2007-09-06T18:02:00.000+05:30

Fwee! I have done it once again! This time I'm the first on the blogging/ internet community to bring you the exclusive track listings of the next Yash Raj Film LAAGA CHUNARI MEIN DAAG - JOURNEY OF A WOMAN. This is the first time Yashraj is co-producing a film with an outsider. This film is directed by Pradeep Sarkar of Parineeta fame. It's produced by Aditya Chopra and Sarkar himself. This film stars Rani Mukherjee in the lead role. It also has Konkona Sensharma, Anupam Kher, Kunal Kapoor, Jaya & Abhishek Bachchan and Hema Malini in a special appearance.

LCMD-JOAM has six tracks altogether. Lyrics are written by Swanand Kirkire and music composed by Shantanu Moitra. Only the title song is not from the original sound track. Music Composed by: Roshan, Lyrics: Sahir Ludhianvi. It's a very popular old Hindi song.

Click on the each link to hear the songs:

1. Hum To Aise Hain
Singers : Sunidhi Chauhan, Shreya Ghoshal, Swanand Kirkire & Pranab Biswas

2. Zara Gungunalein Chalo
Singers : Babul Supriyo & Mahalaxmi Iyer

3. Chunari Mein Daag
Singers : Shubha Mudgal & Meeta Vashisht

4. Ik Teekhi Teekhi Si Ladki
Singers : KK & Shreya Ghoshal

5. Ehi Thaiyaa Motiya
Singer : Rekha Bharadwaj

6. Kachchi Kaliyaan
Singers: Sonu Nigam, KK, Sunidhi Chauhan & Shreya Ghoshal

Remember that you first read it on Bollywood Unlimited with Hollywood. Nowhere else!

Photo Credit: Rediff.com

CHAK DE! INDIA Screenplay invited to Oscar Library

2007-09-05T20:24:00.000+05:30

The people who are loving Yash Raj Films' last release Chak De! India have surely got another reason to cheer. I know, for sure, that you have read this news everywhere before. But I still take pride in typing up this great news. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences (the official name of the Oscar organisers) has requested Yashraj Films to send a copy of the screenplay of Chak De India. Chak De India won tremendous acclaim from the critics and masses alike. It's become a huge hit in the Indian market. So much so, that, it was hard for me to catch Chak De India at a leading multiplex here in Kolkata on last Saturday. It was going full-house in its 4th week at the box office! Monday evening show saw 90% occupancy. If this ain't a blockbuster, then what is?

The scripts in the collection reside at the Margaret Herrick Library and are made accessible for research purposes only; students, filmmakers, writers and actors are among the regular patrons. Screenplays may only be viewed in the library; they do not circulate. Also, no screenplay is allowed to be photocopied.

Chak De surely deserved this one. There's been very few screenplays (by an awesome Jaideep Sahni) as great in recent times. It's a simple and straightforward narrative yet it's multidimensional. The pace is relentless. But I'll discuss more of that in my review. It needs a good amount of discussion. And SRK! I just can't stop praising this man. More on that later.

I also wish that it gets selected as the official Oscar entry this year. There's none such a film. this year. I'll have a different article on the Oscar race this year.

Wait for the review! Meanwhile, I'll come up with the external reviews and acclaim for Chak De! India.

Till then, just Chak De!

CHAK DE INDIA Teaser: Girls vs Boys

2007-08-12T08:59:00.000+05:30

Well, it's evident that everyone is loving Chak De India. From YRF haters to SRK haters to critics have declared love for this film. Everyone's raving about Shah Rukh Khan. This film has rocked everyone! Okay? This isn't the topic of discussion of this post I'll post a review and CDI topics soon. Let's come to the teaser.

This is a teaser where the girls of Shahrukh Khan are going to play against a bunch of 16 boys. SRK is giving them his advice. This is a clip from the film and is very humourous. SRK tells them mischievously, "Don't think you are gonna play with these 16 boys, you are playing the game against each one of the fools who has forgotten that, if women can give birth to them, they can do anything." Rocking! Ain't it? You'll enjoy the teaser irrespective of the teaser. The humourous mood sets it up. SRK cheers his girls and indeed takes serious care of one of his team by pressing her legs! SRK throws a million-dollar smile afterwards and the girls are enthused!

See it! I'll post and review the theatrical trailer soon. Post comments!

AAJA NACHLE Teaser (Exclusive!!) MADHURI is back and how!

2007-08-11T13:06:00.000+05:30

Oof! That was it! First, I got you the teaser poster . Now, it's the turn of teaser. Yes! I have finally come up with the first ever teaser of one of the most awaited films this year: our beloved MADHURI DIXIT's comeback vehicle: AAJA NACHLE.

AAJA NACHLE is a Yash Raj Film produced by Aditya Chopra and Yash Chopra. It's the second Yashraj film for Madhuri 10 years after Yash Chopra directed her in the blockbuster musical DIL TO PAGAL HAI with Shah Rukh Khan. This film is directed by reputed cinematographer Anil Mehta, whose body of work include KAL HO NAA HO, VEER-ZAARA, KABHI ALVIDA NAA KEHNA. This film is written by Jaideep Sahni, who rocked it up in the last YRF release yesterday, Shahrukh Khan starrer CHAK DE INDIA. He too has an excellent track record in terms of scriptwriting.

Interestingly, Anil has not handled the camera for this film. Instead, the job is given to DON cinematographer Mohanan. The music is composed by Chak De India duo Salim-Sulaiman and lyrics by Jaideep Sahni and Jhoom Barabar Jhoom star Piyush Mishra. In place of Madhuri's all-time guru Saroj Khan, Vaibhavi Merchant handles the mettle of the choreographer. This film also stars Kunal Kapoor, Konkona Sen Sharma and Akshaye Khanna in a guest appearance. I wish SRK too could be roped in!

This film is about a theatre-actress who is trying to bring smile and joy in her small town. Different! It seems to be an all-heroine movie without any opposite male star. And the film works entirely on the stage musical format. Hope, this doesn't mess like JAAN-E-MANN or JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM.

Okay, let's come to the teaser know. Practically it doesn't say or show much in 42 seconds. It's basically the "Madhuri is back!" logline. Still, it needs a paragraph or two to be talked about. First, a kind of semi-classical/folk tune of flute is heard with the mixture of ghungru. Then the scene fades from black to THE dancer in silhouette dancing in front of a studio moon. The step is classical and you know who it is. The next few seconds shows the dancer showing up her dancing skills in rhythm with the music. Then the screen flashes, "Madhuri Dixit is back" and the title card is shown. Then the evergreen face with a bright chuckle enters the frame; a beauty worth dying for. And claps and whistles!! I wonder what is the reaction in a mediocre single-screen theater! Can't imagine!

Now, I have a very special interpretation of the teaser and the wallpaper. There's Madhuri in front of the studio moon and stars scattered all over the sky, right? Some of the stars are very bright. Now, this seems to be a self-referential style. Why? The stars are there. They're bright. Okay! They resemble some stars of this Bollywood like Aishwarya, Abhishek, Preity, Lara et al.They stay in the sky round the year (astronomically not right, but stars can be seen everyday in the sky). The moon (Mads) is not in the sky everyday, but when it comes in the sky, it outshines every star! Ain't that amazing? Now watch the trailer and rate.

Now rate!

Please post comments too!

Wallpapers of AAJA NACHLE & LAAGA CHUNARI MEIN DAAG!

2007-08-10T16:11:00.000+05:30

Guys! I am the FIRST to do it! I have done it! Now just see them, I will talk on them later. Go and watch CHAK DE INDIA! It's brilliant! The trailers of these films are also there.

Isn't that rocking?

Credit: www.yashrajfilms.com
Post your comments!

CHAK DE INDIA: TV Teaser

2007-07-31T17:24:00.000+05:30

This is a TV teaser from CHAK DE INDIA. I know it's pretty much late to post this teaser. The theatrical trailer is an extended version of this teaser. So I'll post my views on it tomorrow along with that one. You can download it for your iPod too!

Comments! Please!

CHAK DE INDIA: SRK Speech

2007-07-30T18:40:00.000+05:30

Well guys, I am back! With a bang! As I promised, I would come before this time I am doing so.

I am back here with a new dialogue promo of CHAK DE INDIA. It's basically a speech by Shahrukh Khan to his team. The dialgoues, written by one of my fav, Jaideep Sahni is brilliant! And so is SRK's rendition of the lines given to.

Given a chance, I'll post the plot synopsis and character sketch of SRK and the girls in a while. If you have already known that, you know that the girls are going through many hurdles for their entry in the hockey team. More on that letter

The track SATTAR MINUTE from the soundtrack is the feauture of this promo. At first, the preparation of a hockey match is shown and then the poignant voice of Shah Rukh Khan "70 minutes! You have only 70 minutes!" Then SRK gives an (awe)-inspiring speech to his girls. Various shots of the perils of the girls in the field is then shown. The clip ends with India scoring a goal!

Bad description, right? So you better watch it yourself and feel the magic.

And rate it too! Do post comments!

An Apology

2007-07-22T22:00:00.000+05:30

Dear Friends,
I know you all are visiting my blog long since. And look what, my computer totally gone out last month. And I had to wait for a month for my new PC to arrive. There were lots of problems in between. Now, The burden of my studies is almost burying me. I will get over it only after a week. I have a lot things to tell, to share my ideas about CHAK DE INDIA - the film I look forward to the most. So, please wait for a while. I will come again on the 30th of July right before 13:30 GMT.

Love you all!

BUwH

CHAK DE INDIA: TEASER - Xclusive! & First!

2007-06-15T21:16:00.000+05:30

Ooh! what it was! First, I got the poster! Now it's the trailer itself! Thaaaaaaaanxxxxxxx to my dearest YouTube friend trailerer. You rock man! Just for you! He even spent a few buck to bring it. As he says, he recorded it from a video screenshot. So, video quality is not so good!

But, I APPLAUD HIS EFFORT!

This video, in 30 seconds, is excellent, to describe in a single word. Particularly because of Shah Rukh Khan. And guess what! He sings! He describes his team of 16 girls so enthusiastically, that it's hard for me to write that despite it's in English. It's basically a music video. It won't be a part of the film.

Shahrukh does it!

Then you see the dark silhouettes of the girls in the studio shots and they appear in the semi-Lagaan style. To sum up, it packs in solid punch in half of a minute. Watch it (and the film too)!

RATE IT!

Also here!

PLEASE POST COMMENTS TO RATE IT!

JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM: External Movie Review 1

2007-06-15T18:32:00.000+05:30

Well, guys! The reviews are out! I have 3 review till now. And guess! EACH of them is negative! This is the REDIFF review 1!

Maybe I'm just too naive.

I actually expected Jhoom Barabar Jhoom to be a love story, a fun four-person entertainer. It's not. I expected the film to star Abhishek Bachchan, Lara Dutta, Bobby Deol and Preity Zinta. It doesn't. Sigh. Promos are too misleading. Sure, the Shaad Ali film features this sub A-list starcast, but the star of Jhoom Barabar Jhoom is a man named Aki Narula, and he does costumes. Shaad's feature-length music video affords Narula the chance to go wild and flex his designer skills, and so we're treated to outlandish dresses and crazy colours, startling cuts and bizarre bling. Bravo.

It's just that maybe films should have a point. Or if not that -- for perhaps that might seem too optimistically greedy a demand -- then at least a story. Jhoom Barabar Jhoom has nothing to offer but eye-candy. And, unlike Dhoom: 2, it's not sugary enough to lap up anyway, a contrived, half-witted, over-Punjabi offering. Gah.

Anyway, Abhishek is Rikki Thukral, a sashaying Punju lout who likes all things shiny. He runs into the ever-pouting Alvira Khan (Preity), a British girl with Pakistani roots. Both share a table and their love stories, Forrest Gumping into an almost-confessional conversation as they sit at Waterloo Station, waiting for a train. So as Rikki's uneaten sandwich cools off, he describes his dreamy Anaida Raza (Lara), a manager at The Ritz in Paris, and Alvira gushes about her millionaire lover, Steve Singh (Bobby). They're both utterly happy couples, but -- as we discover through an unthinkably out of context series of dargah and mosque scenes, with some Taj Mahal talk thrown in for good measure -- this two-hour conversation has left them convinced they are in love with each other.

Convenient, no?

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for trademark Bollywood escapism.

What I'm not so gung-ho about, though, is a scriptless film playing out with extreme obviousness. Ooh, there is a twist, but by the time it comes around you're bored and don't really give a damn anymore. Jhoom is a film aimed unashamedly at the Punjabi-Abroad audience, and the only way I see them enjoying it is if they spot a familiar Southall laundry. In case you were wondering, it's not funny. Unless, that is, your idea of funny just happens to be Abhishek Bachchan saying 'Blimey' in an overdone Punjabi accent every few scenes -- and then pausing to give you laugh-time -- and a pretty actress with a Punjabi foul mouth. (Have you, by any chance, wondered at my constant use of the P-word? I'm sorry, can't help it. This movie tries to be as hardcore as sarson da saag. Only, it's stale.

Abhishek tries hard, and you have to admire him for it. Not many actors would come in and try their hand at a character only playable by Akshay Kumar, and Bachchan does a valiant job as stand-in. For the filmmaker's part, they've given him the plummiest of lines and the edgiest of shoes; he has the laughs, the definitive protagonist role, and a real character arc. What he does with all of this is, of course, overact to the nines, making Bunty Aur Babli seem like a masterwork. Lara Dutta is the finest of the four, her character managing a relatively adorable French accent as well as coarse streetwalker-speak with natural flair. The film is quite a revelation as the actress emerges comfortably head and shoulders above the rest of the cast, and is the only one to act in the appropriate key.

Bobby Deol doesn't have much to do in the first half, but is significantly, impressively 'chweet' in the second, and you don't mind him as much as his filmography demands. And then there's Preity Zinta. Once young and bubbly, today's Zinta looks heavy on both botox and frustration. Her lips might possibly have had a shot of collagen too many, and she pouts as if a boyfriend fawningly compared her to Ms Jolie, lying through his teeth. The result is disastrous, an actress hamming enough to make her co-stars look way better. From accent to emotion, Preity is plain and simple insufferable in this film. Perhaps big-sister roles are in order.

No, the Haneef bhai bit role is the film's best, a pleasant surprise like the cameo from The Kumar's At No 42 cast.

There has always been a warmth to Shaad Ali's work, a certain slice-of-life realism palpable even when the going gets unreal and outrageous. Here, the director succumbs to the gimmicks, and while almost every line in the first half plays for laughs, there isn't even a snicker from the audience. And the gimmicks aren't even clever. Shaad whizzes by in a car nearby, writer Habib Faisal has a two-line cameo. And the star-kids are put in their place: Abhishek gets to grin about Ash-ji and Amit-ji's statues at Tussauds' and wear a bright red Coolie shirt; Bobby comes on screen with Main Jat yamla pagla deewana playing. And both dutifully ride a motorcycle and sidecar with the Sholay song playing. When, oh when, are we going to let go of these coat-tails?

The first half is merely, mindnumbingly boring, while the second gets exasperating. And it's all so inanely wasteful. There's nothing wrong with making a madcap comedy. Next time, though, a plot would be nice. This film doing well would just mean more brightly packaged idiocy will be shoved down our throats, and so I'm praying otherwise. All I can say is that it's stupid. Oh, and a word must be said about the music. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy have managed one catchy, potentially hit number in the title track, while the other songs all seem derivative of either Rahman or Reshammiya. But they have their one, titular 'punch' song, and so the filmmakers go all-out with it, thwacking us with versions of it repeatedly. Like the hit of the year at a Punju shaadi, we're Jhoomed till we groan as Amitabh Bachchan [Images] pops randomly, meaninglessly out of place and sings a few lines, while the rest of the bachchas go completely overboard, stretching a 'dance competition' version to about 20 minutes, interspersed with snatches of dialogue. Aargh.

Just before a ridiculous Amitabh epilogue, the film ends happily, with a couple kissing. I won't tell you which two are liplocked, but it isn't a surprise. Anyway, it's one of those awkward screen kisses, a glorified, postured moment with the man bending the woman over his kneww, and planting one, hard. The shot ends with her legs wobbling in discomfort.

We can relate. We've been dying to walk out.

Rating: *½ (1.5/5) [Very Poor to Poor]

First wallpaper from CHAK DE INDIA!!

2007-06-15T17:54:00.000+05:30

I did it again! Well, I told you that I would come up with the first looks of Yash Raj Films' SRK starrer CHAK DE INDIA!! And I am here! It's basically the amalgamation of the last two posters.

16 girls standing behind Shah Rukh Khan is the picture you get. The eyes of SRK are filled with so much sadness that you tend to cry over the poster.

The poster says, "Shahrukh Khan and his team of 16 girls". SRK once jokingly saud, it should read "Team of 16 girls and SRK too!". Look like an out and out (it is!) SRK movie. The poster is just excellent. I expect a brilliant film from Yashraj clan long time after KABUL EXPRESS.

I hope, it's definitely gonna rock. If you want the 5-minute music video there are a number of option including a preview of JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM (DON'T SEE IT! A DIE-HARD YASH RAJ lover gave it 1.5 outta 5) or go to their website. I will TRY to bring that over here!

"SOMETIMES WINNING IS EVERYTHING"

Wait for JBJ reviews!

Click on the image to enlarge!

Credit: yashrajfilms.com

JHOOM BARABRA JHOOM Synopsis

2007-06-15T12:48:00.000+05:30

After the character sketch, the synopsis is here. Quite mad, actually!

Busy London station. Delayed train from Birmingham. Two strangers waiting for the train... Rikki Thukral (Abhishek Bachchan) born in Bhatinda, living in London; and Alvira Khan (Preity Zinta) more Brit than the Queen herself, however with Lahori blood in her veins.

Crowded café. One table to share. Two hours to kill. Perfect setting for the start of a love story. Hitch? Both Rikki and Alvira are engaged and have come to pick up their fiancés who are coming by the same train. To kill time, they end up telling each other their “how I met my fiancé” stories.

Rikki met his fiancé Anaida (Lara Dutta) at The Ritz (Paris), the same night that Princess Diana and Dodi walked out of the hotel and into the paparazzi. As Rikki says, “When two lovers die, another two are a born”. They dance... they sing... they're in love!

Alvira, a princess by nature discovers her prince at Madame Tussaud's. When a gigantic wax model of Superman falls from the ceiling, Alvira is a sitting target. But Steve the Prince (Bobby Deol), a lawyer by profession saves her life but steals her heart! They also sing, they also dance and they also fall in love...

Stories unfold, time passes, the two strangers start enjoying each other. That Alvira is a Pakistani Brit and Rikki originally from India... that Rikki is crooked, earthy, and rakish: dabbler in various businesses; that Alvira is prim-n-proper, wannabe blue-blood, stiff upper-lip: Asst. Manager at House of Fraser's... none of these details matter. They have gotten alarmingly attracted to each other!

Their brief encounter has created a complicated quadrangle... Rikki Thukral and Alvira Khan have gotten themselves and Steve and Anaida into a lovely mess... To get out of it both of them bend over backward, thinking quickly on their feet, dancing around each other's emotions... After all when you're playing musical chairs with love, there's nothing you can do but Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (Dance Baby Dance)!

Wait for the reviews and videos!

CREDIT: www.yashrajfilms.com

JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM Character Sketch

2007-06-15T11:51:00.000+05:30

Okay, guys! Today is the Jhoom Bararbar Jhoom day. The Yash Raj Film directed by Shaad Ali Sahgal releases today. So, there is no fault today, if I post many........many..........JBJ-related posts. For starters, the character sketch. The next post will be synopsis.

STEVE SINGH (BOBBY DEOL)
Steve Singh is the immensely rich and treacherously handsome joint partner of London's reputed Singh & Smith Law firm. Steve is the man's man... the man about town... powerful, intense and very self-effacing... Born to a British Mum and Punjabi Dad, he's a balance of Punjabi impulse - not thinking twice before heroically saving Alvira's life - and he's got suave ritzy genteel from his Brit Mum. Classy. Seemly. Chivalrous. That's Steve.

He has a palace for an office matched only by Mandrake's Xanadu. And wears those dashing suits and up-market cuts like Bruce Wayne. What's more... one meeting and he seemed to know everything about Alvira her religious rituals, where she worked, her pet name... Is he Clark Kent or Superman? He even seems to appear and disappear at will... Yes... That's Steve.

He has those natty rugged looks... a scar on his cheek that he got while rescuing a girl who was being forced to dance... But even that Steve doesn't wear on his sleeve. He's Alvira's knight in shining armour... her millionaire lover... her hero...

ALVIRA KHAN (PREITY ZINTA)
Picture a three foot six inch girl. She stands alone in the middle of a church. Merely six years old, Alvira Khan takes an oath before God. "I'll never marry a brownie kaalakalutaa. Please find me a good-looking gora boy like yourself. Amen." Cut to 20 odd years later. Alvira is your typical Pakistani Brit. She would hate to acknowledge the Pakistani part... She's more Brit than the Queen herself.

Despite living in a ghettoized Lahori household, Alvira has that stiff upper lip attitude towards the riffraff...especially those crass Southalliyas with their lack of polish and their over-friendliness. That job she has as Manager at the House of Fraser's is a godsend. She can hobnob with the hip Bond Streeters any time she likes... Yea, that's what she calls 'class'...

She has a princess personality and a virtually rebellious opinion of everything. And on a fated day at Madame Tussaud's, the princess is daringly rescued by her knight in shining armour... her prince Steve, who grabs her from under a falling Superman model... And she's swept off her feet, heels over head in love... Her dream come true!

RIKKI THUKRAL (ABHISHEK BACHCHAN)
Baadshah of Bhatinda, now Sultan of Southall... Rikki Thukral! Confront him and he pulls out his most lethal weapon... "I got class"... Can't mess with Rikki after that. Classy he is, in his own earthy way... Just watch him engineer a deal... selling pirated films, illegal antiques, rented property, second hand fridges... if need be even the Queen's crown... Rikki makes it look like a cakewalk with his canny cheekiness and charm.

Rikki came to Southall with a dream... of acquiring windfall riches. He would do all it takes... The moment he met Huffy Bhai it was like love at first sight. It didn't matter that Huffy Bhai was from Karachi or that he would lift his kurta at the most inappropriate moment... they got on like a house on fire. Him and Huffy live life with the attitude and spunk that shouts out, "We're here now... and now that we're here, Southall is ours!" They stay themselves everywhere... and wherever they go, they set up an independent republic! Together, both of them can arrange anything under the sun... from the best seats at the Cricket World Cup to a fridge at the cheapest price... after all, it's not fashionable for a modern day entrepreneur to have all fingers in one pie.

They haven't got a permanent mailing address... and even if they did, nothing would ever get sent there... Always on the move, Rikki's clients' needs are such that he can't contain his business in an office... so the whole of Southall is his oyster. Rikki doesn't consider himself a crook, but rather a maverick who just makes the calls... talks the talk... brings people together... walks the walk... makes his commission and stays happy.

Like everything in Rikki's life, even falling in love was 70mm cinemascope. Only Rikki could have fallen in love with his dream girl Anaida when the legendary love-birds Princess Diana and Dodi were leaving The Ritz for the last time.... And then like sparkling magic, as Rikki says, "when two lovers die, another two are born"... they dance... they sing... they're in love!

ANAIDA RAZA (LARA DUTTA)
Anaida Raza is the sizzling nymph with a soft core. Brought up in the City of Love as a pragmatic,rooted and razor-sharp woman... Assistant Manager at The Ritz Hotel in Paris... she runs her beat with metronomic efficiency and keeps everybody including her staff happy.

She's dealt with all types and can be as friendly as she can be foxy. She'll manage a huge hotel and make it look like a breeze... despite thousands of photographers jumping all over the place... but also find the time to pick up Rikki's handkerchief from the floor and return it to him... How was she to know the hanky would turn out bait... and she'd be hooked, in love with Rikki in the flicker of a moment.

Like so many around the world... she gave her heart to Princess Diana. So much so, that despite her otherwise no-nonsense exterior, she cried when she couldn't visit Diana's funeral.

She has that alluring combination of passion and charisma that would make any guy go ga-ga...

And Rikki is no exception.

Well, I just spotted toooooooooooooooooo many goofs outta there. They will be clear when the film is released. Yash Raj Films! Do something real research!

Watch the trailer! You'll see that despite being all Brits and (MAYBE!) no acquaintance with India. Yet. they converse in Hindi!
Despite being "more brit than the queen herself" and "Sultan of Southall" Preity and AB Jr. have not a single touch of British English accent! Wow!
Diana died in 1997. IF the film is set in present times (probably), the characters look not a single day older in the 10-year old flashback. Just compare this two songs (Kiss, Ticket) with trailer.

थोरा तो research करो! Please think!

Okay. no more criticism now. Get ready.

IMAGE & TEXT CREDIT: http://www.yashrajfilms.com/

(CLICK ON THE IMAGES TO GET WALLPAPERS!)

Yash Raj and Disney join hands for animation films in India

2007-06-13T14:13:00.000+05:30

ooff! At last, a June post not featuring Jhoom Barabar Jhoom! I am delighted! Okay, it's about the makers of JBJ.

Yash Raj Films, arguably the biggest money-making "studio" of India has joined hands with one of the biggest studio in Hollywood, Walt Disney Studios. Here's what the press release says:

Yash Raj Films (YRF), India’s premier studio, has entered into an agreement with The Walt Disney Studios, world-renowned leaders in family entertainment, to exclusively create a series of original computer-animated feature films, it was announced today by Yash Chopra, Chairman of YRF, and Dick Cook, Chairman of The Walt Disney Studios. The collaboration marks the first time for both companies to enter a co-production to produce films in India.

Commenting on the announcement, Mr. Chopra said, “Yash Raj Films has been at the forefront in live-action feature films for almost four decades. Together with my son Aditya Chopra, we have created our own space with the efforts of a wonderful team – both creative and business – and have had the opportunity of producing films that we believe in – films that entertain a large population, as well as the Indian Diaspora.”

“When YRF decided to venture into the animation space, we felt that an alliance with Disney Studios, the leader in animation, represented the coming together of not just two organizations, but the teaming up of like-minded individuals committed to creating excellent products. Both companies not only have a common quest for excellence but also the same culture and traditions,” added Mr. Chopra.

Mr. Cook said, “We’re thrilled and honoured to be working with Yash Chopra and Aditya Chopra and their talented team at YRF to create exceptional animated films in the Indian language that are culturally relevant for the avid movie-going audiences in India and around the world.”

“Yash Chopra and Aditya Chopra have proven themselves to be true visionaries and leaders in the Indian entertainment industry and have excelled in everything they have done. Animation is a new and rapidly expanding area in India, and the collaboration between Disney and YRF will bring the very best in story-telling and cutting edge technology together as we make wonderful films that appeal to the entire family,” added Mr. Cook.

This landmark announcement by Yash Chopra and Dick Cook is a first in the field of animation. YRF and Walt Disney Studios will work exclusively to co-produce a series of animation films in the Indian language. Both companies will be equal partners in the venture and will contribute creative, technical and financial support to the project.

Each film under this alliance will be creatively overseen by Aditya Chopra and worked on with an inventive array of leading local talent. The first film to be co-produced in this alliance will be ‘Roadside Romeo’, set to release in 2008. The film will be produced by Aditya Chopra and, written and directed by Jugal Hansraj, and will utilize state-of-the-art computer animation technology done entirely in India.

About Yash Raj Films (YRF)
YRF is the leading player in the Indian film industry and the country’s premier independent Studio conglomerate. The Company’s core lies in the production and distribution of some of the industry’s highest grossing films. With offices also in New York, London, and Dubai, YRF handles the global distribution of its own films as well as films of other leading Indian producers. The Company also has its own music and home entertainment labels, design cell and post-production facilities, internet, digital, merchandising and marketing divisions, as well as in-house units focused on the creation of television software, ad films, and music videos. YRF also has its own state-of-the-art fully integrated Studio, producing an average of 6 films a year, and thus making it an integral part of the entertainment business in India.

About Buena Vista International, Inc.
Buena Vista International, Inc. is the international theatrical distribution arm of The Walt Disney Studios. It is headquartered in Burbank, California with 27 offices worldwide.

About The Walt Disney Company in India
The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise with four business segments: consumer products, media networks, parks and resorts and studio entertainment. Disney is a Dow 30 company, had annual revenues of nearly $34 billion in its most recent fiscal year, and a market capitalization of approximately $73.8 billion as of May 11, 2007.

And their first film is:
ROADSIDE ROMEO

Synopsis:
A rich, cool, spoilt brat of a dog is abandoned on the wicked streets of Mumbai. He faces situations he has never faced before. He is confronted by dangerous, loony characters, the likes of which he has never met before. From mansions to streets... From five course meals to five courses of scraps... From soft beds to piles of garbage... From champagne to tap water... Hop on to the adventure as Romeo turns into “Roadside Romeo”...

Credit List
Written and Directed by Jugal Hansraj
Produced by Aditya Chopra
Music by Salim-Sulaiman
Lyrics by Jaideep Sahni
Animation Studio – TATA Elxsi (VCL)

Featuring (Voices Of)
Saif Ali Khan
Kareena Kapoor
Jaaved Jaaferi

Duh! Can't they leave the typical Bollywood stereotypes? They can't "HOLLYWOOD-ISE" themselves even when they are going to a COMMENDABLE, UNIQUE field. But, nonetheless, a good effort! Hope it turn great! For the first time, we'll be enjoying stars' voices on the mouths of canines. Let's hope Jugal Hansraj (the Masoom boy, or distinctly Sameer of Mohabbatein and Jignesh of Salaam Namaste)

IMAGE AND TEXT CREDIT: YASH RAJ FILMS (Click on the images to go to original page)

ORIGINAL PAGE

JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM Production Video: Kiss of Love & Polls

2007-06-08T16:46:00.000+05:30

No. I ain't Aditya Chopra or any member from the Yash Raj clan. I am posting all Jhoom Barabar Jhoom videos though. Yesterday, I told that there would be a JBJ one! So it's here! It's the production video of the song Kiss of Love.

This is the song featuring Bobby Deol and Preity Zinta. The video starts off with Vishal's rendition of the song in the studio.

And then, the beauty (read Zinta) fills the frame and says,

Kiss of Love is the Kiss of Love!

Eww! what's that? I told you that she really looked beautiful in the song. So she's beauty. And without br*ins. (No offence intended, that's why the asterisk)

Okay, next choreographer Vaibhavi tells how was it shooting the song in the lanes of London ans studios. She choreographed it really well and Preity danced "very well". And apart from that Preity looks stunning with her costumes and make-ups. She has not looked so beautiful before.

And yes! This is Bobby's best look till date. Though he pretends to be over smart in the video. For the first time, cinematographer Ayananka Bose comes and shares his experience shooting the song. His camerawork is awesome (where's the thesaurus?).

Okay, now decide it yourself!

DON'T FORGET TO RATE THE VIDEO and POST YOUR VIEWS!

Rate it here !

You can also vote and view results here!
ps: Next won't be JBJ. Probably!

New JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM Video: JBJ & Polls!

2007-06-07T08:22:00.000+05:30

Well, is it a JBJ month? 'Coz this June I'm constantly posting JBJ videos et al. Don't I have anything else to post? Yes, I do! But it's just for fun.

Below is a song from Yash Raj Films' Jhoom Barabar Jhoom where all the four leads of the film (Bobby Deol, Lara Dutta, Preity Zinta, Abhishek Bachchan) are dancing to the song JBJ. The song is just about okay according to me. There are no close-ups so it's not possible to comment on individual looks. But Abhishek "does" look bad. The past video (KoL, TtH) were far superior in terms of visuals and cinematography.

Anyways! Enjoy it now!

Now rate it!

You can also vote here!

P.S. : My next post will be on JBJ too!

JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM Production Video: Ticket to Hollywood

2007-06-01T21:27:00.000+05:30

Once again a sardonic post! Last time, the saving grace were Preity and Bobby! This time I bring a Bachchan? Have I any shame? Yes, I do! It's only for you my dear friends! Courtesy, my YouTube friends!

It's the production video of the song Ticket to Hollywood. It really has a Hollywood feel in the song. As I earlier posted the video, you have definitely seen that Abhishek and Lara were in the video.

The video starts off with the song recording in the Yash Raj Films studios. It has singer Neeraj Shridhar sharing his experience about the song. But it has no Alisha Chinai in the video, who also sang the song. Next Lara comes into the frame describing her looks and dance steps enthusiastically. She looks better in the video than in the original song.

Vaibhavi Merchant talks the dance steps. She discusses the I-am-not-gonna-rehearse-before-the-shoot habit of Abhishek. Though she is just exuberant praising Abhishek's steps, his "body movements" hardly resemble dance. No, folks! It ain't a personal grudge! You see and tell me. Don't you think his supposed-to-be-rival-friend Hrithik is a better "dancer"!

Lastly, The Son comes into the picture. And like I said before, with his overgrown beard, he looks anything but a man! And why does he pretend to be sooooo smart?

Overall watch this video. It ain't that bad! It clearly shows how people in Bollywood work.

JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM Video: Kiss of Love

2007-06-01T20:50:00.000+05:30

What is exactly my motive? Am I really a human being? Or am I mocking myself? After my one of the best posts ever (at least I consider so), I am coming with videos of an Amitabh- Abhishek film! Shame on myself! Well, I will manage what I am to do. Thanks to my YouTube friends!

As you all may know, this is a song featuring Bobby Deol and Preity Zinta. Though we hear the words KOL throughout, we not a glimpse of any sort of Kiss of Love. The visuals are bright and imaginative. It's picturized well. The whole video works on a Broadway Musical format. Be it the sets or the costumes - they all symbolize the same. The cinematography is stunning with rich colours and innovative camera angles. The costumes are good. Finally I am able to say that after the pseudo-wannabe-Jack Sparrow looks of Him (you know whom I mean!).

Now, coming to actors, Booby isn't very good but certainly not bad. Glamorous and thankfully suits the look. Preity is the real visual treat here! She looks a million bucks. She has not looked more beautiful before. Courtesy: Aki Narula and make-up artiste.

But one complaint! The husky voice of Vishal (of Vishal Shekhar) doesn't suit Bobby at all! Why add his voice? Dunno! Now watch it!

A Real "SUPERRRRR-STAR" !!! Part 1

2007-05-23T09:39:00.000+05:30

Hmmmmmm..... I know most people in this county are actually fans of the self-proclaimed "BIGGEST SUPERSTAR" and yes! above all "THE BEST ACTOR EVER". Who is it? C'mon! Still don't get it? It's the gawd (oops! GOD!!! darn me!) the AMITABH BACHCHAN!!!! And who can forget his तू जहाँ जहाँ चलेगा, मेरा साया साथ होगा (tu-jahaan-jahan-chalega,-mera-sayaa-saath-hoga) -esque pativrataa wife- JAYA! And with great ecstasy (or with agony?), I have to state that she is from my city - The City of Joy - Kolkata.

"UP Mein hein dum, kyunki jurm hai yahaan kum" (UP is strong because it has less crime). This is the tagline Amitabh emphasised during the state government election campaign of Uttar Pradesh for his "DEAREST" friends Amar Singh and Mulyam Singh Yadav. An informed Indian surely know the deeds of these two. So we're not gonna elaborate. I'd like to mention a very popular proverb "A man is known by the friends he keeps". Wink! Wink!

Now just two months prior to the ad campaign began, there happened the Nithari killings. Please search in the search box who doesn't know the happenings! Coz, it will take me launch another blog to publish the news. Very well for all who already know the hugest example of brutality (I don't know any other word, an illiterate I am!).

So, He (Folks! it's not a grammatical mistake! remember when we address the God!) doesn't consider the slaughter, the rapes of newborn infants, girls even boys below 5 years and..........it doesn't come to me. This ain't a crime. Right! B? People literally "worship" you. Yeah! For those living in India, you could see people erecting his pictures in temples and kneeling before it! Thank you very much! For you are spreading conscience with the help of super-heroism to the very roots of this country. Bravo! Man!

One year back, I considered rapes, killings et al serious "crimes". Now, it appears nothing to me! Along with the billion. Courtesy? Your Majesty! And is there a reason why would you not glorify these incidents? After all, this goes in favour of your friends aka the "real friends" of the society! Or India! Then, (only THEN, NOW is a different pic.) the police of Mulayam & Co. government refused to register complaints against The Devil from the battered parents of the HUNDREDS (yes!) of the lost ones (a good word again! Why can't I use a bad word?). The M govt. even initially refused to start a CBI probe. Hmmmm.... "A FRIEND IN NEED IS A FRIEND INDEED"!

By the way, we are digressing from the original point which I intended to finger at. He can't see any crime in UP nor can he commit any!

Jaya is a Member of the Parliament (MP) of Rajya Sabha. "She has been found guilty of not revealing details of land which she and her family owned in UP at the time of becoming a Rajya Sabha MP". Sorry! It's not a guilt. Folks!

And the deeds of the God Himself:

Amitabh Bachchan had bought more than two acres of land in Daulatpur village of Barabanki, UP.
He had bought this land on May 11, 1983 claiming that he was a farmer.
He is charged with submitting forged documents to prove his credentials as a farmer.

Phew! Hue! Cue! No word's coming to me once again! Farmer! Well, not surprised! pssssss..... He had done it before in Maharashtra. Even he didn't enter his full name when he was being enlisted.

In a country, where lots (read MILLIONS) of people are starving to death, and the same number of farmers (real, it is) he (and we too!) finds it smart to play, actually grow crops. And you don't know! There are lots of others! Good farmer! The BESTESTESTEST actor, The Legend, The "Inimitable" Human being,....blah!...blah!...blah!!......The world-class FARMER - by how many ways is he going to show his VERSATILITY?

Villagers of Barabanki are incredulous to say the least. "Can you ever believe that Amitabh is a farmer," they say disbelievingly. Sources close to Jaya Bachchan, however, say that the property in question is a disputed property. The Bachchans had bought this property, but they didn't have possession of it. They got the possession four days after Jaya Bachchan became a Rajya Sabha MP.

I REALLY, REALLY WANNA BECOME AN MP! JAYA DIDA! HELP ME! I am from your city! It gives me more pride to mention your name when I mention my origin than when I think of SMALLER people like RABINDRANATH TAGORE, NETAJI SUBHASH CHANDRA BOSE, SWAMI VIVEKANANDA, SATYAJIT RAY. The number of "smaller" people is even greater when I speak of my land, WEST BENGAL. It'd then become an EXHAUSTIVE list. So, I won't go anymore.
And to my Dearest DADU: We have acres of family agricultural lands in WB. Nowadays, many of my farmers are queasy due to summer heat. Seeing yours incessant stamina, I have a proposal or call for a farmer. Would you oblige Amitabh? OOPS! Dadu it is!

More coming soon!

Courtesy: CNN-IBN

Poll: Does PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 3 excite you? Xclusive Videos Here !

2007-05-22T20:54:00.000+05:30

The movie from which I expected the most, has proved to be a downer. However, coming out of the melancholy, I observed there are more and more movies this season. But, interestingly, there are all the "threequels" (I don't know who coined this awesome term!) releasing in this May. On 4th there was the above one. 18th was the day for The Green Ogre (SHREK THE THIRD) . I heard that this movie has also declared a dud.

On 24th (In my homeland it's June 1) comes an eagerly awaited (if not most awaited movie) flick of this season, to fulfil my li'l expectations (Hopefully! Only despair has covered me these days). It's (there's no need to name, but have to mention for the sake of it.) PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END. The third part of the trilogy. But the name is maybe a pun indicating that it's the final part. Hopefully it is! I don't them to drag on and on. If only it satisfies me.

PIRATES series is actually one of my favourites. For it entertains me big time without being very pretentious. It's foolish but it's fun! I don't expect a CITIZEN KANE or THE SOUND OF MUSIC from every film. There are some films which keep you entertained without getting "TOO MUCH" foolish or having taken audiences for granted. PIRATES are one such example.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL was a great watch. Especially for the awesome visual effects by ILM and rocking acting by one of Hollywood's best present day actors, Johnny Depp. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST had a "shaky" foundation. Nonetheless, the pace, better VFX and obviously the extremely love-able Depp were worth the money. It's a pity that he didn't get an Oscar nomination for DMC whereas he was better than COTBP. Anyways, the very last 10 seconds bowled me over just like DON did. Now I am hungry to know the reason of the resurrection. Hope they don't don't mess it up the Uncle Ben-Sandman style.

However, I don't expect A LOT. But it's my last theatrical hope this summer. So I bring you the exclusive videos of PIRATES 3 on this page. And guess what, it's just a single frame. You can choose any video you wish to see.

Now, I am going to conduct a poll. Answer the following.

ARE YOU EXCITED ABOUT THIS MOVIE?
HOW ARE GOING TO CELEBRATE PIRATES THIS SEASON?
DO YOU LIKE THE SERIES?
SHOULD THEY END THE SERIES HERE COMPLETING A TRILOGY?
DO YOU AGREE WITH ME?
DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING ELSE TO SAY?

Okay. Enough talking. Now watch this. Click on the VIDEO PLAYSLIST BUTTON TO GET MORE VIDEOS. NOW
AN IMPORTANT NOTE: THE WHOLE OF THE VIDEO IS NOT FITTING HERE DUE TO THE BLOG TEMPLATE SPECIFICATIONS. THIS IS ABOUT HALF OF THE ORIGINAL VIDEO. SO I DECIDED THAT I WILL PROVIDE ANOTHER LINK FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT. I HAD RUN A BLOG WHICH IS OBSOLETE NOW. IT'S IN """"MAXIMUM RESOLUTION HERE"""""

Personal Movie Review: Spider-Man 3 - An Absolutely . . .

2007-05-19T14:40:00.000+05:30

This is my first personal review appearing on BUwH. When I t movie of this frachise it didn't make me flabbergated but nonetheless it was a good movie. When I saw the second one, I was completely bowled over by it. Be it the story or screenplay or acting or direction or VFX or everythings........it was a perfect balance. Since then I was a fan of the "friendly neighbourhood". See my previous posts, how aggresively I promoted spidey 3. From June, I used up all my hard disk space collecting HD videos and trailers of SM3. After a tedious yet exciting wait of 3 years, I entered the theater with bated breath. After thye screening was over, I came to a conclusion that it's an ABSOLUTE movie. I tell you why.

*ABSOLUTELY awesome action scenes.
*ABSOLUTE no action thoughout the movie. They come as ABSOLUTE compromise, just for sake of the ABSOLUTE trailer.
*ABSOLUTE nonsense emotions.
*ABSOLUTE useless sobbing.
*ABSOLUTE example of Hollywood copying Bollywood craps.
*ABSOLUTE example of shortage of a proper story.
*ABSOLUTE worst screenplay seen in a long time.
*ABSOLUTELY bad storytelling. Sam! What's that?
*ABSOLUTELY lenghty. It crawls and crawls and leaves a perpetual pain.
*ABSOLUTELY no acting from any of the cast.
*ABSOLUTE action & bad storyline ratio of 1:100
*ABSOLUTE useless scenes.
*The screenplay's so occupied to give importance to each sub-plot, that the sory itself becomes ABSOLUTELY impotent without giving any importance.
*James Franco's teeth are ABSOLUTELY annoying.
*Franco puts an ABSOLUTELY decent performance.
*Just like too much cooks spoil the film each of the 3 villain mars everything ABSOLUTELY.
*ABSOLUTE lack of smartness, failure to infuse humour.
*ABSOLUTELY brilliant J. Jonah Jameson (this man's always....)
*If you sum up all the bad guys and merge into one 100 times over, that doesn't ABSOLUTELY touch a bit of Alfred Molina-played Doc Ock or even GG!

*Thomas Haden Church has only one ABSOLUTE squirming countenance and is ABSOLUTELY abysmal.
*Topher has an ABSOLUTELY decent, not great performance.
*An ABSOLUTE example of bad and plastic CG in form of the black sticky thing.
*ABSOLUTELY badly created role and VFX of Venom.
The number of Sandman plotholes/ goofs is just uncounatble.
*I'm a diehard science student. I don't like anyone tampering with that. Okay, Thomas enters the highly radioactive science zone without a >440 v spark. And a demoleculizer turning sandman? Can't take it anymore. It'd take another couple of posts to explain. So better leave it ABSOLUTELY undiscussed.

**************SPOILERS HERE!*******************
*The symbiant actually comes from a hot burning meteorite, but still ABSOLUTELY dies of the fire in the end.
**************SPOILERS END*******************

*When Flint Marko (Sandman) is in the demoleculizer, everything including his belt buckle turns to sand, but the locket with the picture of his daughter doesn't.
*Tobey is ABSOLUTELY better at dancing than acting.
*About Kirsten, it's ABSOLUTELY the less said the better. Quoting another reviewer, I say, you wish Goblin succeeded killing her in the first part.
*Bryce, though decent, is ABSOLUTELY wasted here.
*Bill Pope (DOP) is the ABSOLUTE star of the film.
*Sound Design may win it an Oscar ABSOLUTELY.
*The climax is the ABSOLUTELY the most contrived sequence ever made.

*Sony should ABSOLUTELY think changing every part of cast and crew.
*If you love Bollywood massacres like DHOOM:2 and KRRISH, you may like it ABSOLUTELY.
*It's the WORST movie in the franchise, albeit a bit above the likes of KRRISH, D:2, SUPERMAN RETURNS, BATMAN BEGINS.
*An ABSOLUTE example of a Hollywood crap being produced under popular demand and super success of the prequels. You may know that the release date 5/4/7 was set before the release of 2. So they made it somehow without a thought and respect for Spidey fans like me.
*update: Some dialogues are actually lifted from this film.

To sum up, an ABSOLUTE DISAPPOINTMENT.

If you really love the makers of the film and yourself too, do yourself a favour. Buy a SPIDER-MAN 2 special edition DVD than to watch this. I'd do that. Though some jug head thinks it's better than 2. You can also buy SRK starrer DON, which has better storyline and action.

Bollywood Unlimited Rating
Letter Grade: C-
Stars: * * * * ½ ½ * * * * * (4.5/10)

Wait for a television premiere in case you haven't seen it.

did you like or dislike the film or my review? tell me and give your ratings to the film and the review.

JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM Production Video: Title Song

2007-05-18T22:50:00.000+05:30

After the last post, I made it once again! I told you there that I'd come up with another crazy video soon! And guess! It's here. Thanks my friend! This time it's no song. It's Yash Raj team's making of the title song of JBJ.

This is the song where Amitabh will make an appearance. It shows the team Yashraj effort behind it. From music composition to shooting.........it's all in the video with behind the scenes, footage of song recording at the YRF studios. The title track, as I always say is, awesome.

Here come the flip points.................

Preity Zinta - Quite a dumb interview. I just don't fathom why everybody is prone to address Amitabh Bachchan a god! From what point of view is he a god? Is the acting or as a human being? I don't think he's a bad actor. Actulally VERY GOOD at many of his films. But a benchmark? Shark! In the recent past show his extraordinarily brilliant performances. Family or KANK or Sarkar (Marlon Brando would have frowned) or Eklavya? But in Nishabd, I say, he was undeniably good. God is the one who always towers without a fall. Albeit I don't really believe in God in such cases. And a human being?

Sing baby sing! As long as you can cling!

I don't share rooms with him. So it would be unfair for me to comment on him. But one SUPERSTAR who introduces oneself as a farmer to acquire lands, charge 1 rupee remuneration and Rolls Royce as a "gift" to avoid tax (well his son did just the same it GURU naa!), donate 100-150 million rupees to a temple just to avoid tax, not even losing a single penny for the welfare of people blah! blah! - can be a God? Gawd!

Aki Narula - You think you're very intelligent and know about all the "costumes" all over the world besides your Bolly masala? Primarily Amitabh looks very bad in the outfit as I had stated earlier. And they're mid-age costume? Are you a historian? I fell sorry to brag, but I score 90% + marks in History. Sad! It doesn't come to me why does everyone try to copy our beloved Jack Sparrow and even worse, put it up on someone old and ........

Vaibhavi Merchant: Amitabh is brilliant? His steps are contrived and immature. He acts well but doesn't know how to dance unlike his son's rival, Hrithik.

Okay I was enough nitpicking everyone! Now see what's about it.

Overall it's a GOOD VIDEO MINUS THE INTERVIEWS (EXCEPT LARA). WATCH IT FOR THE SAKE OF IT!

New JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM Song Video: Ticket To Hollywood

2007-05-18T22:13:00.000+05:30

Well as always, it's for the first time on Bollywood Unlimited again. I requested my YouTube friend to find new JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM videos, for you! And guess what, he got the song TICKET TO HOLLYWOOOD. He acknowledged my site and subtitled it at my requests. That's very nice of you. This is A Yashraj/ YRF/ Yash Raj Film which stars Preity Zinta, Lara Dutta, Bobby Deol, Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan.

This song features Abhishek teasing Lara in Paris demanding "ticket to Hollywood". What's that? It's got a Punjabi feel. It's sung by Neeraj 'Bombay Viking' Shridar and Alisha Chinai. Watch it!

The look of Lara is awesome but unshaven Abhishek looks anything but a man.

Please tell me how's it!

More exciting videos coming soon!

Shahrukh Khan to work with Rajkumar 'Munnabhai' Hirani! Xclusive!

2007-05-16T08:18:00.000+05:30

There's a great news for admirers of both SRK and Rajkumar Hirani. They two are finally working together! According to the recent buzz, renowned director (one of my favorites) Rajkumar Hirani has approached Shah Rukh Khan for his next project.

Rajkumar Hirani is a director whose EACH AND EVERY film was a huge hit (especially the last one) and have been loved enormously by the audiences & critics. It was hard to believe that an editor-turned-director makes MUNNA BHAI M.B.B.S. as his first film. Even he wore the film. It was a path breaking film in its own terms, for it connected with the each section of audience so powerfully. It made us give everyone a lovely, precious, JAADU KI JHAPPI.

His second venture, LAGE RAHO MUNNA BHAI, broke the ground once again, with a bigger momentum. This film taught us about non-violence, universal love in this era of brutality and insanity. This is an unquestionable modern classic, at least for me. He handled the role of editor/ writer/ director with equal master.

We talked about SRK 2 post ago. So we decide not to stretch. RH's third Munnabhai film, MUNNA BHAI CHALE AMERIKA, has been announced. But his third venture will be a different one, representing our present education system. For the very same film, he's gone to SRK to enact the pivotal role. Awesome news HAAH!

SCOOP: Do you know that SRK was first approached for the role of MUNNABHAI? But he couldn't do it for time problems and the role went to Sanju. Here's in SRK's own words.

Raju Hirani’s simplicity of storytelling is the most wonderful thing about the
film. In fact I loved the title of the film when I heard it. Vidhu Vinod Chopra
had come to me and he was extremely passionate to make the film but I had to
undergo a surgery at that time. I had to give up the film because I could not
have asked them to wait for me till I recover. They were not my friends at that
point of time. Now of course they are best buddies but I could not really ask
them to wait for me till I recover.

So another masterpiece?

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE NEWS?

Remember you read it on BUwH for the first time!

2007-05-15T17:48:00.000+05:30

JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM Music Clips - 1st and Xclusive !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, Yash Raj Films' JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM music is finally out today. And guess what, like the theatrical trailer and music listings, you are getting it @ Bollywood Unlimited with Hollywood for the first time!

This is YRF's second venture this year after TA RA RUM PUM. It has Bobby Deol, Lara Dutta, Preity Zinta, Abhishek Bachchan, Amitabh Bachchan. Music : Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy. Lyrics: Gulzar. Now I bring the songs directly here for you to hear and decide if you go with a CD/ DVD-A. They are in Window Media format. Use the above search box to find it if you don't have the codec. The controls are there too!

1. Jhoom
Singer : Shankar Mahadevan

2. Ticket To Hollywood
Singers : Neeraj Shridhar & Alisha Chinai

3. JBJ
Singers : Zubeen, Shankar Mahadevan & Sunidhi Chauhan

4. Bol Na Halke Halke
Singers : Rahat Fateh Ali Khan & Mahalaxmi Iyer

5. Kiss Of Love
Singers : Vishal Dadlani & Vasundhara Das

6. Jhoom Barabar Jhoom
Singers : KK, Sukhvinder Singh, Mahalaxmi Iyer & Shankar Mahadevan

7. Jhoom Jam
Singer : Instrumental (it's provided by the company! good! a singer named Instrumental croons it)

Please Rate it here by posting comments and tell how you like it.

Note: The Audio files included here are for demonstration purposes only and are mere clippings of the entire songs. They are not meant to infringe any copyright or patent whatsoever. You are strongly encouraged to buy the music unit if you want to listen to the songs.

Poll: What are your expectations from CHAK DE INDIA?

2007-05-13T14:18:00.000+05:30

Shimit Amin is one of the finest filmmaking talents ever to emerge in Bollywood. He struck everyone with awe with his first directorial venture, AB TAK CHHAPPAN. His razor-sharp execution compelled us to enter the world of encounter cops. He made us uncomfortable by creating realistic situations. Then, certainly, expectations from his next are very high.
Shah Rukh Khan, I believe, is one of the finest actors in Indian cinema. No I don't belong to his "fan club" nor do I believe in the "fan club" system. I simply praise his acting skills. People, I mean, his hater critics decry him by saying that he doesn't work without a Johar/ Chopra backing. They still say it even after MAYA MEMSAAB, KABHI HAAN KABHI NAA, CHAMATKAR, DDLJ, SWADES, PAHELI - which easily rank amongst the best performances ever in any Hindi cinema. Why did everyone hated his "character" in KANK? Only because he made it look real. It's a pity that he is "still" underestimated as an actor. "Oh-SRK-is-so-commercial!" is the reaction he gets. He is a natural performer. He is still underutilised. Don't you agree?
Yash Raj, though is a full-blood mainstream Bollywood studio, had decided to swim against the tide in the film, KABUL EXPRESS after producing a total crap like DHOOM:2. Normally the expectation are there that YRF would make another path-breaking film.

So what happens when we put all them together? In mathematical language,
(LHS.) Shimit Amin + Shahrukh + Yashraj = Chak De India (R.H.S.)

The movie revolves around the story a hockey coach for a girl's team and a young Sikh girl who wants to join the hockey team but does not get the approval of her parents. You may already know that SRK is the coach here. The storyline sounds very similar with BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM (which is again a good film). But I hope (and trust them) that a director like Shimit won't come up with a remake of a hit "Indian" film. So it "has to be" different!

Now come to SRK's looks. He has been given a beard and is made look old. But, he looks very attractive. If poster is anything to go by, I think he will put forth a strong performance. Look at his eyes! They convey so much! I think I won't be disappointed.

There were alleged cold vibes and wars between YRF and SRK even a year ago. But the truth has spoken himself. The shooting began from August, 2006, after they both "parted their ways". Now the same media reports that Aditya Chopra's next will star SRK.

But will the film be a "COMMERCIAL HIT*? Probably NO. This kind of films don't work in Bollywood. Just look at Kabul Express! Just as because there were no "dancing-round-the-trees" and bad script it flopped. But just look at craps like DHOOM:2, VIVAH! The latter is still in theaters.

Even SRK, a crowd-puller has said,

I don't think CDI will be a grand commercial success. I can tell before a film's release if it will work at B.O. The same happened for Swades. I told Ashutosh(Gowariker) that the script was great but it wouldn't be a hit. But he didn't think so. Now you have the results.

But I "WILL DEFINITELY" watch this movie. I hits theaters on AUGUST 10.

Now tell me,

ARE YOU LOOKIN' FORWARD TO THE MOVIE THE WAY I AM?
WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS?
DO YOU THINK IT WILL BE A BLOCKBUSTER?
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF MY ARTICLE?

Feel free to comment!

Additional Scoop: From the 1st week of July, I'll start a regular segment on CDI, where I'll post exclusive videos and behind-the-scenes of CDI. Just wait till June 15/17 when you'll get the first theatrical of CDI online on BUwH.

2007-05-12T16:45:00.000+05:30

Ratings Scale of BOLLYWOOD UNLIMITED WITH HOLLYWOOD Reviews . . . . . . . . .

After publishing so many external movie reviews this time for me to actually pen reviews. I promise I'll not be revealing much of the story-lines or plot-holes or spoilers. There will be a separate section regarding that where you can find a lot of these things.

My critique will be intelligent, ingenious, filled with humour and wit, knowledgeable and blah...blah...blah................I know so bragging is not good. So I won't exaggerate myself to an unlimited level. But, one thing I can say, having seen so many cinematic classics (From the best Indian filmmaker RAY, to Orson Welles to Scorsese to Kurosawa et al).

But don't expect me to compare every Bollywood or any film with these unquestionable classics. For, classics are made only once in a lifetime. But the film I recommend will certainly entertain you to a good extent. I guess! So let's have a look at my rating systems: Equivalent number ratings are beside the letter grade.

A+ : Even an Oscar
is too small an award (10/10)
A
: No less than a classic (9.5-9/10)
A- : It's
perfect! (8.5/10)

Not to miss anyhow! Whatever happens surely
catch them and watch umpteen number of times.

B+ : Truly a memorable
experience (8/10)
B : Good! You will not be hurt! (7.5 or
7/10)
B- : Pretty much
good! (6.5/10)

There's no harm watching 'em! But they are no
classics. Should watch at least once.

C+ : Bit flawed.
Nevertheless worthy of a good video watch. (6/10)
C : A tribute to the mediocrity. Watch
it if you have nothing better to do! (5.5 or 5/10)
C- :
Radically disappointing! (4.5/10)

No need to book an advance ticket and rush at a plex.
You should watch it on video if you really want to.

D+ : Abysmal.
Tragic. The maker didn't think of you while making it! Script, Direction, Acting
...A POOR EFFORT AT EVERY LABEL! (4/10)
D :
Horrifically Dreadful and Lamentable experience! (3.5 or 3/10)
D- : Pernicious
and will leave a perpetual pain on your mind. (2.5/10)

Must miss! It will be at your risk!

Fs : Well F is the begiiing of a lot of words. You know! You can't count how many times you will curse yourself for checkin'
it out.
F+ (2/10)
F (1.5 or 1/10)
F- (.5/10)

And comes a very very very rare rating. Which I will
(try to) give only once in a Blue moon.

Z--: You'll be
found either dead or mentally/physically handicapped after the screening is
over. It jars you ad nauseam. (0/10)

Tell me what do you think of my ratings.

PLEASE DO SUGGEST ME SOMETHING YOU WANT. IT WILL BE ACCEPTED HEARTILY!

Now wait for my first review!!

2007-05-06T13:49:00.000+05:30

"SPIDER-MAN 3" Creates HIstory; Sets World Box-Office Afire . . . . . . . . . .

Very good news for all Spidey fans!! It was expected! The box-office result of Spider-Man 3 is out. That too for 1 day!

It's broken the all time opening day record.

Spider-Man 3 cast the widest web ever—over 10,000 screens at 4,252 theaters—and nabbed the all-time biggest gross for a single day: an estimated $59 million on Friday.

The previous title holder, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, drew $55.8 million on 8,500 screens at 4,133 theaters, contributing to a record-breaking $135.6 million weekend last July.

Distributor Sony projected Saturday morning that Spider-Man 3 would generate from $135 million to $145 million for the weekend (Friday to Sunday). The studio claimed a $258 million production budget for the Marvel Comics sequel, compared to $200 million for Spider-Man 2 and $139 million for Spider-Man.

By shattering the opening day record, Spider-Man 3 followed the path of the first two movies in the franchise as Spider-Man's $39.4 million and Spider-Man 2's $40.4 million set new benchmarks. Adjusted for ticket price inflation, those days would equal around $45 million and $43 million, respectively.

Additionally, Spider-Man 3 raked in $45 million overseas on Friday. Combined with domestic's $59 million, the sequel pulled in $104 million worldwide, the highest-grossing day ever for a single picture.

Eventually, in India too, where *only* Bollywood films reign, it has surpassed all its Hindi competitors. It has taken the best start of the year in India. It's opening rangeg from 90% - 100 %. No film this year (or any foreign language film ever) has done it before.

2007-05-02T12:45:00.000+05:30

Spider-Man 3 Production Video: Aaron Lam discusses the film . . . . . . . . . . . .

Aaron Lam is an assistant of director Sam Raimi in Spider-Man 3. In this video he describes his role in production of the film. He also does a cameo in this film. He teases Peter Parker aka Spider-Man in physics classroom, regarding Gwen Stacy (Bryce Howard).

Tell me how do you like it!

Here too! http://spider-man-3-film.blogspot.com/2007/05/spider-man-3-production-video-aaron-lam.html

Origin

2007-05-01T08:27:00.000+05:30

Xclusive! JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM Audio Listings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Well, I refrained from posting yesterday (though I had a lot to post) as gesture of condolence for the Virginia Tech victims.

Now, coming to the point, I think we are on a roll and BUwH is definitely going p(a)laces! Barely 2.5 days ago I had shown you the first theatrical trailer of JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM. Now, I'm the first on the internet community to bring you the exclusive audio listings of Yashraj's JBJ. And guess what (like the last time) I have requested a Flickr member to post a wallpaper of JBJ. Now, it's here (Click to enlarge). Just for you!

If the trailer is anything to go by, one can surely tell that the title track is just awesome! The song are composed by Shankar - Ehsaan - Loy and lyrics are penned by Gulzar. Going back 2 years, this team (Yash Raj Films, Shaad Ali, Gulzar, SEL) created a bunch of wonderful melodies in form of "Bunty aur Babli". Who can forget KAJRA RE! So, the expectations riding on them is mammoth. WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FROM THE ALBUM? Tell me!

There are 7 tracks in the album. If you just look through the list of singers, you'll be surely bowled over. Even the musical trio tend to say that it's their "best effort to date". So I don't know what to expect. But hopes there from the BaB team. But really? it's better than Kal Ho Naa Ho ? Don't know!

Moreover it will be released on Audio - DVD format too! See the specs.

WHAT DO DO THINK OF THE LIST BELOW? Tell me!

1. Jhoom
Singer : Shankar Mahadevan
2. Ticket To Hollywood
Singers : Neeraj Shridhar & Alisha Chinai
3. JBJ
Singers : Zubeen, Shankar Mahadevan & Sunidhi Chauhan
4. Bol Na Halke Halke
Singers : Rahat Fateh Ali Khan & Mahalaxmi Iyer
5. Kiss Of Love
Singers : Vishal Dadlani & Vasundhara Das
6. Jhoom Barabar Jhoom
Singers : KK, Sukhvinder Singh, Mahalaxmi Iyer & Shankar Mahadevan
7. Jhoom Jam
Singer : Instrumental (it's provided by the company! good! a singer named Instrumental croons it)

The makers say, "For maximum listening pleasure, it is recommended to listen to this album at the loudest." So! Can't wait? Don't worry! I'll post the clippings as soon as they are released. Just watch the trailer till then!

2007-04-29T23:45:00.000+05:30

Spider-Man 3 Production Video: Costumes of Spidey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The release of the most anticipated movie this season is 5 days away (why???, someone give me a time machine!!!). Well, we are always dazzled and enthralled by the excellent looks of our very own superhero Spider-Man. His red-blue color costumes transports us into the world we can never dream of. So the credit goes to the people who work day and night for our visual treat.

In this video, we see how the suits are created. It's truly unbelievable to see how much effort they put forth. Watch this: just to create the web on the costumes they create a back liquid stuff and pour it into the layout and polishing...........it's beyond my reach. I am flabbergasted. In this video, head speciality costumer Shownee Smith and his team demonstrate everything.

Waiting!!!!!!!

Get it here too! http://spider-man-3-film.blogspot.com/2007/04/spider-man-3-production-video-costumes.html

Origin

2007-04-28T22:58:00.000+05:30

XCLUSIVE and First !!! JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM: Theatrical Trailer . . . . . . . . . . .

I'm so gald! oops! GLAD!! Actually I am so ecstatic that I am typing wrong spellings! The first trailer and first official teaser poster(or the news of them) of JHOOM BARABAR JHOOM appears first on BOLLYWOOD UNLIMITED before appearing on any blog/ entertainment bureau website. I feel both proud and humble. When it first appeared on YouTube, I was the first to see it and I immediately requested the provider for sending a subtitled version of the trailer for international visitors of BU. And guess what! It's here! For you only!

Now, let's stop bragging about myself and get straight to the point. To be frank, the
trailer, although not awesome, is still quite good. But there are a number of minuses too!

Now, what's Jhoom Barabar Jhoom? First and foremost, it's a Yash Raj Film. Yashraj's TA RA RUM PUM released. It stars Abhishek Bachchan, Bobby Deol, Lara Dutt, Preity Zinta in pivotal roles while Amitabh Bachchan is credited in a "Special Appearance" or an extended cameo role. Rumors are there that Shah Rukh Khan is in the film serving a cameo. For a fact, it has featured the English football team Chelsea extensively. It is directed by Shaad Ali Sahgal, who previously directed YRF productions like "Bunty aur Babli" and "Saathiya"

So, you may wonder, how's actually the trailer? Have a thorough knowledge of it before it downloads. To be frank, it's not awesome. It's not bad either. It's pretty much good.

The trailer kicks of with Abhishek and Preity sharing a same table (probably at Heathrow Airport). From their conversations, you know that they are strangers. AB Jr. introduces himself as Vicky Thackral and Preity herself as Albira Khan from Lahore.

The next scene, you spot Amitabh. He is in a different get-up.......can't explain...(just see to understand.. ....err! what was that? Is he (or the costume designer or the makers) trying to be "cool", "smart" and "different"? Let me tell that it isn't. It's only an expression of bad taste and tackiness. The director/he has to understand that he is 64+ now and he just doesn't suit the get-up. Anyways!! He seems to be the सूत्रधार / Narrator/ Manipulator of the story.

However, a couple of scenes go and we again see AB and PZ talking. AB tell her "Do you think I'm a flirt?". Then Preity tells her about her fiancé she's waiting for - Bobby Deol. Abhishek too shows his engagement ring and tells her about his fiancee - Lara Dutt.

Then, we have a series of scenes where each one of the 4 character (alone or together) appear in different scenes, dance sequences (one of them is in front of Eiffel Tower). Meanwhile, we see Amitabh crooning the title song rendered awesomely by Shankar Mahadevan, lyrics penned by Gulzar.

In the last scene, we hear AB Jr. asking Preity if she had sex with Bobby!!!!!!!!!! What's that! Is it a mammoth tale of extra-marital affair or something else? KANK anyone? It's not clear. I request you to imagine at your best what it actually is about.

Of the actor's looks, I've already commented on Amitabh. Now come to his son, he too pretends to be smart but isn't. His beard and long hair doesn't arouse anything but disgust in you. His dialogue delivery too is very bad. Bobby looks at his best.This is the best get-over he's ever got. Lars's hairstyle and look are likable. Out of the main cast, Preity looks best. She's definitely gorgeous in this movie.

Tell me how the trailer is and which movie they've copied this time.

Without Subtitles

With Subtitles

2007-04-28T09:23:00.000+05:30

TA RA RUM PUM: External Movie Review 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

After 2 positive, 1 negative review we have another positive review. See here too!

Is it Cinderella Man? Is it Life is Beautiful? Or is it simply a fairy tale, told in Bollywood ishtyle ? Honestly, it's a mix of all three, heavily inspired by the Russell Crowe-Renee Zellweger film about James Braddock, a washed-out boxer who reclaimed his title — and his family's future — to become an inspirational figure in the 1930s.

And then again, you have dad Saif doing a Roberto Benigni ( Life is Beautiful ) to his bachchas by transforming their turn of fortunes (read garibi ke din ) into a reality show called 'Don't worry, be happy,' where the premium is on smiling, come what may. Trust Bollywood to equate a Nazi concentration camp with a downmarket New York existence!

But who's complaining. Not the archetypal family audience that has become the mainstay of the Indian multiplex boom. For them, this film about a bindaas racer, his beauty-with-brains wife and their cute little cherubs could end up as perfect holiday fare, despite the trivialisation and the cloying story-line. Plot-wise, the film has all the cliched ploys that traditional cinema uses.

Once the racer dad has an accident and develops race track phobia, the family undergoes all those thakela trials like joblessness, no food on the table, sacrifice and the final sickness, where death looms large unless the dollars pour in...

Yet, all this familiarity fails to breed contempt because there is Saif and there is Rani: two consummate actors who squeeze out the ordinariness from any role and make it extraordinary. As the young NRI couple who dare to dream the American dream, the two lend a spiritedness to their characters which somehow makes them the most lovable mom-dad/husband-wife duo in town.

Be it Saif's live-in-the-present effervescence or Rani's till-death-do-us-part devotion, Ta Ra Rum Pum tangos off to a high simply due to their chemistry. Quite, quite reminiscent of Hum Tum. Of course, the film lacks the originality of Salaam Namastey , where director Siddharth Anand scored with the sheer novelty of the no-holds-barred relationship between Saif and Preity. And Javed Jaffrey is truly the most under-estimated actor in Hindi films. Yet ...Rum Pum is the right get a fix for the Great Indian Family.

Rating: * * * (3/5) [Good]

(Note: the text is used strictly for INFORMATIONAL purpose, not commercially)

2007-04-28T09:02:00.000+05:30

TA RA RUM PUM: External Movie Review 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

So finally after two good reviews, we have a negative review. You can read it here too.

(Click on the photos to enlarge)

In director Siddharth Anand’s Ta Ra Rum Pum which releases at cinemas this week, New York-based racing-car champion Saif Ali Khan hits a bad spell when he’s injured in a racing accident that leaves him with the kind of emotional scars that he doesn’t quite recover from even a year later when he returns to the racing track. He’s lost his speed and as a result, he loses his place on the team. With no savings to fall back on, and no job that’ll stick, Saif has no choice but to move his family from a sprawling home in Manhattan to a modest apartment in Queens. His loving wife Rani Mukherjee stands by him like a rock, they decide to face all hardships with a smile, never once letting their two young kids realize that they’ve fallen upon hard times. Taking up odd jobs here and there, the couple try their best to make ends meet, until one unfortunate incident involving their child, makes Saif return to the race track to regain his lost glory and save his family forever.

How do you even begin to explain what’s wrong about a film, that does nothing right to begin with? The one, the only, the real problem with Ta Ra Rum Pum is that there’s absolutely nothing new about it. The plot’s been borrowed generously from such films as Cinderella Man, In America and Life Is Beautiful, but it’s also littered with so many Bollywood clichés that barely twenty minutes into the film, you can predict exactly where it’s going and how it’s going to end. Another big problem I have with this film is the ooh-so-cute factor which almost made me puke. Kids should behave like kids, and watching them starve themselves to save money, or reach for other people’s half-eaten doughnuts is just not cool. I know it’s all meant to tap at your tear-ducts and choke you up, but honestly the only feeling you’re overcome with is anger towards the director for his blatant attempt at emotional manipulation.

Also, when will we ever be spared those Bollywood stereotypes - the heroine’s father who insists his daughter has chosen the wrong guy? Then years later when she’s going through a bad patch, he’ll remind her that he’d warned her not to marry this guy. And the honourable heroine who’ll defend her husband and reject any help that her dad is willing to offer. God help us, surely Siddharth Anand could have done better. Like so many movies before it, Ta Ra Rum Pum is one of those glossy-but-soulless films which aren’t insufferable to sit through, but they’re an exercise in futility because they fail to touch you or move you or affect you in any way whatsoever. Even though it’s meant to be an emotional story, you can’t really empathise with the characters because it’s all so plastic, so fake, so calculated and clinical.

This family doesn’t have food to eat but they’re still dressed in designer clothes! Also I’d like to ask the director of this film if he really thinks this film is meant for kids. Dude, what do you want them to take from this? That revenge is okay? That it’s cool to be speeding like a madman even when you’re not on the race-track? Also, will someone please tell me why everyone’s screaming in the film’s first hour? Rani, Saif, Javed Jaffrey, why’re they all yelling at the top of their lungs? I understand Ta Ra Rum Pum is a well-intended film and it’s probably even trying to send out a positive message. But the way it goes about doing so is unimaginative and dull, to be honest. Even the car-racing scenes aren’t particularly impressive - there’s none of that edge-of-the-seat, nail-biting tension that you’d like to see.

In fact I’m going to go so far as to say that there’s a sense of indifference I get from this film. It just seems like nobody cared enough to work hard on this picture. Vishal-Shekhar’s music is way below average, nothing to sing and dance about. Rani Mukherjee’s been styled so badly, you can’t help wondering if her designer was getting back at her for something. Of the performances, neither Saif Ali Khan nor Rani is able to make much of an impression because their characters are so unidimensional and boring. Saif’s just playing himself all over again and that’s because the writers didn’t bother to give him anything solid to work on. As for Javed Jaffrey who’s playing Saif’s best friend and team-manager, I don’t know if that kind of humour is funny anymore - speaking English with a smattering of Gujarati thrown in, it’s just annoying if you ask me.

You know, when you leave the cinema after watching Ta Ra Rum Pum , you’re overcome with a sense of exhaustion. You feel like you do after a long, hard day at work. And that’s not a good thing because cinema is meant to entertain you not wear you out. So I’m going to go with two out of five for director Siddharth Anand’s Ta Ra Rum Pum, it’s old wine in a new bottle. What you take back with you at the end of the film is a pain in the backside because you’ve been stuffed in that seat for so damn long. In fact I came up with a jingle for it - Ta Ra Rum Pum, have mercy on my bum, ta ra rum pum!

Rating: * * (2/5) [Average]

(Note: the images and text are used strictly for INFORMATIONAL purpose and they are not used commercially)

2007-04-27T19:01:00.000+05:30

TA RA RUM PUM: External Movie Review 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I have already posted one review of TRRP in my last post. Here's another. You can get its here too.

(Note: Click on the photos to enlarge)

Yash Raj created magic with speeding bikes [DHOOM]. Now's the turn of speeding cars [TA RA RUM PUM].The West has often made films depicting the rise, fall and subsequent rise of sportspersons. ROCKY [Sylvester Stallone], DAYS OF THUNDER [Tom Cruise] and CINDERELLA MAN [Russell Crowe] are films that cross your mind as you watch director Siddharth Raj Anand's second outing TA RA RUM PUM. It wouldn't be erroneous to state that Siddharth borrows from the above-named films, but he garnishes the material with desi emotions that work well with Indian moviegoers. There's no denying that TA RA RUM PUM is a well-crafted fare that provides entertaining moments and also succeeds in its goal as a feel-good experience. One of the prime reasons why TA RA RUM PUM works is because it's not about car racing only. It involves a couple, their two kids, the family's riches to rags story, their highs and lows…

Now let's get down to the basics: What works and what doesn't? If the car racing sequences are awe-inspiring, the emotional quotient in the second hour is worth acknowledging as well. A number of sequences make you moist-eyed, especially the high-octane climax that not only gives you goose bumps, but also makes you jump with joy. However, TA RA RUM PUM isn't a flawless film. You can't turn a blind eye to the aberrations in those 16 reels. Fortunately, the pros outweigh the cons in the final tally. To sum up, Siddharth Raj Anand comes up with a worthy follow up to his directorial debut, the immensely likable SALAAM NAMASTE. TA RA RUM PUM easily ranks amongst Yash Raj's better films in terms of style as also substance. TA RA RUM PUM tells the story of one man, his family and how they overcome the obstacles that life puts in their way, together. It is the story of human spirit and how it ultimately prevails.

Rajveer Singh [Saif Ali Khan] is a pit-crew worker in a racing team with a passion for driving who gets discovered by a team manager, Harry [Jaaved Jaaferi]. The same day, he accidentally meets a music student, Radhika [Rani Mukerji], who he falls for instantly. He gets drafted into 'Speeding Saddles' -- a failing race team and transforms from Rajveer Singh to 'RV', the race car driver. While his racing career takes off instantly, his love life also blossoms after a whirlwind romance. A few months later, he is both a happily married man and one of the country's best racers. Fatherhood and greater success both follow and soon he is the Number 1 race car driver in U.S.A. as well as the proud father of two kids -- Priya [Angelina Idnani] and Ranveer [Ali Haji]. But as a result of a bad racing accident, RV is hospitalized for a few months. When he tries to make a comeback, he realizes that he has been mentally scarred by the accident. His life now takes a turn for the worse and after a string of failures, he is forced to auction his house and move with his family to a run-down neighborhood.

However, RV and Radhika decide not to tell their children the truth and construct a skillful masquerade of a reality show where they have to live a poor life in order to win a mythical grand prize. The family struggles to survive a life that they are not used to, using a mixture of fantasy and cheerfulness to pull through in the face of adversity. But an incident forces RV to reclaim the life that was taken away from him. You don't take to TA RA RUM PUM instantly, since the writing [screenplay: Habib Faisal] meanders on oft-repeated tracks initially [the snooty father-in-law/Victor Banerjee looking down upon the son-in-law/Saif Ali Khan, the mandatory romantic scenes and songs]. The one aspect that shines the brightest in the first hour is the car race that makes Saif's life go topsy-turvy. Ideally, the intermission card should've flashed at this juncture, but the sequences that follow are plain mediocre.

Thankfully, the substance [script] as also the execution of the material improves a great deal in the post-interval portions. The plight of the family moves you: Saif is reduced to a cabbie, Rani plays piano at birthday parties and hotels to run the kitchen fires and foot the bills, the children skip their meals to save for the school fees.

The son, in fact, picks up leftovers from the waste to satiate his hunger… These are moments that mirror the realities of life. The highpoint of the film are the penultimate reels. Right from Saif storming into a hotel, asking for a loan of $ 65,000 to the final victory, the narrative reaches its crescendo in those 25 + minutes. In fact, the powerful second hour elevates the film tremendously. Director Siddharth Raj Anand is only getting better with every film. He handles the emotional moments in particular very well. The execution of the race sequences is outstanding. Something like this hasn't been witnessed on the Hindi screen before. Binod Pradhan's camerawork is marvelous.

Vishal-Shekhar's music is of the fast-forward variety. One looked forward to a better score for sure. However, the picturization of a few songs camouflages the defect to an extent. The kiddie song -- merging live with animated characters -- catches your attention. The animation here matches international quality. Saif is extremely likable. He conveys the varied emotions with complete understanding. Rani enacts the role of the mother/wife proficiently. Jaaved Jaaferi is first-rate in a serious role. Bharat Dabholkar is efficient. Victor Banerjee suits the character. Shruti Seth is alright. Angelina Idnani and Ali Haji are adorable.

On the whole, TA RA RUM PUM easily ranks amongst better films from the Yash Raj factory. Surprisingly, the film has opened to a below-the-mark response at several screens. But it has the potential and power to gather speed in days to come since it has something for everyone -- emotional quotient for families, thrilling car races to woo the youth and the kiddie factor to attract this huge movie-going segment [kids]. Its business in Overseas should be excellent and in India, the multiplexes will help the distributors reap a harvest. Strongly recommended!

Rating: * * * 1/2 (3.5/5) [Good to Very Good]

(Note: The text and image are used only for INFORMATIONAL purpose and they do not serve any commercial purpose)

2007-04-27T18:26:00.000+05:30

TA RA RUM PUM: External Movie Review 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Well, the first review of Ta Ra Rum Pum is out. I'm the first to bring it here. You can get it here too!

Cheering can be a lot of fun. In movies, it has the power to do miracles, especially when the man, you are rooting for, has so much at stake. Siddharth Anand's Ta Ra Rum Pum plays on every human's ultimate fantasy to conquer against all odds and take home the trophy. Here the trophy stands as a metaphor for the realisation of one's most precious dreams. And that is precisely what makes Ta Ra Rum Pum a universal subject to identify with and feel for.

But for god's sake, it's a Yash Raj Film. And so even if a story about inspiration and hope, it is bound to be lavish, stylish and commercially viable. For starters, it's set in New York City. What's new, you ask? Hasn't Karan Johar made a career out of making films based in NYC? True. What is new is Anand's vision of the most populated city of The States. Not only do you get to do some fresh sight-seeing but also innovative angles of oft-repeated locations like Brooklyn Bridge and Times Square. Also, car racing is the basic premise of the story. Expectedly, there is a whole lot of vroom-vroom going on all through the movie. True blue racing buffs might not feel the rush of adrenalin on witnessing the tackily executed chase. But folks not too familiar with NASCAR will enjoy just the same.

Like every story, this one has a hero too. Rajveer aka RV (Saif Ali Khan) makes a dashing entry; a la Tom Cruise in Top Gun, helmet in hand, against the violent strumming of an electric guitar. Only our man started out as a pit stop tyre changer. His racing skills impress a cabbie Harry (Jaaved Jafferi in his best Gujarati speaking accent goes in for a swell image makeover) and they strike a deal with Billy Bhatia's (Bharat Dabholkar) company Speeding Saddles. During his winning spree, the carefree RV also hits it with the fastidious Radhika (Rani Mukerji). He calls her Shona because 'it's Bong (Bengali in slang) and sweet, and so are you'. The duo, with funny hairdos, also find time to parade on the empty streets of Manhattan. Again, Anand appears to draw inspiration from another Tom Cruise flick, Vanilla Sky. The latter has Cruise running on the empty streets of Times Square, not a soul in sight.

RV proposes to Radhika with Tiffany, a Merc and a mansion in Manhattan -- all of which is irresponsibly purchased on loan and installment, if you are the one for details. Soon they have two kids, with nicknames that'd have you mistake them for a horse -- Champ (Ali Haji) and Princess (Angelina Irani) and an Irish Setter, Bruno. All the adulation makes RV feel over-confident about his game. In trying to fool around and entertain the crowds against his closest competition, RV makes a faulty move resulting in a major accident. After missing out on a whole year, he gets back into the action, nonetheless scarred from his previous experience. His poor performance on the track leaves him jobless, homeless and bankrupt. While RV never stepped inside a university, Radhika never finished her degree post-marriage. Silly move, we think. Lack of proper education forces the two to take up low-end jobs and shift to a rundown desi neighbourhood. While the children are made to believe their new impoverished status is a play and part of a reality show, Don't worry. Be happy. And though it's not mentioned, we believe RV was definitely a fan of Roberto Benigni's Life is Beautiful. Eventually, RV has to take a stand, which means an edge of the seat contest from start to finish and, of course, lots of cheering.

The sentimental turn in Anand's story is heartfelt. But what is particularly appealing that none of the characters crib or mope around. Instead, they tackle every problem with resilience and humour. Sure, kids will be kids and occasionally sigh at the sight of creamy puffs and spicy hot dogs. Aww moments aside, generally, there is a positive vibe running through this family and the film. The foursome make a happy picture hopping inside the enormous Disney store. Speaking of choreography, Vaibhavi Merchant infuses an impressive rhythm and frolic in the movements. Almost every song and dance is a pleasure to watch. If Salaam Namaste (Anand's directorial debut) was inspired albeit cool, Ta Ra Rum Pum is inspiring and sweet. The filmmaker has a knack for bringing wit in woe. He does that here too, admirably. Though I have to say, how come RV enters a racing competition whenever he feels/needs like/to? Isn't there supposed to be a schedule calendar or something?

That's what makes Saif Ali Khan indispensable. His spontaneity is utterly disarming and distracting. He plays RV -- a huge racing star, with amusement as if to say 'big deal' not losing his boyishness even during stressful times. Hence, his breakdown scene is particularly effective.

Rani Mukerji's Radhika is a confident lady. There is a certain polish in her taste and thoughts. Self-assurance comes naturally to the actress. And for this role, she makes the most of it. Also, there is just one word to describe Surily Goel's wardrobe for Rani: WOW!

Essentially, Ta Ra Rum Pum is a feel-good family entertainer with good looking actors, thrilling car chases, playful melodies (Vishal-Shekhar) and pretty visuals. Then again, there's lot more beneath. It talks about taking responsibility for one's own problems instead of finding an easy way out. It packs in a lot of optimism and grace, especially in the way new age parents are depicted. Even if in passing, the fast-growing obsession and dependency on plastic money and installment schemes is mentioned as well.

Any film that makes you feel good about life and prioritises hope over struggle is worthwhile. Ta Ra Rum Pum brings a smile to your lips and song to your heart.

Rating: * * * 1/2 (3.5/5) [Good to Very Good]

(Note: the text and image are used only for informational purpose and they are not used commercially)

Are you going Ta Ra Rum Pum this weekend?

2007-04-26T21:36:00.001+05:30

Tara Rum Pum
Originally uploaded by Santosh Dawara.

Well, last week Kya Love Story Hai released. Tomorrow we will have the last release of April. 1/3rd of the year has already passed by. But only 2 films reached the status of HIT (not everywhere though). Multi-starrer biggies like SALAAM-E-ISHQ, EKLAVYA, NISHABD have failed miserably at the box office.

There will be a solo release tomorrow - Ta Ra Rum Pum. This film is by Yash Raj Films and stars Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukherjee in lead roles. (Storyline here) Veteran actors like Victor Banerjee, Javed Jaffery also share screen space in thsi film. This film is about the strength of family bonding in the time of adversities. This film has racing as its main theme. It also seems to be a family entertainer. So genuine emotions, action, visual treat, good acting....that's all we expect from this flick. This film also boasts of a good animation to attract little eyes.

A few weeks ago, we talked about the box-office prospects of the film. Now it seems that this film will fetch a good opening since it's the solo release this week. There's no Bollywood release till May 11. Meanwhile, a tough competitor named SPIDER-MAN 3 invades the theaters a week later. So there isn't much to worry about. There are other reasons too! People are not watching World Cup due to India's dismal exit from WC. The nation-wide examinations are over now. So naturally, the students will want to spend their leisure with some cool summers flicks. The mercury of thermometer is rising day by day. So it's obvious that everyone will seek a nearby A/C movieplex to get themselves 'cool'.

So what say? Do you agrre with the above reasons? Are you going to rush to cinemas with your friends? Tell me!

2007-04-24T13:11:00.000+05:30

Why I will avoid IIFA Awards 2007 at any cost - Part 4 . . . . . . . .

Well, I know that this is the part you are waiting for. So let's not bore you and go ahead.

(THE FOLLOWING OPINIONS ARE SOLELY PERSONAL AND THEY ARE NOT INTENDED TO HURT/ OFFEND ANYONE)

****SPOILERS MAY BE AHEAD****
Best Picture
Dhoom 2
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kahna
Krrish
Lage Raho Munnabhai
Rang De Basanti
Vivah

D:2 - If you've read my previous posts you'll know my opinions about this film. You'll also know that I'm not at all surprised by its presence in this list. आखिर ब्रांड एम्बेसडर कि बेटे का फिल्म है ना!

KANK - I don't really *love* this film. It's not worthy of featuring in this list. Though it is *not bad* at least for me. For, it's courageous and it doesn't hesitate to say what it wants to. It's only the length that stays with you rather than really good moments. It has the ability to show the reality. It could have been better.

Krrish - Matrix, Spider-Man, Super-man, Super-hype..... just another D:2.

LRMB & RDB - Winners from the word go!

VIVAH- No surprise yet again! It is as regressive as possible. All the characters are saccharine-sweet. There's no HUMAN qualities in the character. Life's nothing else but marriage. The ultimate thing for a woman is to get married. Featuring cow-like women and glamorising all sort of stupid thing, no script, abysmal performances and blah blah blah blah .....that's all this film's about. It was trying to be "culturally" stupid. But sorry! That's not our culture. It's far wider. If you want to see ulture bump into DVDs of LRMB, RDB

The mentality of the jury is clearly shown by the films they choose. Just see how 67% of the nominated films are.

Why couldn't we arrange more money for the jury for the following films?
OMKARA (comes first) TAXI NO. 9211 GANGSTER WOH LAMHE KABUL EXPRESS (if yashraj really pays for D:2, they should have selected this one. Even FANAA was a better proposition than D:2) KHOSLA KA GHOSLA DOR BEING CYRUS

Best Direction
Karan Johar – Kabhi Alvida Naa Kahna
Rakesh Roshan - Krrish
Rajkumar Hirani - Lage Raho Munnabhai
Vishal Bharawaj - Omkara
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra - Rang De Basanti

KANK - Though the film was not very good. There are moments which are very well-directed. Although not worthy of nomination.

Krrish - No words here. See the previous posts.

LRMB & RDB - Again no words (exactly opposite to Krrish)

Omkara - The man behind converging Shakespearean tragedy with UP heartland. One of the most well-executed film in recent times. Not only does the master story-teller tell the story with great skill, he gives example of master craftsmanship (music is credited to him too). Be it the performance or the script, the cinematography or the sets or everything....he leaves a mark of his own everywhere. No disappointment if he wins.

Who deserved.
KUNAL KOHLI - Fanaa (Don't confuse a loopy script with the direction. The film is well-executed. At least far better than Krass) And all the films I suggested for the previous category.

Best Performance in a Leading Role (Female)
Aishwarya Rai - Dhoom 2
Kajol - Fanaa
Kangana Ranaut - Gangster
Rani Mukherji - Kabhi Alvida Naa Kahna
Vidya Balan – Lage Raho Munnabhai

D:2 - Better nominate Rakhi Sawant! Even she could come as close to Sunehri as Ash. Stardust preferred Ash to Kajol, though (same kind of award show, you know!)! She is really Ash (pun intended). In a long time we have seen such a performance, that makes us feel proud about ourselves. We can act better anytime. And yes! without a kiss and a bikini and a makeover!

Fanaa- She was so subtle, subdued in the film that she makes you overlook all the flaws in the screenplay. She looks a million bucks and plays the role with much panache. Why can't we get more of you?

Gangster - Wow! No words to describe her. She closely follows Kajol.

KANK - She definitely played it very well. Not Bad.

LRMB - Not bad!

Who deserved:
KAREENA KAPOOR - Omkara (bringing Desdemona alive) PRIYANKA CHOPRA - Don (to replace that fireless Ash) KANGANA - Woh Lamhe (she should have been nominated for this alog with Gangster) GUL PANAG - Dor AYESHA TAKIA - Dor

Best Performance in a Leading Role (Male)
Shah Rukh Khan - Don
Hrithik Roshan - Krrish
Sanjay Dutt - Lage Raho Munnabhai
Ajay Devgan - Omkara
Aamir Khan - Rang De Basanti

Don - SRK was panned by all after release. But I certainly like it. I am not a big fan of SRK, though. Having seen both the versions and with due respect to the previous one, I am unbiasedly saying that SRK IS THE BETTER DON. Hold your protests, I'd explain that. A character like DON is should be shrewd, good-looking, smart, mischievous, cruelly-smiling, womanizing, soft-spoken, flirtatious. These are things which I found in SRK. I am not decrying the previous version. Well many dumb critics said that there's no balance between Vijay & Don or SRK played Don well but Vijay badly. How could ______ (no spoilers here) play Vijay? You have to remember that not SRK but ___________enacted the role of Vijay. On that context, it's a very good performance.

Krrish - See the supporting section for my comments on his nomination for D:2. The same applies for Krrish. But bet he would win this one like the others. Like Anurag Kashyap (again) I'd like to state that HR should have got the BEST JUMPING AWARD for Krrish.

LRMB - A towering performance from the most underrated actor. He was born to play this. I wish he gets this one. Emotional. He hasn't got it before.

Omkara - Converting the Moor of Venice to an adha-brahmin is no easy task. He did it fantastically.

RDB - Awesome stuff from AK.

Who deserved :

JOHN ABRAHAM - Taxi No. 9211 SHINEY AHUJA - Gangster, Woh Lamhe AAMIR - Fanaa (I liked it) SRK - KANK (that's why we all hated his character. It's to his credit)

Also See: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

So that's all. You may have got a taste of how award functions really are. What are your comments? Let me know.

(NOTE: IF YOU DON'T AGREE WITH THE AUTHOR PLEASE TELL WHAT IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN. PLEASE REFRAIN FROM ATTACKING THE AUTHOR AND DO NOT USE ANY EXPLETIVE)

2007-04-24T11:48:00.000+05:30

Why I will avoid IIFA Awards 2007 at any cost - Part 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I am discussing the supporting roles here.
(THE FOLLOWING OPINIONS ARE SOLELY PERSONAL OPINION AND THEY ARE NOT INTENDED TO HURT/OFFEND ANYONE)

****SPOILERS MAY BE AHEAD****

Best Performance in a Comic Role
Chunkey Pandey – Apna Sapna Money Money
Uday Chopra – Dhoom 2
Tusshar Kapoor – Golmaal – Fun Unlimited
Paresh Rawal – Phir Hera Pheri
Sharman Joshi – Rang De Basanti

All nominations are highly biased. I haven't seen ASMM, but I am sure (from reviews) that Ritesh was a better choice. The son of the producer jarred in D:2 (yet again). Another son of a star, was execrable in Golmaal. Paresh Rawal's become so repetitive that his antics don't tickle our bones. Sharman Joshi was not very good, but definitely better than others. Gosh!

deserved nominations:

ARSHAD WARSI - LRMB, Kabul Express, Golmaal Ranvir Shorey - Khosla Ka Ghosla

Best Performance in a Negative Role
Hrithik Roshan – Dhoom 2
Emraan Hashmi – Gangster
Boman Irani - Lage Raho Munnabhai
Saif Ali Khan – Omkara
John Abraham – Zinda

D:2 - If being a sky-diver, bungee-jumper, skater, biker is enough to get a nomination, I can suggest thousands of names for this category. Some may throw brickbats at me, but seriously think. Is HR a true actor? Just a couple of makeovers and action are enough to put put him on the list? Aren't we succumbing to the (pseudo)-super-stardom? He is expressionless. No depth has been observed in the character. You may be mesmerized by his looks (that's what it is) not by his acting skills. This may cause the true cinema to be buried.

Gangster - To be frank, I don't like EH. Rather I possess a strong dislike for him. But when I saw the film I was literally floored by his performance. Unlike his other films, he was nuanced, natural and restrained. I just loved him it!

LRMB - Pretty good villain with perfect comic timing. He deserved a nomination for DON rather than this one.

Omkara - The "most best" villain ever to emerge on the screen of Indian cinema. Sorry for wrong grammar, but I couldn't resist using that particular word. Moving far away from his urban, metrosexual image, Saif played the role with great.......(I don't know how to describe it). He was formidable. He far eclipsed the "most popular" villain Gabbar Singh with a vengeance.

Zinda - Another good one from John.

Best Performance in a Supporting Role (Female)
Bipasha Basu – Dhoom 2
Rekha – Krrish
Konkona Sensharma – Omkara
Kirron Kher – Rang De Basanti
Soha Ali Khan Pataudi – Rang De Basanti

D:2 - Once again! Can you explain me why was Bipasha's character added? If you completely remove her, would that make any difference? Why is there a Sonali? Why is she added? Why is there a pseudo-affair between Jai and Sonali? Why doesn't Sonali come to Brazil? Why is Monali added? Just for the sake of bikini and a dancing companion to producer's son? Bips enacted the role so awfully that I couldn't believe that this is the same girl from Corporate.

Krrish - This is Rekha at her worst. She has no sync. Her makeup, performance and acting are so artificial that you can't help but laugh out aloud.

Omkara - Konkona was very good, flawless but somewhat predictable. So Soha wins it by an inch.

RDB - KK - I didn't really like her in RDB. I thought, she could perform it much better.

Soha- She's the winner for me. She surprised all of us with a perfect performance. She suited the role to a 'T".

Who deserved:

SONALI KULKARNI -Taxi No. - 9211 MASUMEH - Woh Lamhe DIYA MIRZA - L.R. Munnabhai TARA SHARMA - Khosla Ka Ghosla BIPASHA - Omkara (to replace D:2)

Best Performance in a Supporting Role (Male)
Amitabh Bachchan - Kabhi Alvida Naa Kahna
Abhishek Bachchan - Kabhi Alvida Naa Kahna
Arshad Warsi – Lage Raho Munnabhai
Kunal Kapoor - Rang De Basanti
Atul Kulkarni - Rang De Basanti

KANK - Amitabh Bachchan - He was definitely very good in intense moments such as the table sequence. But in the comedy portions he put on a very bad effort. So he's not worth it. Since he is the brand ambassador who could have dared not to include him?
Abhishek " - His role was so amateurly wriiten, that we couldn't relate to hs character. Altough I am not saying that he was not good, I tend to think that he didn't rise above the character that was written. So his performace didn't made us empathise with him.

LRMB - Now that's a bit confusing. Is Arshad's role eligible for suppoting role? Or for the comic one? However he wins it from the word 'go'. He was impeccable in the role of Circuit. No words to describe this performance. Without a doubt, the best comic performance ever! But I suspect if he will win it. Who will give this award to AW when the son of the brand ambassador and ba himself are included?

RDB - Both the nominees rocked. No doubt.

Who deserved:

DEEPAK DOBRIYAL - Omkara [This is bias at its best. No performance in the above list (except AW obviously) came even a mile close to his first performance. He isn't nominated because he doesn't have big names to back him. This kind of a superb performance from a newcomer is completely unexpected. I strongly agree with director Anurag Kashyap who says, "Deepak Dobriyal in omkara was frigging five hundred times better than an Abhishek Bachchan in all his performances put together and wasn’t even nominated."] NANA PATEKAR - Taxi No. 9211 SIDDHARTH - RDB ARSHAD - Kabul Express SALMAN SHAHID - Kabul Express

Also see: Part 1 - Writing Part 2 - Music Part 4 - Main Categories

(NOTE: IF YOU DON'T AGREE WITH THE AUTHOR PLEASE TELL WHAT IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN. PLEASE REFRAIN FROM ATTACKING THE AUTHOR AND DO NOT USE ANY EXPLETIVE)

2007-04-23T21:12:00.000+05:30

Why I will avoid IIFA Awards 2007 at any cost - Part 2 . . . . . . . . . . .

In my last post, I discussed regarding the writing department awards. Now I'll discuss music.

(THE FOLLOWING OPINIONS ARE SOLELY PERSONAL OPINION AND THEY ARE NOT INTENDED TO HURT/ OFFEND ANYONE)

Best Lyrics
Sameer – Dhoom 2 – Crazy Kiya Re
Prasoon Joshi – Fanaa – Chand sifarish
Javed Akhtar - Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna - Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna
Gulzar – Omkara – Beedi
Prasoon Joshi – Rang De Basanti - Ru Baroo

Dhoom 2 : Again Dhoom 2? ufff! Gimme a break. The lyrics are stupid, tasteless, foolish, funless, and ..................to infinity

Fanaa and KANK - Both of them definitely deserve without a bias.

Omkara / RDB - Not bad at all. They are good.

Who Deserved too:
ADITYA DHAR, VIJAY KUMAR, SWARTMIKA MISHRA - Banjar - Kabul Express

Best Music Direction
Pritam – Dhoom 2 – Crazy Kiya Re
Shankar Ehsaan Loy – Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna – Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna
Rajesh Roshan – Krrish – Dhoop Nikalti hai Jahan Se
Vishal Bharadwaj – Omkara – Beedi
A.R. Rehman – Rang De Basanti – Ru Baroo

D:2 / Krrish - As said earlier, it is "defintely" necessary to include a Blockbuster / Big Banner/ Hhhrrrithiiiikh Rooooosshan film in every category to
raise the required money for holding the event.

KANK/ RDB - Definitely both of them deserve. I'd give a slight edge to RDB for its unique-ness.

Omkara - Again a good album.

Who deserved to be there:
PRITAM - Gangster (Albeit plagiarized, it's damn rockin' and miles better than D2) RAGHAV SACHAR - Kabul Express (definitely surprising, melodious, no-nonsense tunes from a young composer) JATIN - LALIT - Fanaa (last album from the duo, it's awesome) SHANKAR - EHSAAN - LOY - Don (The remakes were not bad. Aaj Ki Raat, Main Hoon Don just rocked)

Best Playback Singer (Female)
Sunidhi Chauhan – Dhoom 2 – Crazy Kiya Re
Alka Yagnik - Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna - Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna
Shreya Ghosal – Lage Raho Munnabhai – Pal Pal
Sunidhi Chauhan – Omkara – Beedi Jalaile
Lata Mangeshkar – Rang De Basanti – Luka Chhupi

D:2 Again: I'm used to it.

No complaints regarding others.

Best Playback Singer (Male)
Shaan – Fanaa – Chand Sifarish
K K – Gangster – Tu Hi Meri shab
Zubeen – Gangster – Ya Ali
Sonu Nigam - Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna - Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna
A. R. Rehman & Naresh Iyer – Rang De Basanti – Ru Baroo

Finally a category without D:2/ Krrish. No complaints.

Also read: Part 1 - Writing Part 3 - Supporting Roles Part 4 - Main Categories

(NOTE: IF YOU DON'T AGREE WITH THE AUTHOR PLEASE TELL WHAT IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN. PLEASE REFRAIN FROM ATTACKING THE AUTHOR AND DO NOT USE ANY EXPLETIVE)

2007-04-23T18:45:00.000+05:30

Why I will avoid IIFA Awards 2007 at any cost - Part 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Well, you may ask me why I am shouting regarding the IIFA when it's been quite a while when silly, stupid, biased, idiotic, dumb (not in that order) award functions came and went. IIFA or Indian International Film Academy Awards is an award function held every year outside India. The Bollywood awards functions are sold to the Bollywood mafias, you know and the national awards (no proper noun, I mean capitalization for safety) are sold to 'art-house' directors. Well, don't wanna spark a controversy stating all the names.

The IIFA 2007 (at Yorkshire) is probably a couple of weeks away. But the nomination has already been announced. No, not the awards, the nominations have struck me with awe. अगर नॉमिनेशन ऐसा है तो ना जाने अवार्ड किसको मिलेगी. (If this is the nomination, I don't know to whom will the award go). After looking through the list of nomination, I wager you will be as exasperated as me. I can say only on thing, "The more you bid, the more you get."

We will present each category and dissect 'em. The winner who is chosen by me has been highlighted in bold.

(THE FOLLOWING OPINIONS ARE SOLELY PERSONAL OPINION AND THEY ARE NOT INTENDED TO HURT/ OFFEND ANYONE)

****SPOILERS MAY BE AHEAD****

Best Story
Aditya Chopra – Dhoom 2
Rakesh Roshan – Krrish
Rajkumar Hirani – Lage Raho Munnabhai
Vishal Bharadwaj – Omkara
Kamlesh Pandey – Rang De Basanti

Now the story is considered the fundamental need for a film.

Dhoom:2 - So, what was the story in Dhoom 2? I am still searching. Did they think of a story even before the shooting? The climax is an exact copy of the same writer's Bunty aur Babli.

Krrish: Krisssh, Krrissh, Krrish or Crass? Now which other felicitous word should I use. The story offers nothing new, combining Hollywood superhero cliches with melodramatic Bollywood love story. Senseless, mindless, crappy, silly, outdated, propagating-superstition...............uncountable.

LRMB- Now this is the complete winner in this category. He has penned one of the greatest films ever made (I think so). No other story in recent times has been so thoughtful, masterly-created, engaging and original.

Omkara - Who is this silly, publicity-hungry, running-after-big-names-to-make-a-name man, called ....hmm.....can't remember! Remembered! This man is called William Shakespeare. Have you heard about him before? I haven't. He claims that he has written a tragedy called OTHELLO which Omkara borrows from.

RDB - This nomination too is definitely deserved.

Who other deserved to be there:
MAHESH BHATT - Gangster KABIR KHAN - Kabul Express JAIDEEP SAHNI - Khosla Ka Ghosla MAHESH BHATT - Woh Lamhe (though it's inspired by real-life event) NAGESH KUKUNOOR & T. A. RAZAK - Dor

Best Screenplay
Vijay Krishna Acharya – Dhoom 2
Anurag Basu – Gangster
Rajkumar Hirani, Abhijat Joshi, Vidhu Vinod Chopra – Lage Raho Munnabhai
Vishal Bharadwaj, Robin Bhatt, Abhishek Chaubey – Omkara
Rensil D’Silva & Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra – Rang De Basanti

Well, screenplay is considered the backbone of a film. Do the IIFA jury try to find the backbone or the back-bucks?

Dhoom 2: Hmmmm.... Why not include FAMILY, PYARE MOHAN, DARNA ZAROORI HAI, 36 CJINA TOWN, HUMKO DEEWANA KAR GAYE, PHIR HERA PHERI, KRRISH, UMRAO JAAN, SHIVA, CHUP CHUP KE, VIVAH et al replacing all other films? They easily rank amongst "best scream-play". Dhoom 2 is one of the silliest, loopiest, most logic-less, most mindless screenplay ever written. If "this" tops the best screenplay section. I am seriously worried about the future of screen-writing. I won't be surprised if it wins.

Gangster: This one is a clear winner in this category. It is intelligent, gritty and doesn't take you for granted. It's very dramatised, multi-layered and full of emotion. You can easily relate to the characters. The characters are well-defined. I doesn't let you predict where it's headed with brilliant twists in the screenplay. The best romantic-crime genre from India.

LRMB - Another flawless screenplay of last year. Like Gangster, it too is intelligent, soul-stirring. It's combined humour with heart effortlessly. It's not that kind that tells you to leave your brains at home. It successfully tells many things at a time.

Omkara - Another well-deserved nomination. Rather than just copy-pasting Bard's tale of love, hate, jealousy on the papers, the writers effectively change the characters, setting without changing anything. Re-writing Shakespeare is an arduous task. It's loyal yet so much close to the Indian soil.

RDB - It gradually grows on you. Although it's not exactly a perfect screenplay, I won't be disappointed if it wins. The screenplay is tour de force.

Who other deserved to be there: NAGESH KUKUNOOR - Dor JAIDEEP SAHNI - Khosla Ka Ghosla RAJAT ARORAA - Taxi No. 9211 HOMI ADAJANIA - Being Cyrus KABIR KHAN - Kabul Express

Best Dialogue
Girish Dhamija – Gangster
Sanjay Masoom – Krrish
Rajkumar Hirani, Abhijat Joshi – Lage Raho Munnabhai
Vishal Bharadwaj – Omkara
Prasoon Joshi & Rensil Dsilva – Rang De Basanti

Gangster - Good dialogue. It definitely hits you.

Krrish - Why is that 'crrass' again here. Is there any single dialogue you can memorize from that idiotic film? Is it necessary to include a Blockbuster / Big Banner/ Hhhrrrithiiiikh Rooooosshan film in every category?

LRMB - It's also another example of a perfect dialogue. It's witty, humorous, Bambaiya yet meaningful.

Omkara - Definitely deserves or does it? It retains all the meaning of the original play without just translating them. It's raw and very real. One wishes that the hundreds of expletives weren't there. Then again, it's set in Western UP. Can you bet that they don't use such words?

RDB - Definitely the winner. The words are poetic, soul-stirring yet youthful, energetic. Strong enough to get into your mind.

Who also deserved:
KUNAL KOHLI - Fanaa (Though one may argue that the dialogues and shayaris are cliched and senseless, I liked it. It definitely deserved to replace Krrish) KABIR KHAN - Kabul Express (Very humorous and witty, especially that of Arshad's) FARHAN AKHTAR - Don (It's one simple reason. The lines are directly from the masterful script by Salim - Javed) JAIDEEP SAHNI - Khosla Ka Ghosla

Don't miss: Part 2 - Music Awards Part 3 - Supporting roles Part 4 - Main awards

(NOTE: IF YOU DON'T AGREE WITH THE AUTHOR PLEASE TELL WHAT IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN. PLEASE REFRAIN FROM ATTACKING THE AUTHOR AND DO NOT USE ANY EXPLETIVE)

2007-04-20T15:01:00.000+05:30

SPIDER-MAN 3 Production Video: LIGHT STAGE ................................

When we see our favourite superhero on screen, we always overlook the technical aspect behind it. We don't know anything about the things which compel us to believe that the visuals are true. One such technical aspect is the lighting, which forces us to enter the make-believe world. The video here discusses some exotic digital lighting effects here. The Digital FX Supervisor, Peter Nofz elaborates some of the most complex parts very simply. It's possible for anyone to absorb the mechanics behind it. It also shows how they are done.

You can get it here too: http://spider-man-3-film.blogspot.com/2007/04/spider-man-3-production-video-light.html

Tell me how do you like it! I'll be posting all SM3 videos if you wish!

Original Source

2007-04-20T14:44:00.000+05:30

More videos of SPIDER-MAN 3 Tokyo Premiere ....................................................

Barely two days ago, we posted some exotic videos of Tokyo Premier (Links: 1, 2). Now we are bringing you some other fantabulous videos from the mid-April premiere of Sony costliest production, SPIDER-MAN 3. This page has a number of cool videos:

Kirsten Dunst talks about working with the Spider-Man movie team
Producers Laura Ziskin and Avi Arad talk about the World Premiere in Tokyo
Producer Grant Curtis on his cameo appearance in Spider-Man 3
James Franco on Harry Osborne's intentions in Spider-Man 3
Rosemary Harris is ready for some stunt work

The videos are accessible here: http://www.spidermanmovieblog.com/archives/2007/04/more_tokyo_premiere_video.php

You can also get it here: http://spider-man-3-film.blogspot.com/2007/04/more-videos-of-spider-man-3-tokyo.html

2007-04-18T15:54:00.000+05:30

Watch videos of Japan premiere of Spider-Man 3 .............................................

Well as we all know, SPIDER-MAN 3 was screened for the very first time in Tokyo, Japan. The cast and the filmmakers assembled there at the premiere. A person dressed in SPIDEY suits (red-blue) entertained the viewers greatly. There are four videos at the page:

Spider-Man swings by the World Premiere in Tokyo
Tobey Maguire talks about what to look forward to in Spider-Man 3
Sam Raimi reacts to the Japanese fans at the World Premiere in Tokyo
Topher Grace and Thomas Hayden Church discuss what's different with Spider-Man 3

The videos are very cool. The link is here: http://www.spidermanmovieblog.com/archives/2007/04/tokyo_premiere.php

Just can't wait!

also availabe here: http://spider-man-3-film.blogspot.com/2007/04/watch-sm3-tokyo-premiere-videos.html

(note: the photo is strictly for informational purpose and not for commercial purpose)

2007-04-18T15:07:00.000+05:30

Featuring SPIDER-MAN 3 on BU ....................................................................

Well the hottest movie this season is arriving. That's SPIDER-MAN 3. A production by Columbia Pictures this film is the third part of SPIDER-MAN franchise. We have a sister blog regarding SM3. From now on, we will regularly post updates on SM3 on both the blogs. The previous films were money-spinner blockbusters. They took in about $ 2 billion (including merchandise, DVD sales etc). This film has 3 villains, including venom. So it's really exciting.
15 more days! Can't resist!!!!!!!

2007-04-18T14:57:00.000+05:30

BOLLYWOOD UNLIMITED GOES HOLLYWOOD ......................................................................

There's a great news for BU visitors as they will be able to find out information on HOLLYWOOD too. We are a part of a global village, right? We will bring here Hollywood movies, flashbacks, retrospectives, box-office, reviews and lot more!

So get ready to sway with the waves of newly-formed BOLLYWOOD-UNLIMITED.

2007-04-18T14:23:00.000+05:30

PENGUINS: A LOVE STORY - External Movie Review

I also promised to post this review. Original Link.

You may remember some months ago on Now Showing, I'd recommended the Morgan Freeman-voiced documentary March of the Penguins. That film was released theatrically in the US two years ago and even the DVD has been out for over a year. But this week at our multiplexes across the country, two new versions of the same film have been released theatrically — an English version titled Penguins, A Love Story, and a Hindi version called Penguins, Ek Prem Kahani, both narrated by Amitabh Bachchan.

Now the film itself was originally shot by a team of French documentarians in Antartica, and it's really a tale of love and survival. It's the heart-warming story of the long and arduous journey that penguins undertake every winter for the survival of their young ones. Who would have thought penguins would make such a fascinating subject for a film? But they do, and their story is filled with drama and pathos and nobility and honour. As far as the narration is concerned, I can't seem to understand why they'd release a new English version considering the one voiced by Morgan Freeman was just perfect.

I suspect the idea behind roping in Amitabh Bachchan to voice both the Indian versions was to generate curiosity among those who wouldn't watch a documentary film normally. It that's the case, I guess it makes sense. Now I saw the English version Penguins, A Love Story and in all honesty I have to say I preferred the Morgan Freeman version over this one, and there's only one reason for that — I feel they haven't fully exploited Bachchan's voice.

Where's the modulation, where's the touch of humour and wit which is what makes the Morgan Freeman version so engaging? Anyway, having said that let me confess that while the narration does play an important role in the film's overall impact, the story itself is so dramatic and so moving that it wins your hear instantly. For every single one of you who hasn't watched March of the Penguins, don't miss this opportunity, go to the cinema and watch one of the two Indian versions, it's a film you will thoroughly enjoy. That's three out of five and a thumbs up for Penguins, A Love Story, please don't miss it.

Rating: * * * (3/5) [good]

(Note: Text and image have been used only for informational purpose, not for any commercial purpose)

2007-04-18T14:15:00.000+05:30

BHEJA FRY: External Movie Review.

As I promised last week, I am bringing you an external review of BHEJA FRY. You can get it here.

Everyone loves a good laugh, and I'm no different. Director Sagar Bellary's Bheja Fry which opens at cinemas this week is a cleverly-written and competently-enacted comedy which stars Rajat Kapoor as a selfish and insensitive man whose idea of Friday night entertainment involves a party where unsuspecting, dim-witted victims provide laughs to his group of like-minded, shallow friends. One such victim, Vinay Pathak — an income-tax officer with an annoying singing habit — visits Rajat at his home one Friday, excited to be invited for a dinner party. But the joke turns out to be on Rajat eventually, when he watches his life fall apart just moments after this bumbling fool walks through the door.

His wife decides to leave him, his nympho mistress decides to show up, his back is killing him from an earlier injury, the fear of an income-tax raid is looming over his head, he's forced to confront a friend he'd wronged some years ago, and this idiot at his home is the man responsible for most of these catastrophes. While it's true this film is somewhat entertaining and much of the humour is derived from its rock-solid script, let me be the party-pooper here by revealing that Bheja Fry is a scene-by-scene, dialogue-by-dialogue remake of the superhit French farce The Dinner Game, which, if you remember clearly I'd recommended on this show some months ago. You see, Bheja Fry isn't 'inspired' or 'borrowed' or 'influenced' from the original film, it's an out-and-out remake. One can only hope that remake rights were bought from the makers of the French film, although I didn't see any acknowledgement of the same in the film's credits, and in fact I saw this film's screenplay credited to two persons, which if you ask me is shocking, considering the only real work on the script would be in the form of translation.

Now that I've cleared my conscience and made the point about plagiarism, let me confess Bheja Fry does have more than just a handful of hilarious moments, most of which are provided by the imaginative screenplay and dialogue. The film's director Sagar Bellary rarely digresses from the plot and the narrative of the original French film, although he does make a few significant changes. Like the fact that Rajat's wife role is a little more fleshed out in Bheja Fry than it was in the original film — Bellary gives Sarika a career and a back-story, but then he botches it all up by failing to show clearly the building resentment Sarika feels towards her husband, and the reason for this. The only other major change is that in the original film, the idiot protagonist had the annoying habit of discussing his passion for making matchstick models of famous buildings, but in Bheja Fry, it's Vinay Pathak's irritating habit of breaking into a song and his childish enthusiasm at showing off his scrapbook that makes him the perfect candidate for this idiot's dinner.

If you ask me to nitpick, I'd say I was a little disappointed with Ranvir Shorey's performance in the film. Which is surprising, I know, because Ranvir is fast emerging a comic genius. But in Bheja Fry where he's playing Vinay's best friend and colleague, Ranvir overdoes it a little by playing his part as a caricature and not as a flesh-and-blood character who one might be able to relate to. Also was it just me or did you also notice how midway through the film, Rajat Kapoor suddenly seems to have recovered from his back injury -- in no time at all, he's walking about and fixing a meal and setting the table. Wasn't it just moments ago that he was moaning and groaning in pain, unable to move by himself? Another problem I have with the film is the seemingly insignificant but in reality, the shockingly careless insinuation that Ranvir Shorey is a pro-Pakistan, anti-India cricket-buff simply because he's Muslim. That may have been only a passing reference in the film, but it's horribly racist, it's an unfair stereotype, and it could have been easily avoided.

The funnier moments in Bheja Fry are provided by Vinay Pathak, who manages to give his character a few quirks of his own, even though its more-or-less modeled exactly after the role played by the excellent French actor Jacques Villeret in the original film. In all fairness, Vinay Pathak is priceless particularly in those scenes in which he packs and unpacks his scrapbook, and then those scenes in which he makes sure nobody's looking when he's tackling the combination code on his briefcase. It's a testament to the strength of the script that the film doesn't slip despite mediocre performances by Bhairavi Goswami and Tom Alter who play Rajat's mistress and his doctor respectively. Sarika, on the other hand, delivers a credible performance -- perhaps the most credible of the lot -- when she plays the wife as a real person and not the cliché that we have come to see in most movies these days.

Thankfully, Bheja Fry doesn't fry your brains like the title threatens to, in fact it's got a handful of moments that will make you laugh out loud — my favourite is that scene in which Rajat's mistress is unable to understand a word he's been using to describe her, until Vinay translates it for her, much to Rajat's horror. Or that one in which Ranvir calls up his wife who's in the middle of an adulterous tryst to tell her he knows what she's upto. It's really moments like these that you'll remember even after you've left the cinema. I'm going to go with two out of five for this week's Bheja Fry, it's funny in parts so give it a chance. But no points for writing or directing as it's a faithful remake of an earlier film. I just wish the filmmakers had acknowledged that.

RATING: * * (2/5) [average]

2007-04-15T22:59:00.000+05:30

Which film are you going this weekend?

a number of films have been released this weekend. Let's have a look

LIFE MEIN KABHIE KABHIEE: Can't get enough of the extra 'e' and 'ee'. After torturing the viewers by making them see RED (thankfully I was not in the victim list), Vikram Bhatt is back with a mammoth piece of burden. Will you be one of them?

BIG BROTHER: Starring Sunny Deol; the less said the better....

BHEJA FRY: Remake of a french masterpiece LE DINER DE CONS (THE DINER GAME) this one looks quite interesting. Vinay Pathak has surely rocked this one. I will come up with review of BF.

PENGUINS: A LOVE STORY: It's okay that they released the hindi version in Amitabh Bachchan narration. But, why can't we get the Morgan Freeman version in English? You'll get reviews here.

ERAGON: I'd better be stuck to THE LORD OF THE RINGS dvd.

PERFECT STRANGER: Don't ask me. You should rather use the search engine.....

2007-04-15T09:39:00.000+05:30

PROVOKED: External Movie Review 1

Well guys, I promised you that I will bring you a couple of Provoked review. One is here. You can also get it here.

Set in London and based on a real-life story, director Jag Mundhra's film Provoked stars Aishwarya Rai as a battered Punjabi housewife and mother of two. Aishwarya plays the role of Kiranjit Ahluwalia, who sets her brutish husband on fire after suffering 10 years of abuse at his hands. Charged with first-degree murder when her husband succumbs to his wounds, Kiranjit is sentenced to life imprisonment. Despite evidence of repeated abuse, the law doesn't allow her to claim self-defense as her husband was asleep when Kiranjit set him on fire.

In prison, it's with the help of a fellow inmate Ronnie, played by veteran British actress Miranda Richardson, that Kiranjit picks up the pieces of her life and learns to stand up to bullies. Meanwhile, Nandita Das playing a female activist with The Southhall Black Sisters, a support group committed to helping victims of abuse, takes up her cause and persuades Kiranjit to make an appeal. A little over three years after her arrest, Kiranjit is finally freed by the British judicial system in a landmark case that redefined the word "provocation" in the case of battered women.

Despite its many shortcomings, Provoked is engaging till its very end because it's such a dramatic story and because it avoids over-sentimentality, a trap that most films of this genre invariably fall into. Thankfully, we're spared all the Bollywood-style chest-beating and the shameless tugging at heart-strings that most Hindi films of this kind indulge in.

So, even though there are scenes in which Kiranjit begs to be united with her sons, there's none of that ‘I'll-die-without-them’ drama. That's not to say the script is all perfect, in fact it’s far from it actually.

Mundhra wastes too much time setting up those courtroom scenes, and there's little need to go into the back-stories of every inmate in that prison. Instead it might have helped if the character of Kiranjit's husband had been more fleshed out. One moment you see he's surprising his pregnant wife with their new suburban home. Next thing you know, he's bashing her up and thrashing her around for no fault of hers. Also, attributing his violent mood swings and his promiscuous lifestyle to his drinking habit is a little too convenient on the director's part.

In terms of production value, Provoked comes of looking like one of those filmed-in-your-backyard TV movies, and to be completely honest, Mundhra's direction is too basic, almost too amateurish to be taken seriously. But because it's entirely honest and well intended you're willing to overlook many of these flaws. Instead, you're moved by those tender moments between Kiranjit and Ronnie, her protective new friend in prison. You're stung by the sense of empty loneliness that you see in Kiranjit's eyes even after she's released from prison.
In all honesty, Provoked wouldn't work if it wasn't for two performances that uplift the film considerably. Miranda Richardson plays Ronnie as a tought-but-tender woman who befriends Kiranjit when she's falling apart. It's Richardson who provides some of the film's most memorable moments, like the one in which she responds to Kiranjit's bear-hug with a comic line.
Of course, the real star of Provoked is Aishwarya Rai who delivers a performance that is appropriately restrained. I haven't exactly been a big fan of Aishwarya's acting, but I'll say here, she surprises you with what she strums up. It's a performance that penetrates into your consciousness because she plays it with a slow-burning passion rather than an all-out flourish. This is easily one of her better acting jobs. The film works because it's not preachy and it doesn't take itself too seriously. So I'll go with three out of five for Jag Mundhra's Provoked. It's a sensitive film about domestic abuse. It's not a great film by any standards but it's well intended and it goes about its job with sincerity, and sometimes, just sometimes, that's enough.

Rating: * * * (3/5) [GOOD]

Note: The text/image used here, is strictly for informational purpose and they do not serve any commercial purpose.

2007-04-14T11:01:00.000+05:30

DDLJ celebrates 600th week in Indian Cinema..

On Friday, 13th April 2007, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, or DDLJ as it is fondly called, is entering its 600th week of continuous play in theatres। The love story of Raj and Simran continues to strike a chord with audiences, as they keep coming back to Maratha Mandir theatre (in Mumbai where DDLJ continues its uninterrupted run) to fall in love once again with one of the most evergreen stories told on the silver screen.

The movie, which cemented the super star status of the Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol pairing, opened to packed houses and rave reviews way back on 20th October 1995. Indians all over the world instantly fell in love with this simple yet eloquent story. It bridged the perceived divide between the NRI and Domestic cultures, and effortlessly wove Indian Tradition and Western Trends into a unique brand of “Indian-ness”, which is often copied, but yet to be rivaled.

Director Aditya Chopra’s directed his first film, DDLJ, at the young age of 23. Released in 1995, DDLJ became one of the largest grossers in Indian film history. While remaining popular with the masses, DDLJ also garnered critical acclaim from all quarters. The film swept that year’s Filmfare Awards, picking up every single award of consequence, and propelled Aditya Chopra as one of the most influential young voices in Indian Cinema.

In 2001, ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ broke the continuous-exhibition record, established by the movie ‘Sholay’ at Minerva Theatre (5 years: 1975 – 1980). DDLJ remains the longest running film in the history of Indian cinema, as it passes one milestone after another, and is presently running in its 12th year.

AWARDS
NATIONAL AWARD:
Best Film – for popular and wholesome entertainment.

FILMFARE AWARDS:
Best Film – Yash Chopra (Producer)
Best Director – Aditya Chopra
Best Actor – Shah Rukh Khan
Best Actress – Kajol
Best Supporting Actress – Farida Jalal
Best Comedian – Anupam Kher
Best Lyricist – Anand Bakshi (Tujhe dekha to ..)
Best Playback Singer (Male) – Udit Narayan (Mehndi Lagake rakhna)
Best Dialogue Writer – Aditya Chopra / Javed Siddiqui
Best Screenplay Writer – Aditya Chopra

SCREEN AWARDS:
Best Film – Yash Chopra (Producer)
Best Director – Aditya Chopra

2007-04-09T20:47:00.000+05:30

A physically impaired French woman speaks on SRK; It will really make your eyes moist

I went to see Shahrukh Khan in London when he came to unveil his statue at Madame Tussauds wax museum. I was accompanied by five young women from Shahrukh Khan's French fan club, Shahrukhfan.fr. We knew that only media people would be allowed to get into the museum, but despite this, we came from France, hoping to see Shahrukh, and maybe talk to him.

I am on a wheelchair and it was almost vital for me to tell him that when I see him dance, my body too dances, that I can dance with his body. I so much wanted to thank him! We went to the museum at 7am and we waited for hours in the icy wind of London. We talked to the bodyguards, they were giants but very nice ones; people were getting more and more excited and less and less controllable. They had come from all parts of the world, "only" to catch a glimpse of Shahrukh: France, Japan, Australia, and Trinidad.

Then he came. Suddenly no one remembered me, our small group was scattered, literally ejected meters away from me, I was sandwiched between Nani, who was helplessly holding the wheelchair, and the bodyguard, with my head flattened against him. I managed to move my head away, and I saw Shahrukh, with his caramel-coloured skin, his black hair and beautiful smile.

Then, for one second, our eyes met. How strange. Try to imagine: the overexcited crowd, the hysteria, the bodyguards, and our eyes met, although he was three meters away from me, with lots of people between us, and my chair wasn't at all at the level of his eyes. Then everything became black. The tsunami was dangerously shaking my chair. My face was flattened against the bodyguard. All that came to my mind was that the wedge of the armchair was completely driven into the guard's legs, and Nani was doing her very best to prevent me from falling on the ground. Then the bodyguard moved, with one hand he was holding the crowd and with the other he made sure that I could see something. In fact, it's because Shahrukh was kneeling down that the guard moved. He was kneeling down for me. It was like being in a cave with human walls, we were in front of each other, and I was able to tell him thank you, I could tell him that he made me dance. He didn’t understand. People were screaming and my English wasn't good, I was too nervous.

He asked me, surprised, if I wanted to dance. I said "no, I don't want to dance, I dance with your body". He smiled, took my face with infinite tenderness, and kissed me on the forehead. He didn't smell cigarette, nor perfume, only a nice body odour. His kiss wasn't wet but not dry either. It was complete. He went away and I didn't see him again. What more can I tell you? This man gives off strength. When he came near me I felt this strength, he gives and gives, only with his presence.

It wasn't a star kissing a disabled woman for publicity. I felt the human being, full of tenderness. He is able to do a lot of good. I don't understand why Tussauds tried desperately to discourage us from coming. I hope Shahrukh knows that the reason why there weren't more people is that Tussauds refused to give information, kept repeating that we wouldn't see him, laughed at us. The public relations of the museum strung us along; Tussauds didn't want us to come. I don't know why and I hope this will reach Shahrukh's ears. If it does: thank you, Shahrukh; seeing you and seeing you dance has changed my life. Thank you for stopping in front of me on Tuesday, April 3rd.

What do YOU think of this post? Please react!

Photo Credit: Rediff.com

SRK proves his critics wrong; DON Celebrates Silver Jubilee in Indian Theaters

2007-04-09T13:35:00.000+05:30

There's a news which would make all Shah Rukh Khan fans overjoyed. Shahrukh Khan's last film DON (Director: Farhan Akhtar) which was released on 2oth October last year is now celebrating its Silver Jubilee in Indian theaters. DON, which was a remake of 1978 Amitabh Bachchan film of the same name, was slammed by all the critics after the release. DON was listed at the top of every worst film list of every critic. But the critics could not refrain people from flocking into the theaters. As a result, it went on to become a blockbuster. Its domestic & overseas grosses feature in all-time blockbuster lists.

The film which was supposed to fall flat after the criticism it received on release goes into its 25th week running at Uday(4 shows a day) and Imperial (Matinee show) in Mumbai.

Collections follow:

India: $14,302,729 (till January 11, 2007)
USA: $2,223,961
UK: $2,826,980
Australia: $233,903
New Zealand: $52,556

To be frank, I am NOT a fan of any particular actor. As an unbiased viewer, I thought that the film was not a masterpiece, but it was quite good and entertaining. It was one of the best action/ escapist movie from Bollywood. SRK's demeanor and attitude made him look a perfect DON. The climax was the most awesome part of the film. In IMDb it has a 7+ rating. It has also won some public choice awards.

Could you explain why were critics so hostile towards this film? Were they biased? Feel free to discuss about the film. Do you support what SRK jokingly said by tampering a dialogue in the film after the release: डॉन के critic का सबसे बड़ा गलती यह है के वोह डॉन का critic है (The biggest mistake of Don's critic is that he is the critic of Don)?

2007-04-09T11:42:00.000+05:30

Spl. TA RA RUM PUM Character Sketch - Kids

ANGELINA IDNANI

Welcome to my world… the world of Priya Rajveer Singh. I am 'Princess' to the people who are close to me.

I have four important people in my world and without them I am lost - Papa, Mama, Champ and Bruno (our dog)… I love them all… strictly in that order!

I love my school, Miss Peggy my teacher and my friends… not in that order... ha ha ha!!!

I love when Papa races. He looks so good in his uniform, wow! Mama, Champ and myself we all go and cheer Papa!

Champ and I are good children, we never fight… well almost never :)

I am his big sister, and also his friend. But when Papa had his accident, we got really scared… and life is not like it used to be. I want my old world back a happy world in which there were smiling faces of Papa, Mama, Champ and Bruno!

ALI HAJI

Hi.
I am Ranveer Rajveer Singh but pyaar se everyone calls me ‘Champ’ - because when I was born, my Papa won a big big race.

I like to go school, listen to Princess because she is always right. I also like to fight with her.

My favourites are Cars and Burgers - I love to eat burgers. I also like to play games.

I don't like to make Mama-Papa, Princess sad. I always want us to be smiling and happy. And I always sing the song they love “ta ra rum pum…”

Also see: Rani, Saif

(Note: The imagery used here is only for INFORMATIONAL purpose, and has not been used Commercially)

2007-04-09T09:38:00.000+05:30

Spl. TA RA RUM PUM Character Sketch - Rani Mukherjee

Life can be the most unexpected journey of all. This is something that I have learnt over my many years with RV, the man who I never thought could be the kind of person I could fall for.

My life as Radhika Shekhar Rai Banerjee started off with ambition and very careful planning. I always knew what I wanted to be and exactly how I wanted to get there. Right from when I was a little girl playing with my carefully organised & acquired dolls to when I decided to pursue a career in music - everything I have done has been well thought out and every step chalked along the way. My Dad, who owns one of the biggest software companies in the world, obviously approved. But everything changed when one sunny day I happened to get into a cab that took off with a bang & propelled me into a life that I had never thought I would lead.

RV exploded into my life with the usual madness & energy that I have now come to expect from him as an everyday trait. Before I knew it, I was sitting in the stands of the New York Speedway, cheering on with wild abandon a man that I had barely met 2 days ago. But that's what I mean about life being unexpected. Love too, in this case. I fell in love in a manner completely contrary to everything that I've ever done so far, and it was the best thing that ever happened to me! And suddenly Radhika Shekhar Rai Banerjee, the straight-laced girl became 'Shona', a woman in love.

Life with RV was always a roller-coaster ride of emotions, and things didn't change even with the arrival of Princess & Champ - the two shining lights in my life. We were the ideal happy family that I never knew I wanted, but was so content that I had! But life, in all its unpredictability, had more in store for us…

RV's departure from the race track forced us to give up the idyll of a happy & content life, including our beautiful house. Suddenly we had to fend for a living using any means possible, all the while maintaining a facade of normalcy for the sake of our children. Will I be able to keep my family together while struggling against the vagaries of life? Will I manage to see us through yet another crisis?

Also See: Saif, Kids

(Note: The imagery used here, is only for INFORMATIONAL purpose, not for any Commercial purpose)

2007-04-09T08:29:00.000+05:30

Spl.: TA RA RUM PUM Character Sketch - Saif Ali Khan

Hi. I'm RV. The best race car driver in the world! Sounds nice to be able to finally say that, especially since I've wanted to be one, ever since I was a little boy, racing model cars around my room. Racing has always been my dream, and after Mom & Dad died, I worked even harder towards that goal. Since I never really had much interest in studies, I dropped out of college & started working in the pitcrew of a racing team: the only way I could be near race cars! My life seemed to be going smoothly along this loveless still-nowhere-near-driving-a-race-car track, until one momentous cab ride later, everything changed.

That's when I met Harry (my future manager) and Radhika (my future wife), all in the space of 5 minutes. One crazy trip later, I was the new race car driver for 'Speeding Saddles'; and a couple of chance encounters (and my first win in a race) later, I was in love: with the most beautiful & intelligent &amp;amp;amp; talented & creative & …… (you get the picture…) woman who ever came out of West Bengal to live in New York. A music student & a racer don't somehow seem like the best of matches, but sometimes the cliché works. Opposites do attract and we were quite possibly the happiest couple in Manhattan.

And that's how Rajveer Singh the pit-crew tyre changer became RV the racer. I was a man with a new job that I had been dreaming about my entire life, a love that I kept dreaming about and everything that I could have asked for.

And then my kids arrived on the scene. Princess and Champ - the two people who suddenly gave my life a new meaning. I didn't think I could be happier, but I was! My career took off much like my car when the starter flag goes down, and my family was the backbone that kept me going. Seeing them cheer me on at every race that I won was what made the dream even more beautiful in its reality.
Until that fateful accident…

That one day changed things forever. I was forced to give up my dream career and my dream life. Everything came crashing down to a very painful and a very changed reality. A reality which involved giving up the wild and racy lifestyle that I had always followed.

I tried to make it back… but it was never the same. But now, I have no choice. Something has happened and I need to win. But I don't know what will happen. Will I be able to overcome my fears on the racetrack? Will I be able to save my family? Will I once again become the best father, the best husband and the best racer that I have always been for my wife and kids?

Also see: Rani, Kids

2007-04-08T18:46:00.000+05:30

shakalaka boom boom or provoked this week?

Two movies have been released this week. One is Suneel Darshan's SHAKALAKA BOOM BOOM and other one is Jag Mundhra's PROVOKED. Well my opinion on the two films:

SBB:
Well, what can be said about this film? This film has Up*n Pa**l and Cel*na J**tly (is it the right spelling?) in PIVOTAL roles! . Isn't that the reason enough to avoid it? Moreover, there's music (and voice too...) by Mr. HI**SH nasal twang R*S**MM*IY*. If promos are anything to go by all the protagonists can be taught acting by any slum-dweller. An actress who stars in this film, made her debut last-year with two awesome flicks. My message to her: Ms. Kang*n*, after your first two films, we liked you immensely. Is it necessary for you to star in such dreadful movies? I definitely look forward to you next film directed by the person who directed your first movie.

PROVOKED:
This one's the film I really look forward to. After all, it's based on a real-life incident. Domestic violence is a thing which Indian women suffer from all over the world enduringly. If this film becomes a platform for creating awareness against the brutality inside the walls, it's very much welcome. Sometimes, the premise of a story is so strong that it overpowers all its flaws. I think, PROVOKED is one such film. But wait for Monday, you are going to see national party-workers (oops! I'm sorry! they should be called the carriers of Indian legacy, na!) burning posters (and theatres too!). They are gonna say, "This film is anti-Indian Culture. After all the duty of an Indian woman is to endure whatever her husband does." This one's box-office fate (it's already declared a flop) surely indicates that.

By the way I'll be coming up with reviews of only PROVOKED. Do let me know what do you think about these films irrespective of my opinions.

Xclusive! Wanna hear TA RA RUM PUM Music?

2007-04-04T17:51:00.001+05:30

Hello Guys,
I am posting once again regarding Yash Raj's film TA RA RUM PUM starring Saif Ali Khan & Rani. Well the music is finally out. Barely a week ago I provided you with the exclusive music listings of TA RA RUM PUM. Now I bring you some clips from the songs for you to decide if you are buying a CD. Click on the links to hear. All the songs are in .wma (Windows Media) format

1. TA RA RUM PUM

2. HEY SHONA

3. NAACHLE VE

4. TA RA RA RA RUM TARARUMPUM

5. AB TO FOREVER

6. SAAYIAAN

Please Rate it here by posting comments and tell how you like it.

Note: The Audio files included here are for demonstration purposes only and are mere clippings of the entire songs. They are not meant to infringe any copyright or patent whatsoever. You are strongly encouraged to buy the music unit if you want to listen to the songs.

Xclusive! TA RA RUM PUM Movie Preview - Story

2007-04-04T13:37:00.000+05:30

This is the story of one man, his family and how they overcome the obstacles that life puts in their way, together. It is the story of human spirit and how it ultimately prevails.

Rajveer Singh (Saif Ali Khan) is a pit-crew worker in a racing team with a passion for driving who gets discovered by a team manager, Harry (Jaaved Jaaferi). The same day he accidentally meets a music student, Radhika (Rani Mukerji), who he falls for instantly.

He gets drafted into 'Speeding Saddles' - a failing race team and transforms from Rajveer Singh to “RV” the race car driver. While his racing career takes off instantly, his love life also blossoms after a whirlwind romance. A few months later, he is both a happily married man and one of the country's best racers. Fatherhood and greater success both follow and soon he is the Number 1 race car driver in the USA, as well as the proud father of two precocious kids Priya (Angelina Idnani) and Ranveer (Ali Haji).

But as a result of a bad racing accident, RV is hospitalized for a few months. When he tries to make a comeback, he realizes that he has been mentally scarred by the accident and has lost his edge. His life now takes a turn for the worse and after a string of failures, he is forced to auction his house and move with his family to a run-down Bronx-style neighborhood.

However, RV and Radhika decide not to tell their children the truth and construct a skillful masquerade of a reality show where they have to live a poor life in order to win a mythical grand prize.

The family struggles to survive a life that they are not used to, using a mixture of fantasy and

cheerfulness to pull through in the face of adversity. But an incident forces RV to reclaim the life that was taken away from him.

Can he, once again and perhaps for a last time, face down his inner demons on the race track? Can the family remain together in the wake of what could perhaps be their biggest challenge yet?

Remember that you first read it on BOLLYWOOD UNLIMITED!!

Xclusive! TA RA RUM PUM title song; Music release on 3rd April

2007-04-01T22:14:00.000+05:30

Helllooooooo Friends,
I'm back once again. For the past few days, we've been discussing about Yash Raj Films' next venture, Rani Mukherjee-Saif Ali Khan starrer TA RA RUM PUM. A few days ago we unleashed the music listing of TRRP and also discussed its box-office prospects. We had also shown the teaser. Now we get another sneek peek of this Yashraj film.

For the first time you'll be seeing the title song TARA RUM PUM being crooned by the protagonists. At first we see Saif-Rani celebrating with their kids. It's probably on the boy's birthday. Since there is a line - "HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHAMP". If you've seen the previous trailer, you may know that the name of the boy is CHAMP. Anyways, Saif was introducing 4 animated bears (TA, RA, MA & PA - their names). Then all of them enter the animated world. And the animation! VFX producers, take a bow! It's very very good. For the first time ever in India we see actors with animated beings. The animated bears bear (pun unintended) a resemblance with THE LION KING and Sony's OPEN SEASON.

The melodious score, witty lyrics and havoc picturization makes this one truly special. (Remember, Saif-Rani's HUM TUM too boasted of good animation!) Below is the video.

By the way, the music releases this Tuesday, on 3rd. Looks like a perfect family flick this season.

What say, guys? Do leave your comments and request me for anything you want!!!

Xclusive! TA RA RUM PUM music listing; Music to release in Audio-DVD format too!

2007-03-25T07:59:00.000+05:30

Hello Guys,
Yesterday I posted you vital news about Yash Raj Films' forthcoming flick TA RA RUM PUM. Those who have been waiting for the music with bated breath will finally have a reason to cheer about. Yashraj is going to release the music in a matter of week. And guess what! It will be in world-class Audio-DVD format too! The format was first introduced in India by YRF for Dhoom:2 in 2006. Surprisingly they didn't release the much better album Kabul Express in ADVD.

Let's see what are we gonna get when we opt for the ADVD:

This Audio DVD disc features pristine quality sound formats featured below: 1. Meridian Lossless Packing (MLP) 24 bit / 48 KHz (accessible on DVD-A players only). 2. Meridian Lossless Packing (MLP) 24 bit / 48 KHz Stereo 2.0 (accessible on DVD-A players only). 3. Dolby Digital 24 bit /48 KHz 4. DTS Digital Surround Sound 24 bit / 48 KHz. 5. PCM Stereo 2.0 16 bit /48 KHz.
Lyrics of all tracks available.
Image Gallery of all films, as an optional feature. User can choose to view the still images of the films which changes as the songs progress.
The Credits button in the main menu gives the viewer to go through the Song & credits list.
3 Surround Sound options MLP, Dolby Digital & DTS
The product also includes an exclusive “Lyrics Booklet” of all the songs featured.

Well I personally have an opinion on the music release of TRRP. Yashraj who is known as the marketing king is not promoting its film very early, which was done earlier. Earlier we would see the music and promos of YRF flicks releasing 2-1/2 months ago. Now they're doing it just 1 month ago. Same happened for D:2 but still it went on to become a blockbuster. So that might happen with TA RA RUM PUM too! Now let's take a look at the tracks.

1. TA RA RUM PUM
Singers: SHAAN, MAHALAXMI IYER, SNEHA SURESH, SHRAVAN SURESH

2. HEY SHONA
Singers: SHAAN, SUNIDHI CHAUHAN

3. NACHLE VE
Singers: SONU NIGAM, SOMYA RAOH

4. TA RA RA RA RUM TARARUMPUM
Singer : SHREYA GHOSHAL

5. AB TO FOREVER
Singers : KK, SHREYA GHOSHAL, VISHAL DADLANI

6. SAAIYAAN
Singer : VISHAL DADLANI

There are 4 additional tracks in the ADVD:

7. MY DIL GOES MMMM
Singer : SHAAN, GAYATRI IYER
Lyrics : JAIDEEP SAHNI
Music : VISHAL & SHEKHAR
FILM: SALAAM NAMASTE

8. CHUP CHUP KE
Singer : SONU NIGAM, MAHALAXMI IYER
Lyrics : GULZAR
Music : SHANKAR, EHSAAN & LOY
FILM: BUNTY AUR BABLI

9. MERE HATH MEIN
Singer : SONU NIGAM, SUNIDHI CHAUHAN, AAMIR KHAN, KAJOL
Lyrics : PRASOON JOSHI
Music : JATIN-LALIT
FILM: FANAA

10. KEH RAHA MERA DIL
Singer : RAGHAV SACHAR
Lyrics : ADITYA DHAR
Music : RAGHAV SACHAR
FILM: KABUL EXPRESS

Lyricist-Music Directors combo Javed Akhtar & Vishal-Shekhar worked big time in HONEYMOON TRAVELS PVT. LTD. Will they create the same magic this time too?

(Xclusive!) Yash Raj Films to release VEER-ZAARA book

2007-03-24T19:12:00.000+05:30

Well there's an exclusive news for Bolly fans. Yash Raj Films is going to release a book on Yash Chopra's 2004 magnum opus VEER-ZAARA. Here are some details!

To celebrate Yash Chopra’s love legend VEER-ZAARA, Yash Raj Films is publishing an exclusive hard back coffee table book, for the first time. This “LIMITED EDITION” Collectors Book is a must-have book for every Yash Chopra and Veer-Zaara fan.

Special features ahead:

A Free Audio CD “The Love Legend Themes” containing the never-released-before Veer-Zaara themes and instrumental scores used in the film.

More than 100 pages... giving insights on the journey of making of this love legend.

Exclusive behind-the-scenes & on-location images from the film.

Personal letters & experiences of the entire team, including Shahrukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Preity Zinta, Rani Mukerji, Hema Malini, among others... who traveled on this journey called Veer-Zaara together.

Insights on the making of its much-loved and critically acclaimed music of Veer-Zaara composed by the late Madan Mohan, including personal letters of Lata Mangeshkar, Sanjeev Kohli, Javed Akhtar, Udit Narayan, Roop Kumar Rathod, Sonu Nigam and all singers..

Memorable personal experiences of all technicians which worked tirelessly to bring this love legend to life.

Never-before-known facts and trivia about the film.

Exclusive images from the Grand Premiere of Veer-Zaara and selected quotes.

Press Quotes, Awards and numerous Accolades won.

Heart-warming feedbacks received from film lovers and audiences from all over the world.

Hope, it's an interesting book by YRF.

You are reading this earliest in BU!

(Disclaimer: The information, image serve no commercial/promotion purpose other than solely INFORMATIONAL purpose)

Are you looking forward to TA RA RUM PUM?

2007-03-24T18:26:00.000+05:30

Hello friends,

I am back after a while. Surprisingly I didn't get to watch a single movie after GURU. Now I wanna share my thoughts on TA RA RUM PUM with you. TRRP is Yash Raj Films' next musical release. It's gonna release on April 27, 2007. The makers have enough reasons to cheer as well as worry about a few thing regarding the release.

Will the film hit the jackpot like other YRF ventures too? Lets analyse a few things.

The release date is right. Everyone's gonna kick off the summer with some cool flicks. The trailer (see below) indicates that it's pretty much cool.

A day earlier YRF had enough reasons to reschedule the release. But today it seems unlikely. WHY? The India-Sri Lanka match. The defeat of India practically buried all chances of India getting into the next round. The final match is on April 28. Nowadays we are seeing the bollywood films biting the dust due to World Cup. Very few people will watch and enjoy the following matches. That paves the way for a great weekend of TRRP.

The slick teaser has already aroused interest.

YRF's last masala flick Dhoom:2 was the biggest blockbuster of the year

Director Siddharth Anand's first film SALAAM NAMASTE was a huge domestic and overseas success.

The theme (car racing) is first time in India.

The music may also create a mark

But some flip points.....

Actor Saif Ali Khan's past few releases were washouts in the box office. In spite of much critical acclaim and a rocking performance, his OMKARA failed to ignite the box office. Despite being a multistarrer biggie, his EKLAVYA was a huge flop. NEHLLE PE DEHLLA went the same way.

Rani Mukherjee too had almost a same track record. The hardcore Indian masses rejected her playing of an adulterous woman in KABHI ALVIDA NAA KEHNA. Probably for the KANK -effect she created, BAABUL too was declared a commercial failure. Same for TRRP?

Well, lets see what happens. This pairing created a flame in box office with HUM TUM in 2004 when both of them were going through a bad phase. Saif even didn't have a solo hit! So uncertainty is the key word for box office. The success of this film might cure the lonely, lovelorn heart of SAK- what say?

Watch the trailer!

(Disclaimer: All the materials in this page serve only INFORMATIONAL purpose, and in no way is used commercially/promotionally)

Guru: Movie Review 2 (External)

2007-01-14T15:51:00.000+05:30

Here is another external Guru review here (Link here). The film seems to blow everybody's mind. What about you? From start to finish, from opening credits to end roll, director Mani Ratnam's new film Guru is a more-or-less accurate documentation of late industrialist and Reliance Industries founder Dhirubhai Ambani's life. All key incidents and several significant characters from Ambani's rags-to-riches life-story are recreated in Ratnam's film, with the occasional cinematic liberties thrown in.Guru is after all, the story of an ambitious, middle-class man who had big dreams, a man who would stop at nothing to realise his dreams, a man often accused of using morally questionable means to achieve his goals.Guru is the story of a man who believed not only in personal growth and personal success, but in empowering the very people who contributed to his success. A man who understood that the growth of an enterprise, a company, a corporation must reflect not only in its owner's personal growth and success, but in the growth and success of its every shareholder.

You see, the similarities to Ambani's life are far too many to be simply dismissed as coincidences. And yet Mani Ratnam insists Guru is no biopic of Dhirubhai Ambani. Then again, poor Mani Ratnam is probably just protecting himself and his film. Remember what happened years ago when word spread that a character in his film Bombay was inspired by Bal Thackeray?As is the case with most Mani Ratnam films that are centred around seemingly larger themes - Roja, Bombay, Dil Se, Kannathil Mutthamital, Alaiypayuthe - Guru too, is on one level a love story. And here, in the case of Gurubhai Desai and his unflinchingly supportive wife Sujata, played by Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai respectively, it's a beautiful, intimate, playful, passionate love story.

I mean, think about it, who else but Mani Ratnam could film a bedroom scene playfully? A grown couple in bed, husband gets frisky, next thing you know they're smacking each other mischievously, and what a moment it makes for. Now I know I'm stating the obvious when I say that nobody shoots songs the way Mani Ratnam does, but really it's once again true in Guru. Whether its Mallika Sherawat's item song set in Turkey, or Aishwarya's introduction number, every song is part of the narrative and is used specifically to continue the story. But if there's one song that sticks out like a sore thumb, then it's that celebration number in the second half, right after the couple have become parents. It's a song that doesn't fit into the narrative and only slackens the film's pace because it's so purposeless.

The beauty of Mani Ratnam's cinema is truly in its unpredictability. How he infuses humour or just creates wonderful moments out of the most ordinary situations. Look at that confrontation scene right before intermission. The one between Guru and his mentor, newspaper magnate Maneck Dasgupta, played by Mithun Chakraborty - it's a scene, which in a film by any other director, would have been treated as a loud, screaming match, but here Mani Ratnam treats it gently, and yet he doesn't lose the gravity of the moment.

My favourite scene in this film is the one in which Guru visits the home of the journalist who's hell-bent on bringing him down. Once there, he discovers that the reporter, played by R Madhavan is married to his very dear friend, one who has a very special place in Guru's heart. It's an awkward moment between the three of them, and no doubt it's now a complex relationship he shares with this journalist. But you have to see the simplicity and the beauty with which the director treats this scene. It's moments like these that hold together the film and your interest in it, even when the screenplay begins to drag.

The film's second half moves at a sluggish pace, but I'm not sure how much Mani Ratnam can be blamed for that. You have to understand two things here: One, passage of time is always difficult to show on film. And two, it is after all the story of a man's life, you can't expect high-drama at every corner. The sign of any good film - remember this always - is when all departments blend together seamlessly and no one department stands out from among the others. How many times have you felt that a film hasn't worked for you, but the camerawork really impressed you? Or the music stood out? The thing about Guru and about most films by Mani Ratnam is the consistency in its technical quality.

Having said that, I'm still going to point out that Rajiv Menon's cinematography is imaginative and also remarkable in the manner in which it effortlessly alternates depending on the mood - from eye-watering splendor in Aishwarya's rain song, to dramatic swish-pans in the court scenes, to the lavish, epic-scale trolley movements each time a train pulls into a station. As for the music, what can one say about A R Rahman's score that hasn't been said before, except that he seems to reserve his most versatile best for Mani Ratnam. Of the film's cast, Mithun Chakraborty playing the Gandhian newspaper baron, deserves mention for the dignity which he brings to the part, one that's clearly inspired by Indian Express founder Ramnath Goenka.

The actor in this film who truly blew my mind, is Aishwarya Rai. There is a silent grace, quiet nobility to her performance, which I have to admit I've never seen before. I think it can be safely said here that she's truly a director's actress. It's very evident that Mani Ratnam is neither overwhelmed by her beauty, not intimidated by her star power and perhaps that's why he treats her character so regularly. Of course the film belongs to Abhishek Bachchan, the protagonist, Guru himself. And in all honesty, Abhishek rises to the challenge like never before. With varied expressions, with a change of gait, with studied body language, Abhishek plays both the younger Guru and the older man so impressively that you cannot help admit this is the best he's been, in years.

Now if you want me to nit-pick, then I'll admit the film as a whole, isn't free of flaws. The climax, in my opinion, is a tad weak, and there are enough indulgences that could have been avoided. But still, Guru is an experience you must enjoy. Few filmmakers can translate their personal vision onto screen the way Mani Ratnam can. So that's two thumbs up for Guru - it's a must-watch for all.

-
Rating: ****(4/5) [VERY GOOD]
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(Disclaimer: The writings displayed here are only for INFORMATIONAL purpose and is NOT used for COMMERCIAL/ PROMOTIONAL purposes.)

Guru: Movie Review 1 (External)

2007-01-12T18:15:00.000+05:30

Hello friends! As I promised I am bringing you Guru reviews. I am yet to see the movie. So I am presenting a review from an external site. Here is the original link. The review follows. Meet India's most powerful man, screams the headlines. You want to believe the statement primarily because the man at the helm of affairs is none other than Mani Ratnam, one of the finest talents India has produced. Irrespective of how his films are received by the paying public, you cannot deny the fact that a Mani Ratnam film is special.So when GURU, Mani's new film, makes claims such as the one mentioned above, the viewer saunters into the cineplex with real big expectations.

Mani's impressive repertoire includes a few bio-pics and now GURU is a welcome addition to the club. This time around, the supremely talented storyteller narrates the story of a man who rises from zilch and becomes the premier industrialist of the country through sheer hard work, determination, passion and grit.

As a story, GURU is tremendously inspiring and makes you feel all the more confident to encounter challenges and hurdles that may crop up in a journey called life. But by no means is GURU a documentary, as a section of the film industry/media would want us to believe. Sure, GURU chronicles several vital facets of an industrialist's life, but the marriage of enlightenment and entertainment is brilliantly executed here.

With GURU, Mani proves that he's indeed the guru when it comes to narrating stories. Note the poignant moments in the narrative -- Guru's thorny relationship with his father [Rajendra Gupta], his relationship with a newspaper publisher [Mithun Chakraborty], Guru's brother-in-law Jignesh [Arya Babbar] staging a walkout and creating a rift between Guru and his wife Sujata [Aishwarya Rai], the confrontation between the journalist [Madhavan] and Guru at the publisher's residence, Guru's emotional moment in the hospital when his trusted aide [Manoj Joshi] attempts suicide and of course, the finale.

The graph of GURU escalates gradually and reaches its crescendo in the concluding reels. Guru's monologue in a packed courtroom -- where an enquiry commission is looking into the complaints against Guru's companies -- gives you goose bumps. The simpleton from a village in Gujarat roars like never before and the impact it creates cannot be described in mere words. All you want to say is, it's the most fitting finale for a fabulous film!

Mani's choice of the protagonist -- Abhishek Bachchan -- is equally worthy. You ought to be enormously talented to understand the nuances of the character and Abhishek deserves the highest praise for reliving a complex role. You smile when he smiles, you cry when he cries… you relive every single emotion that the character experiences. Only goes to show that the actor involves you at every step with a stupendous performance.

In a nutshell, GURU packs in a solid punch in those 2.45 hours. The year 2007 may have just begun, but one can confidently state that this Mani Ratnam film will rank prominently amongst the bests of the year when we go into a flashback mode later this year. Put your hands together for one of the most courageous attempts on the Hindi screen. GURU is a film not to be missed!

In a small village of Idar in Gujarat, a young man dreams of making it big some day. His father [Rajendra Gupta], the headmaster of the village school, tells him that dreams never come true. But Gurukant Desai [Abhishek Bachchan] dares to dream!Set in 1951, GURU tells the story of a ruthlessly ambitious villager who moves to Turkey first and Mumbai later with his wife Sujata [Aishwarya Rai] and brother-in-law Jignesh [Arya Babbar] to fulfill his dreams.

In Mumbai, truth dawns upon Guru that the business world is a closed community ruled by a handful of rich and influential people who don't believe in giving opportunities to new players. Despite barriers, he starts a company called Shakti Trading and climbs the ladder of success at a furious pace.Manik Dasgupta aka Nanaji [Mithun Chakraborty], who publishes a newspaper Swatantra, treats Guru as his son. But when he learns that Guru's means to make it big are not right, he along with the Editor of his newspaper, Shyam [Madhavan], decide to expose Guru's unjust ways.

Even though GURU is a bio-pic, the serpentine twists and turns in the screenplay are the mainstay of the enterprise. You may have heard of a few incidents, but the life sketch of the leading industrialist makes for an interesting celluloid experience.From the writing point of view, while GURU holds your attention at most times, there are a few loose ends, though negligible, that you cannot overlook. The tiff between Guru and his bro-in-law Jignesh is one of those tracks. What actually brings about a rift between the two and why doesn't Jignesh reappear anywhere in the story later is not explained.

Another track that doesn't really hold your attention is the one between Madhavan-Vidya Balan. Although the emotional sequence between them is a highpoint [the smooch that follows is aesthetically filmed], you still wish there was some more meat in this sub-plot.Moreover, the film can do without a song 'Ek Lo Ek Muft' [appears soon after Guru and his wife are blessed with twins] and also the pacing could've been tighter in the second half.GURU ranks amongst Mani Ratnam's finest attempts. In fact, it wouldn't be erroneous to state that the film is at par with his most accomplished works like NAYAKAN, AGNI NAKSHATRAM, GITANJALI, ROJA and BOMBAY. Every sequence in GURU bears the stamp of a genius and the outcome is tremendous.A.R. Rahman's music is in sync with the film. 'Maiya Maiya' at the start of the film [Mallika Sherawat] is sizzling, while 'Barso Re' [Ash's introduction] and 'Tere Bina' are melodious to the core. Rahman's background score is also topnotch. Rajiv Menon's cinematography is of international quality. The lensman captures the 1950s look, right to the present day setting, with flourish. Vijay Krishna Acharya's dialogues are of superior quality. The writing in the last twenty minutes is fantastic.

Reserve all the awards for Abhishek Bachchan. No two opinions on that! His performance in GURU is world class and without doubt, a shade above his career-best work in YUVA. From a sharp teenager in Turkey to the biggest entrepreneur of the country, Abhishek handles the various shades this character demands with adroitness. He takes a giant leap with this film!Aishwarya Rai too stuns you with a powerful performance. Known for her angelic looks all the while, the actor will make people sit up and notice the reservoirs of talent in GURU. Also, the chemistry between Abhishek and Aishwarya is electrifying. Mithun Chakraborty is in form after a long, long time. And it's a pleasure to see the veteran deliver a natural performance from start to end.Madhavan's role could've been stronger, but he enacts it with élan. Vidya Balan too suffers due to a weak characterization, but makes up with a confident performance. Arya Babbar is first-rate in a brief role. The film has a number of characters, but the ones who register a strong impact are Roshan Seth, Manoj Tyagi and Sachin Khedekar.On the whole, GURU is one of the finest films to come out of the Hindi film industry. At the box-office, its business will be excellent at the multiplexes as compared to the single screens. In fact, the business at the multiplexes [which are performing 12/14/18/20 shows a day] will be enough to make the film a success story in days to come. Strongly recommended, go for it!

Rating: **** (4/5)

(Disclaimer: The pictures and writings displayed here is only for INFORMATIONAL purpose and is NOT used for COMMERCIAL/ PROMOTIONAL purposes.)

Movie Preview: EKLAVYA

2007-01-12T12:27:00.000+05:30

Contemporary India. A majestic fort. A royal dynasty that no longer rules. A king without a kingdom.

Yet Eklavya [Amitabh Bachchan], their royal guard, lives in a time warp. He lives only to protect the fort, the dynasty and the king.

For nine generations, Eklavya’s family has protected Devigarh, a centuries old citadel in Rajasthan. His marksmanship is stuff of legends. His unflinching loyalty inspires ballads. Eklavya has spent his entire life serving the royals and closely guarding their secrets, but now he’s getting old and increasingly blind.

Unable to cope with the suffocating customs of his land, the heir, Prince Harshwardhan [Saif Ali Khan], has stayed away in London. But the sudden demise of the queen, Rani Suhasinidevi [Sharmila Tagore], forces the Prince back to the kingdom he had left behind.

The Prince’s return brings a rush of joy into the moribund fort. His mentally challenged twin sister, Princess Nandini [Raima Sen] and his childhood love Rajjo [Vidya Balan] are delighted to see him. But the joy of reunion is short-lived.

There is unrest in the kingdom: Farmers are being stripped of their lands. The king, Rana Jaywardhan [Boman Irani], influenced by his brother, Rana Jyotiwardhan [Jackie Shroff], supports the atrocities being forced upon the helpless peasants. The king receives a death threat over the phone. An irreverent police officer, Pannalal Chohar [Sanjay Dutt], is called in to investigate. But he might be too late.

The fragile peace of the land is suddenly shattered by a barrage of bullets. And amidst the mayhem, the safely guarded secrets of the fort are unveiled. What follows is a contemporary, edge-of-the-seat dramatic action thriller with a stellar ensemble cast – Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Saif Ali Khan, Vidya Balan, Boman Irani, Jackie Shroff, Jimmy Sheirgill, Raima Sen and Sharmila Tagore.

The film marks the return of Vidhu Vinod Chopra, who directs after a hiatus of seven years.

The First Look of EKLAVYA unleashed

2007-01-12T12:09:00.000+05:30

Here is the ultimate scoop for the movie-lovers! Film-maker Vidhu Vinod Chopra, who is coming back to direction after a hiatus of 7 years, has come up with his multi-crore, star-studded action thriller, his magnum opus EKLAVYA - THE ROYAL GUARD. It will definitely be a thing to watch. A glimpse of this film was shown with LAGE RAHO MUNNA BHAI.

Vidhu's last production LAGE RAHO MUNNA BHAI (Dir: Rajkumar Hirani) has proved to be the biggest critically acclaimed movie of 2006 as well as a money-spinner blockbuster.

Guru becomes a rage in Canda. Same for India?

2007-01-11T18:24:00.000+05:30

Canada's most populous city is bonkers for Bollywood this week as stars from India's hugely popular film industry are set to arrive for the landmark world premiere of "Guru." It's rare for such events to take place outside of India, and the premiere has many in the city's South Asian community buzzing with anticipation. Some fans have dished out hundreds of dollars for a ticket to Thursday's red-carpet gala screening.

Directed by Mani Ratnam, "Guru" is a rags-to-riches love story starring Abhishek Bachchan as a man who strives to climb to the top of the business ladder. Bachchan and his co-star/rumoured girlfriend, Aishwarya Rai, are to walk the red carpet with the rest of the cast at the Elgin Theatre Thursday evening. A press conference originally scheduled for Thursday afternoon was postponed until Friday morning because of changes to the stars' flights, said organizers.

City officials said they expect up to 10,000 fans to line the streets outside the Yonge Street theatre to catch a glimpse of Rai and Bachchan at the premiere. Officials asked police to block off part of the street in anticipation of the hysteria.

We don't know if the hot combo will set the Indian cinemas afire. Going by the tremendous hype and Ash-Abhi marriage rumours, it definitely has the potential to rock the box-office. Their last film together "Umrao Jaan" bombed at the BO (baring DHOOM:2, which was a multistarrer blockbuster).

Only time will tell!

Welcome

2007-01-11T18:01:00.001+05:30

Hello, Guys!

Last year I gave you ample scopes to find out much information about the hottest film that season. This year I have come up with the much-searched Bollywood movie reviews.This will not only give you the much-needed information 'bout the film but also guide you to choose the movies to see. I will post others' reviews about the films and latest happenings out there in this blog. Box office info will be available here. There will also be my personal recommendation and special features. So, let's start.

Tomorrow we'll come up with the latest release GURU on the review segment. The film was supposed to hit the theatres on December 22. It was shifted to 12th Jan due to clash with Bhagam Bhag, which is doing well. Let's hope the A-A combo to hit the jackpot this time!

Hope you'll enjoy!

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