Archive for the ‘Action’ Category
Ek Veer Stree Ki Kahani…Jhansi Ki Rani – on Zee TV
On February 21, 2010 in Action, Character, Drama, Hindi Serial, History, Jhansi Ki Rani, Marriage, Zee
Historicals are very difficult to pull through given the fact that the audience already has a definite opinion of the story one is about to narrate. It is almost next to impossible to carry out an interpretation that will closely fit into the collective imagination of the person or the period. Ek Veer Stree Ki Kahani…Jhansi Ki Rani, is Zee TV’s attempt to capture the essence of a woman who is revered and much adored till date in India. Indeed Laxmi Bai, the Rani of Jhansi is for many India’s Joan of Arc-the brave lady who fought the oppressive British rule and took part in our very first Freedom movement.
It must be said that the channel, the producers of the show and the different creative heads by deciding on this particular historical figure took on a huge risk. The charisma of Jhani ki Rani is such that she is known through the length and breadth of the country. To capture the essence of such a dynamic and much loved character required a tremendous amount of guts and skill. To the credit of the entire team of the show, they have pulled it off. In fact it can even be said that their interpretation of Laxmi Bai has helped to strengthen the aura around her. The makers of the show have put more focus on characterisation than on the setting or on costumes. They have tried to delve into the psyche of this young girl/woman who rose above her ordained position to carve out a name for herself in history.
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Shweta Tiwari out of Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao
On July 28, 2009 in Action, Contest, Drama, Hindi Serial, Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao, Reality Show, Sony, TV, Video
Her wish to live in the jungle did not last for the full 2 months that she had initially signed up for. Shweta Tiwary was missing her daughter, and apparently finding that life in the jungle was not as easy as she thought it would be. There were animals nearby (apparently the unit saw a big snake recently); her experience in the game in the coffin with frogs would not have been too good; she was also critical of the rude behavior of Akash. Eventually, on the show on the 27th of July, she quickly packed her stuff and left after bidding a goodbye to the rest of the team. Even exiting from the jungle is not so easy. She had to walk in water, across another section of the jungle, and then in fast boat till she much have reached some form of civilization.
Another new celebrity entered the jungle at around the same time, and this was the the hot Nigar Khan, who had been deported from India a few years back. She cannot come to India for such a show because of visa problems, but since the show was being held in Malaysia, she could take part in the show over there.
Chittod Ki Rani Padmini Ka Johur – Historical Saga on Sony TV
On July 18, 2009 in Action, Character, Chittod Ki Rani Padmini, Drama, Family, Hindi Serial, History, Marriage, Romance, Royal, Sony, TV, Video
From time to time, the channels make shows that deal with historical figures, such as serials on Rani Jhansi, Prithviraj Chauhan; as a part of this, there are also shows with a religious fervor such as the serials on Sai Baba. The story of Rani Padmini, and her Jauhar (self sacrifice in a fire) rather than be dishonored by Alauddin Khilji (the Sultan of Delhi) is a part of the history of India, and the tales of her beauty and valor are incredible. So, the serial takes the story of her life (read an article on Wikipedia about her story). The few reactions that I have got from people about the serial (not too many people continue to see the serial after some time) are that they expected more drama, and that the serial seemed to have very colorful costumes, but was lacking in something.
Dus – Fast paced action
On July 11, 2009 in Action, Bollywood, Crime, Detective, Drama, Melody, Movie, Music, Police, Revenge, Ruthless, Song, Terrorist, Video, Violent
Dus is a fast-paced action thriller starring a number of Bollywood stars Sanjay Dutt, Sunil Shetty, Abhishek Bachchan, Shilpa Shetty, Pankaj Kapoor, Esha Deol and Zayed Khan. The movie was released in 2005, and was a decent hit (costing around Rs. 20 crore, and earned a revenue of Rs. 43 crore). The movie was directed by Anubhav Sinha, with production by Nitin Manmohan and Sohail Maklai. Music was by Vishal-Shekhar, and Ranjit Barot. The movie was fairly long, being around 2 hours & 20 minutes. Music for the film became quite popular, and the title song of ‘Dus Bahane’ was a hit. The movie also had a twist, in that one of the popular heroes was sacrificed at the climax of the movie, something that a lot of movies avoid.
The movie is about the effort of the Anti Terrorist Cell (working somewhat similar to what you would expect the RAW to function, but without all the glamour that the movie depicts) to stop a massive bombing of which it does not have much information, and for which there are only 10 days left. Sanjay Dutt is the head of this organization, with the name of Siddhant Dheer. Along with him, his younger brother Shashank Dheer (Abhishek Bachchan), Aditya Singh (Zayed Khan), Aditi Kumar (Shilpa Shetty) are the others in the organization. Neha (Esha Deol) is an agent in Canada who starts the entire process, by reporting the existence of a plan being spear-headed by Jambwal, about whom they do not have any information, and whose identity they do not know.
