Archive for the ‘Bollywood’ Category
Sarkar Raj - Taut, but does not rise to be a great movie
On August 19, 2008 in Drama, Crime, Politics, Bollywood, Movie
Sarkar Raj was a move that was awaited for quite some time; it came after a few clunkers for The Factory of Ram Gopal Verma such as ‘Aag’, ‘Darling’, etc. Memories of his earlier movies such as Satya, Company, Rangeela, and Sarkar (for which Sarkar Raj is the sequel) were fading out due to these recent disastrous movies that he made. All his admissions that the movies were bad, mistakes were made, etc, don’t really help in lifting his reputation. So, this movie was awaited for multiple reasons:
- This movie showcased the Bachchan clan; Amitabh, Abhishek, and Aishwarya (not Jaya though)
- It was supposed to have the same kind of suspense, the taut and slick making that was there in the original movie Sarkar (made in 2005)
Khatron Ke Khiladi on Viacom’s Colors
On August 13, 2008 in Reality Show, Contest, Video, Colors, Talent, Competition, Bollywood, TV, Popular, Action, Hindi Serial
When you launch a new channel in a field already having a number of new channels, you need to have some great programs to draw people. Typically, film stars are seen to get some excitement to the scene (you already have Shahrukh Khan on ‘Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain’ and Salman Khan on ‘Dus Ka Dum’), and so getting a top film star to be the host of a new program is good. Now, when you have a channel launched by a major international media company such as Viacom, funding is less of an issue, and so getting a truly hot star such as Akshay Kumar worked. Combine this with the excitement of a reality show with actual stunts performed by amateurs, some good locations, and female TV / Other stars, and the channel could actually have a winner in terms of attracting viewer attention. Going by the buzz I hear in the office, people are watching this regularly.
Movie: Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic (2008) - Watchable
On August 09, 2008 in Magic, Child, Family, Romance, Bollywood, Comedy, Movie
Thoda Pyar Thoda Magic was a movie made under the banner of Yash Raj Films (produced by Aditya Chopra and Kunal Kohli) starring Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukherji, and a smaller role by Amisha Patel and Rishi Kapoor. The movie is written and directed by Kunal Kohli (no doubt an attempt to try to re-create the success of his earlier movie Hum Tum (2004) starring Saif and Rani). The movie has some nice music by Shankar Ehsaan Loy (with the ‘Nihaal Ho Gaayi’ song being catchy and popular; the ‘Lazy Lamhe’ song did not become so popular even though it had a lot of eye candy). The movie had some great performances by the kids, by Rani Mukherji (given her closeness to the producer, this would have been expected though); the performance by Saif Ali Khan was marred by the fact that the movie script almost made him change his character in the space of 15 minutes.
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Jaane Tu .. Ya Jaane Na: A great movie
On August 01, 2008 in Song, Melody, Video, Romance, Comedy, Bollywood, Music, Movie
When me and the spouse were debating which movie to watch, I was thinking of Kismet Connection, and the spouse was thinking of ‘Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na’; of course we watched the movie that the spouse wanted to watch. Well, I don’t regret it one bit. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, and I was still laughing 10 minutes after the movie even though it was already 1 AM in the morning when I came out of the movie hall. I was very impressed after watching this movie, and will recommend it to anyone wanting to watch a nice movie, full of comedy, with some great acting.
The movie was made under the banner of Aamir Khan, produced by Aamir and Mansoor Khan, and directed by Abbas Tyrewala; lyrics were also by Abbas, and the great music was by A R Rehman. The film introduced Aamir’s nephew Imran Khan (Jai Singh Rathore) and also starred the pretty new Genelia D’Souza (Aditi Mahant) in lead roles. However, it was not only these, there were a host of other actors who played small and large roles, and were fairly significant in these roles: Karan Makhija (playing Rotlu), Nirav Mehta (Jiggy), Alishka Varde (Bombs), Pratik Babbar (brother of Genelia, Amit Mahant), Manjari Phadnis (Meghna, girlfriend of Imran for some time); and then you had the senior artists - Anuradha Patel, Jayant Kripalani (Aditi’s parents), Ratna Pathak Shah (playing Jai’s mother), Naseeruddin Shah (playing the deceased Amar Singh Rathore, Jai’s father), Kitu Gidwani, Rajat Kapoor (Meghna’s father), Arbaaz Khan (Bhaloo), Sohail Khan (Baghera), and Paresh Rawal as Inspector Waghmare.
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Ek Se Badhkar Ek on Zee TV: Another reality show
On July 25, 2008 in Song, Contest, Melody, Dance, Video, Reality Show, Talent, TV, Competition, Zee, Singing, Bollywood
With all other channels having their mix shows dealing with getting the previous contestants from reality shows (music, dance, etc), Zee could not be far behind. Given that all the previous year finalists from Sa Re Ga Ma Pa would still be in a contract with Zee, it was pretty easy for Zee to launch a new show feature Raja Hassan, Anik Dhar, Harpreet Deol, Amit Paul, and so on. Combine them with a dancing person from the world of TV (and which TV actor does not want publicity today), and you have a reality show with teams comprising of one dancer, and one singer, and their performances are evaluated on that basis. Try and get a new host, the Bhogpuri film super-star Ravi Kishan (I find him most irritating, not a particularly good host).
Like most other shows, it is now mandatory to bring in celebrity judges, and so in addition to the usual judges of singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya and choreographer Ahmed Khan, the following celebrities have so far made their appearance on the show (Jackie Shroff, Salil Chadda, Vivek Oberoi, Priyanka Chopra, Harman Baweja, Manoj Bajpai, Ganesh Acharya, & Hansika Motwani). These celebrities also appear to promote their forthcoming movies, and as more movies get released, there will be more film stars who will show up in the form of celebrity judges. The show appears on Sat-Sun at 7:30 pm.
10 ka Dum on Sony Friday and Sat at 9 PM
On July 24, 2008 in Reality Show, Contest, Video, Sony, Competition, TV, Popular, Bollywood
There can be no easier way to make money. If you get 5 questions right, then you are going to make Rs. 10 crore, so how can you make money easier than that (unless you are a MP / MLA and every vote will count) ! The format of the show is pretty simple; you get on stage, shake hands with Salman Khan, do some polite chit-chat, he asks about your family, makes a few funny jokes, and you are on. So what do you need to do ?
You will be asked a question about something that they have gone and asked people in India about, and you need to give an answer that falls close to how the average person in the street has answered. So, for example, you could be asked:
“how many men would like to have a harem” and you have to give an answer. Suppose you say 30% - 60%, and the correct answer is 49%, then you win and move to the next round. As you move, the amount within which you have to guess the right answer keeps reducing (so it is 30%, but could come down to 5% or 10% near the end).
Hum Hain Rahi Pyaar Ke (1993) - Great movie
On July 17, 2008 in Melody, Video, Child, Song, Romance, Bollywood, Classic, Comedy, Movie
Hum Hain Rahi Pyaar Ke was a delightful movie, no doubts whatsoever. A story that combined a love story with the sensitive elements of trying to bring up kids who have lost their parents was superb. The movie had some excellent performances by the lead pair of Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla; with other noteworthy performances by Dalip Tahil, and the 3 kids (Master Sharokh, Kunal Khemu and Baby Ashrafa) turned in some great performances. The movie was released in 1993, directed by Mahesh Bhat and produced by Tahir Hussain.
The movie was written by Robin Bhatt, Aamir Khan and Sujit Sen, and had music by Nadeem-Shravan; lyrics were by Sameer. It was a fairly successful hit (although the Best Actor award for the year went to Shahrukh Khan for Baazigar). What lent the story great appeal was the sensitive treatment of the behaviour of the kids, how the eldest moves towards maturity and wants to start getting treatment like an adult; how the kids understand through an example that they should treat others the same way they want to get treated, and how through love and understanding, it is possible to bond with children (even those who have had the emotional scarring of losing their parents).
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Patthar Ke Phool (1991)
On July 04, 2008 in Mafia, Song, Video, Police, Crime, Bollywood, Romance, Action, Movie
Patthar Ke Phool was a movie released in 1991. It was the debut movie of Raveena Tandon and one of the earlier movies of Salman Khan; and unlike some of Salman’s earlier movies, this was not exactly a hit. Some of the other characters in the movie were Vinod Mehra, Kiran Kumar, Reema Lagoo and Manohar Singh. Vinod Mehra passed away before the movie could be released, and the movie was dedicated to his memory. The movie was directed by Anant Balani and produced by GP Sippy. Music for the movie was by Ramlaxman, and the movie was written by Salim Khan.
The movie was about this young police officer fighting an underworld gang. He is also in love with Kiran (Raveena Tandon) who is actually the daughter of the leader of the gang, and about whose real activities she is unaware.
Raveena won the Filmfare Lux New Face Award for this movie.
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So what happens when the duty of Suraj (Salman Khan) leads him to fight against the activities of his beloved’s father ? Her father is also against this relationship, and the movie is about this conflict.
Jannat (2008) - Disappointing story of a match fixer
On June 08, 2008 in Drama, Video, Cricket, Values, Police, Bollywood, Despair, Crime, Movie
Mahesh Bhatt has been making movies for a long time, and they have been very good movies. So, for example, I really liked some of his older movies such as Arth, Saransh, Janam, Naam, Murder, Woh Lamhe, Daddy, Ashiqui, Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke, Dil Hain Ke Manta Nahin, Sadak, Sir, Tamana, etc. He has also turned out turkeys such as Duplicate. In recent time, Bhatt has moved out of the director post and is partner in the banner Vishesh films (along with his brother) that produces movies. It is expected that movies made in the banner retain the touch of Mahesh Bhatt to some degree, with a strong focus on human relations, relationships whether they be a marriage, or outside marriage. However, Jannat disappointed. The story of a person who wants to attain success, and a great deal of it (portrayed by Emran Hashemi); he does not seem to know the difference between right and wrong.
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Tum Bin (2001)
On June 08, 2008 in Song, Melody, Drama, Video, Values, Character, Bollywood, Classic, Romance, Crime, Movie
Tum Bin was a movie that was released in 2001, and was a pretty low budget and low profile movie. It turned out to be the sleeper movie, becoming a much loved movie by the audience and a big hit. The songs, as well as the storyline caught a lot of attention (this was after not a classical tale of romance against the odds or a similar such formula), instead a story of an anguished semi-guilty man trying to make amends for what he has done to another family by killing their chief hope; and then the guilt of what he has done preventing him from trying to fulfill his hopes and ambitions, and his love. In addition, the same sense of shock and distraught feeling causes the heroine to back away from love and more towards responsibility. This was a story of emotions, and truly a good story (even though there were some deficiencies in the story).
The movie was produced by Super Cassettes industries (Bhushan Kumar & Krishan Kumar), and directed by newbie director Anubhav Sinha, who also wrote the script and the dialogues. The movie also stars newcomers Sandali Sinha (Piya) and Priyanshu Chatterjee (Shekhar Malhotra), and these 2 gave a good portrayal in their roles that demanded a fair amount of emotion (they have not managed to do too well after this initial good start). They are supported ably by some good casting comprising of Rakesh Bapat, Himanshu Malik, Navneet Nishan, Rajendra Gupta, Dina Pathak and Vrijesh Hirjee.
