Bollywood Trivia

Partner - Salman Khan and Govinda - VII

2007-08-04T15:26:00.000+05:30

Last but not the least, this film has sailed through because of the terrific chemistry between Salman Khan and Govinda and the sheer genius of Govinda for his comic timing, facial expressions and dancing. I am pretty sure I can say with some confidence that the man is back with a bang!

To sum up, I would just advise you to go with an open mind, do not have any expectations, keep your brains aside, and enjoy one of the best actors of Hindi film industry in his elements. I can assure you shall not return disappointed.

Partner - Salman Khan and Govinda - VI

2007-08-04T15:23:00.000+05:30

The entire track of “Chhota Don” seemed to be contrived with Rajpal Yadav once again going over the top with his histrionics. The only moment which will make you smile is his dialogue “Don ki talash 11 mulkon ki police ko hai aur baarave mulk se baat chal rahi hai”. Rajat Bedi’s character seemed to be completely out of place except the one last twist that comes in the end.

Sanjay Chhel’s dialogues are funny at times and insipid at other. The limericks used by Sanjay Chhel in his dialogues does require a special mention. The one that cracked me up was in the end which goes: Jahaan Guru, Wahaan Chela, Ayee Milan Ki Bela. Sajid-Wajid’s music was generally peppy and a bit jarring at times with a special mention for the title track which is has good music and full justice has been done to that song by Govinda, his dancing and his facial expressions.

Partner - Salman Khan and Govinda - V

2007-08-04T15:21:00.000+05:30

Coming back to Partner, considering the movie is produced by Salman Khan’s brother Sohail Khan, it was really magnanimous of Salman Khan to share equal screen space, time and meat with Govinda. Both Salman Khan and Govinda share a terrific chemistry and without trying to outdo each other, they actually complemented one another. No actor who is insecure about sharing screen space with a terrific actor would have done this. However, one must not ask what Lara Dutta and Katrina Kaif are doing in the film except providing eye candy, which they did with élan.

Partner - Salman Khan and Govinda - IV

2007-08-04T15:20:00.000+05:30

After reading this particular advertisement, I was just wondering that when did Govinda have his last hit? Any guesses? It was way back in the year 1999 and the movie was Haseena Maan Jaayegi which was also directed by David Dhawan and Govinda’s co-stars were Sanjay Dutt, Karisma Kapoor, Pooja Batra, Anupam Kher, Kader Khan and Aruna Irani. After that he had string of flops, 22 to be precise. Without a doubt one can say that Govinda has come back with a bang. I am not sure if Bhaagam Bhaag can be credited as a hit under Govinda’s filmography because he had a very limited role to play. I thought he excelled in that limited role as well.

Partner - Salman Khan and Govinda - III

2007-08-04T15:19:00.000+05:30

I was reading one of the leading financial newspapers a couple of days back and I read the advertisement of K. Sera Sera (one of the producers of Partner) claiming Partner to be a huge hit with gross collections of about 70 crores in its first week itself. I had read some other reports which put the collections at about 40-45 crores. Whichever figure you may take, the movie is a big hit any which ways.

Partner - Salman Khan and Govinda - II

2007-08-04T15:16:00.000+05:30

Needless to say, this is one of those movies where you don’t really sit and analyse the film and whether the story, screenplay etc. makes sense or not. This is a film where you just leave your brains aside and enjoy the ride!! It’s one of those mad-cap caper which doesn’t make any sense. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate this movie 0. However, this movie belongs entirely to Govinda (for his comic timing and especially the dancing) and just for that I’d recommend this as a must watch. It’s amazing to see Govinda back into his elements.

Partner - Salman Khan and Govinda - I

2007-08-04T15:14:00.000+05:30

Last weekend, I saw David Dhawan’s latest laugh riot Partner starring Salman Khan, Govinda, Lara Dutta and Katrina Kaif. The movie is written by Sanjay Chhel and music is by Sajid-Wajid. Although the concept of the film is inspired from the Hollywood flick Hitch starring Will Smith, Partner has the typical David Dhawan stamp all over it with Govinda leading the proceedings from the front.

52nd Filmfare Awards - XVI

2007-04-17T12:16:00.000+05:30

There is some trivia related to Filmfare Awards that I chanced upon on >

Wikipedia

. I thought it made interesting reading. So, here goes some Trivia on Filmfare Awards.

They were first introduced in 1953. Readers of Filmfare magazine were polled to decide the winners, and over 20,000 readers spread throughout India participated in the polls; trophies were given to winners of the popular vote.

In the first awards function, held on March 21, 1954, only five awards were presented – for the best film , the best director, the best actor, the best actress, and the best music director. Do Bigha Zameen was the first movie to win the award for the best film. The first four winners for other categories were: Bimal Roy for direction of Do Bigha Zameen, Dilip Kumar for his performance in Daag, Meena Kumari for her performance in Baiju Bawra, and Naushad for his music in Baiju Bawara.

Interesting Trivia:

The Clares was the original name of the award ceremony, named after Filmfare critic Clare Mendionca.

To celebrate the 25th year of the awards the statues were made in silver.

To celebrate the 50th year the statues were made in gold.

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52nd Filmfare Awards - XV

2007-04-17T12:14:00.000+05:30

Best Director – Rakeysh Mehra for Rang De Basanti –The competition in this category was very stiff. My bets were Rajkumar Hirani for Lage Raho Munnabhai, Rakesyh Mehra for Rang De Basanti and Vishal Bharadwaj for Omkara. For some strange reason, I wanted Vishal Bharadwaj to win this award. At the cost of being repetitive, I think Omkara is a masterpiece and that Vishal Bharadwaj should be acknowledged as one of the best. I feel he’s one of the best film-makers we have today. However, full marks and credit to Rakeysh Mehra for Rang De Basanti and congratulations on a job very well done.

Best Film – Rang De Basanti – I thought there was stiff competition in this category as well between Rang De Basanti and Lage Raho Munnabhai as I thought both were absolutely deserving winners. I’m glad one of the two won. I was a bit skeptical as Krrish and Dhoom 2 were also in the running. Although I though both were very average films, but they had done stupendous business and hence I thought could give Lage Raho Munnabhai and Rang De Basanti a run for their money. All’s well that ends well!

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52nd Filmfare Awards - XIV

2007-04-17T12:12:00.000+05:30

Best Actress – Kajol for Fanaa – Kajol has been one of my favourite actresses and I would have rooted for her anyways. So to that extend, I may have been biased a bit. However, even on merits, amongst the other contenders, I thought Kareena Kapoor for Omkara was the only genuine competition to Kajol. Inspite of my fondness for Kajol as a performer, I thought she was average in Fanaa. I’m glad she won.

Best Actor – Hrithik Roshan for Dhoom 2 –Very high on the popularity and coolness quotient! Looks totally the stud that he is in this film! And his dancing in the song Dhoom Machale is one hell of a performance! Initially, I thought he stood a better chance of winning for Krrish than Dhoom 2. However, it wasn’t to be. Other than himself, I thought the other contenders were Aamir Khan for Rang De Basanti and Sunjay Dutt for Lage Raho Munnabhai. It was a shame that Saif Ali Khan wasn't nominated in this category for his Langda Tyagi performance in Omkara.

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52nd Filmfare Awards - XIII

2007-04-17T12:10:00.000+05:30

Best Supporting Actress – Konkona Sen Sharma for Omkara – I think Konkona Sen Sharma is a very good performer. However, this category was a bit of confusion as there seemed to be no real contender. I thought Kirron Kher might get it for Rang De Basanti and Konkona Sen Sharma was my second choice. Anyways, Konkona Sen Sharma’s performance was good.

Best Supporting Actor – Abhishek Bachchan for Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna – He was the most natural performer in this sorry reason of a movie called Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. However, I still think it was not worthy of this award. Fortunately for Abhishek Bachchan, this was one of the least contested category and he won pretty easily.

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52nd Filmfare Awards - XII

2007-04-17T12:09:00.000+05:30

Best Actor in a Comic Role – Arshad Warsi for Lage Raho Munnabhai – This category was a no brainer. I think Arshad Warsi could stake a claim on this award for his antics as the lovable sidekick Circuit in Lage Raho Munnabhai. Even though one of his competitor was Paresh Rawal who is a veteran and a stalwart, I think Arshad Warsi just creamed the competition. He would have done it even if there were the best of the actors competing with him.

Best Actor in a Negative Role – Saif Ali Khan for Omkara – Just like Arshad Warsi, Saif Ali Khan also took this award as a matter of right. Like Arshad Warsi, even Saif Ali Khan had a tough competitor in Naseeruddin Shah. However, he would have beaten any competition for this award. I repeat this I was a tad disappointed to see Saif Ali Khan’s nomination in this category because he deserved a nomination in the Best Actor category. Had he been nominated in that category, I think he would have definitely given Hrithik Roshan a run for his money!

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52nd Filmfare Awards - XI

2007-04-17T12:07:00.000+05:30

Best Female Playback Singer – Sunidhi Chauhan for Beedi Jalalile (Omkara) – The only other contender to this nomination was Shreya Ghoshal for her rendition of Pal Pal Pal in Lage Raho Munnabhai. Sunidhi Chauhan sung this song with lot of spunk. She has developed quite a niche for herself in singing these kind of peppy numbers songs.

Best Male Playback "Singer – Shaan / Kailash Kher for Chand Sifarish (Fanaa) – This was one of my favourite songs. Roobaroo from Rang De Basanti and Chand Sifarish were two of the best songs of the year.

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52nd Filmfare Awards - X

2007-04-17T12:04:00.000+05:30

Best Music – A. R. Rahman for Rang De Basanti – Definitely one of the best albums of last year and I am very happy that A. R. Rahman got this award and I was pretty sure that A. R. Rahman would get it for Rang De Basanti.

Sony Fairone Face of the Year and Filmfare Award for Best Debut – Kangna Ranaut – Frankly, I am not sure if there were any other contenders for both these awards. Kangna Ranaut is a Bhatt camp girl and has definitely made an impression in Bollywood. She had two releases this year (I think!) viz., Gangster (directed by Anurag Basu) and Who Lamhe (directed by Mohit Suri) and both the films did very well at the box office.

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52nd Filmfare Awards - IX

2007-04-17T12:01:00.000+05:30

Critics Award for Best Film – Lage Raho Munnabhai –One of the best “feel good” hindi films I have seen in recent times. Howsoever clichéd it may sound, it is undeniable that there is a need for all of us today to reflect on the thinking of Mahatma Gandhi. And the statement couldn’t have been any more clearer. Great job done by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani, the writers of Lage Raho Munnabhai and the endearing duo of Munna (Sunjay Dutt) and Circuit (Arshad Warsi)

Critics Award for Best Actress – Kareena Kapoor for Omkara – I thought she might get it in the main category for the Best Actress. However, it’s nonetheless a very well deserved award. I’ve never liked Kareena Kapoor as an actress but I thought she did a good job in Omkara.

Critics Award for Best Actor – Aamir Khan for Rang De Basanti – Aamir Khan doesn’t attend any film award functions. This is common knowledge. However, personally, I thought Aamir Khan should have won in the main category. However, considering the problems he has had since last year with Filmfare, it was unlikely that he would have received the honours in the main category. Of course, this is my personal view and I could be totally wrong here.

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52nd Filmfare Awards - VIII

2007-04-17T12:00:00.000+05:30

Filmfare Power Award – Yash Chopra – I have not yet understood the importance (and most importantly, the need) for this award. For the last couple of years, Filmfare has introduced this award category and it probably is an Indian version of Hollywood’s 100 most Powerful People. Even when it is tested on the basis of the “philosophy”of the Filmfare Awards which is giving out awards to popular films and performances, this award does not stand on its ground. However, I am sure Filmfare would not be complaining if they get to cozy up to one of the most powerful men in the Bollywood.

Lifetime Achievement Award – Javed Akhtar and Jaya Bachchan – I do not understand why would Filmfare give this award to two people at a time. I have not come across any international film awards where they give the Lifetime Achievement Awards to more than one person in a year. I am sure Filmfare had their own reasons for giving out this award to two people. Javed Akhtar did not come as a surprise but Jaya Bachchan was indeed a surprise!

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52nd Filmfare Awards - VII

2007-04-17T11:58:00.000+05:30

Best Screenplay – Jaideep Sahni for Khosla Ka Ghosla – I am most delighted for Jaideep Sahni. Khosla Ka Ghosla was one of the most genuine, touching and funny film that I saw this year. And I am glad that the talent of Jaideep Sahni has been recognized. Watching this film reminded me of the Hrishikesh Mukherjee - Basu Chatterjee kind of simple story telling.

Best Story – Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Rajkumar Hirani for Lage Raho Munnabhai – Without repeating myself, I would say that this was well deserved!!

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52nd Filmfare Awards - VI

2007-04-17T11:56:00.000+05:30

After the above honourable mentions, we now go ahead with some of the more popular awards.

Best Dialogue – Abhijat Joshi and Rajkumar Hirani (Lage Raho Munnabhai) – I thought that alongwith Rang De Basanti and Omkara, Lage Raho Munnabhai was one of the better films of the year. The dialogues of Lage Raho Munnabhai were indeed funny and endearing. The concept of “Gandhigiri” took the nation by storm. Although in my view, the hype about “Gandhigiri” was more media generated which eventually translated in superlative box office collections for the makers of Lage Raho Munnabhai. Even the makers of the film did not anticipate that “Gandhigiri” would become such a huge success.

Best Lyrics – Prasoon Joshi for Chand Sifarish (Fanaa) – This was one of my favourite songs this year and the lyrics were refreshing as well. I thought this was a good award and Prasoon Joshi is becoming one of the more popular lyricists in Bollywood. Needless to say, we need more lyricists like Prasoon Joshi to get better lyrics and fresh thinking in to the lyrics of our Hindi songs.

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52nd Filmfare Awards - V

2007-04-17T11:55:00.000+05:30

Best Cinematography – Binod Pradhan for Rang De Basanti – Well deserved and well done!!!

Best Choreography – Ganesh Acharya for Beedi Jalaile for Omkara – Definitely one of the more rocking choreographies this year. Bipasha Basu, Vivek Oberoi and Saif Ali Khan simply sizzled on this Vishal Bharadwaj’s take on William Shakespeare’s Othello.

Best Art Direction – Samir Chanda for Omkara – Once again, very well deserved and well done!!!

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52nd Filmfare Awards - IV

2007-04-17T11:54:00.000+05:30

Best Costume – Dolly Alhuwalia for Omkara – Very well done. The costumes did give the characters that rustic UP look and Ajay Devagan, Saif Ali Khan and Vivek Oberoi looked every bit of Omi Shukla, Langda Tyagi and Kesu Firangi respectively. And so did Kareena Kapoor, Konkona Sen Sharma and Bipasha Basu.

Best Action – Siu Tung Ching & Shyam Kaushan for Krrish – Undoubtedly, Krrish was one of the more popular films of this year and of course one of the biggest hits of the year. It also saw superlative action sequences hitherto unknown to the Hindi film industry. However, I must add here that even though this was quite an achievement by Indian standards, we still have a way to go if we want to match the production values and standards of Hollywood films. Without being biased, I must admit that the stunts in Hollywood films are really well executed. With Krrish, I hope that the standard of action in Hindi films goes up for the better.

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52nd Filmfare Awards - III

2007-04-17T11:53:00.000+05:30

Best Background Score – Salim Sulaiman for Krrish – The stock of these two talented brothers has been on the rise, albeit slowly and steadily. Undoubtedly they are talented and it’s only fair that they get their bit of recognition.

R. D. Burman Award – Naresh Iyer for Roobaroo (Rang De Basanti) – As I had written in my posts on the 52nd Filmfare Awards Nomiantions, this song has become one of my time favourite songs and I am very pleased that Naresy Iyer won this award for “Roobaroo”. I wished he was nominated in the category of Best Playback Singer (Male). I am sure he has a great future in playback singing in Bollywood.

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52nd Filmfare Awards - II

2007-04-17T11:46:00.000+05:30

Before we go on to the popular awards, I thought it would be apposite to list out some of the technical awards given out at the 52nd Filmfare Awards.

These technical awards were as follows:

Best Editing – Rang De Basanti – Personally, I think this is a very well deserving award. The concept of the film was very good and without taking away the credit for doing a wonderful job as an editor, I think that Rakeysh Mehra could have “edited” the last half an hour of the film to make it more genuine than “filmy”. The song “Roobaroo” has become one of my all time favourite songs and the lyrics and the setting of the song in the film very critical.

Best Special Effects – Marc Kolbe & Craig A Mumma for Krrish – The special effects for this film were a first as far as Bollywood films are concerned. However, if we have to emulate our colleagues in Hollywood, then we have a way to go. Nonetheless, it’s heartening to know that a beginning has been made with movies like Krrish and Dhoom 2.

Best Sound Design – K. J. Singh for Omkara

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52nd Filmfare Awards - I

2007-04-17T11:45:00.000+05:30

It’s been almost two months since I wrote about the 52nd Filmfare Awards nominations. Actually, it was the week before the awards to be announced on February 24-25, 2007. I genuinely thought that I would be able to update my blog with the final awards after they are announced. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case and here I am, almost two months after the 52nd Filmfare Awards were declared, I am writing my two bits about the final awards that were given out. The reasons for such a huge delay are both personal and professional. Be that as it may, better late than never.

The Filmfare Awards are the oldest and most popular film based awards in Hindi film industry. They are popular awards presented in various categories such as Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Music Director, Best Male Playback Singer, Best Female Playback Singer etc.

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2007-02-22T20:05:00.000+05:30

For the Filmfare Awards for Best Film, the nominations are:

Dhoom 2 (produced by Yash Chopra and directed by Sanjay Gadhvi) – This film has a slim chance of winning inspite of being such a huge hit.

Don (produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani and directed by Farhan Akhtar) – I don’t think this film has any chance.

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (produced and directed by Karan Johar) – Not a chance in the world!

Krrish (produced and directed by Rakesh Roshan) – One of the better contenders.

Lage Raho Munnabhai (produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra and directed by Rajkumar Hirani) – One of the leading contenders. I think this film might just win this award.

Rang De Basanti (produced by UTV and directed by Rakeysh Mehra) – My personal favourite film though I feel it might lose to Lage Raho Munnabhai.

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52nd Filmfare Awards Nominations - XII

2007-02-22T20:04:00.000+05:30

For the Filmfare Awards for Best Director, the nominations are:

Once again, this category has some brilliant and best talent of Hindi film industry nominated.

Karan Johar (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna) –I think Karan Johar doesn’t stand a chance.

Rakesh Roshan (Krrish) – Riding very high on the popularity chart. Definitely stands an outside chance.

Rakeysh Mehra (Rang De Basanti) – One of the best films of 2006. Definitely has a better chance to take this award.

Rajkumar Hirani (Lage Raho Munnabhai) – Very good film and very good director. Very popular film as well. Good contender.

Sanjay Gadhvi (Dhoom 2) – Very popular film. But his contribution as a director may not get him this coveted award. Primarily because of some awesome talent who have been nominated with him.

Vishal Bhardwaj (Omkara) – With Rakeysh Mehra, Vishal Bharadwaj is my joint favourite. If I were to decide, I’d give the award to both of them. Omkara is one of the best films I’ve seen in recent times. And Vishal Bhardwaj is one of my favourite directors.

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52nd Filmfare Awards Nomination - XI

2007-02-22T20:03:00.001+05:30

For the Filmfare Awards for Best Actor in a leading role (Male), the nominations are:

This award has some brilliant performances nominated.

Aamir Khan (Rang De Basanti) – Definitely one of the top contenders. But because of his strained relationship with the Filmfare fraternity, I am not sure if he’ll get this award.

Hrithik Roshan (Dhoom 2) – He’s riding very high on the popularity charts post his uber-cool Mr. A in Dhoom 2. Definitely one of the top contenders.

Hrithik Roshan (Krrish) – Though I think Hrithik Roshan has a better chance of winning for Krrish than for Dhoom 2.

Sanjay Dutt (Lage Raho Munnabhai) – He’s riding high on the popularity charts as well thanks to his Munnabhai antics. Again a front runner for this award.

Shahrukh Khan (Don) – Not a chance!!!

Shahrukh Khan (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna) – No way!!! However, like I said, stranger things have happened and there have been instances in the past where awards have been given to patronize powerful people. Which is why it won’t be surprising if he wins the award especially because it’s a Karan Johar film.

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2007-02-22T20:02:00.001+05:30

For the Filmfare Awards for Best Actor in a leading role (Female), the nominations are:

Aishwarya Rai (Dhoom 2) – Personally, I’ve never liked her as an actress. Ditto for her performance in Dhoom. She tried very hard to look hot. Hence, I don’t think she has a chance to win this award.

Bipasha Basu (Corporate) – Whoever came up with this nomination? One reason for this nomination could be dearth of good performances by actress in a leading role.

Kajol (Fanaa) – She’s one of the best performers we’ve seen in recent times. She was good in Fanaa. I think she’s one of the close contender for this award.

Kareena Kapoor (Omkara) – Although I don’t like Kareena as an actress, I thought she did a very good job in Omkara. I think she’ll get the award for performance as “Dolly” in Omkara.

Rani Mukerji (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna) – Not a chance!!!!

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52nd Filmfare Awards Nomination - IX

2007-02-22T20:01:00.000+05:30

For the Filmfare Awards for Actor in a supporting role (Male), the nominations are:

Abhishek Bachchan (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna) – Although I didn’t like the movie one bit, I thought Abhishek was the only decent and natural performance in this film. He stands a decent chance.

Amitabh Bachchan (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna) – I thought Amitabh Bachchan over acted in this film. But Filmfare Awards has had a history of patronizing a certain section of Hindi film industry and I wouldn’t be surprised if this award would be given to Amitabh Bachchan for his Sexy Sam performance. Alternatively, it could also go to Abhishek Bachchan for the same film.

John Abraham (Baabul) – Not a chance!

Kunal Kapoor (Rang De Basanti) – I thought he was really endearing in this film. He’s my favourite for this award.

Siddharth (Rang De Basanti) – He’s my second favourite for this award.

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52nd Filmfare Awards Nominations - VIII

2007-02-22T19:59:00.000+05:30

For the Filmfare Awards for Best Actor in a supporting role (Female), the nominations are:

Kirron Kher (Rang De Basanti) – I am truly confused in this category because I don’t have any particular comments or preferences on any of the performances in this category. However, if I had to choose one, it would most definitely be Kirron Kher.

Konkona Sen Sharma (Omkara) – Very competent actress and a good performance in Omkara. The only one who could give Kirron Kher a run for her money / award.

Priety Zinta (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna) – Not a chance! But stranger things have happened in the past. You never know!!!

Rekha (Krrish) – Difficult for her to win!

Soha Ali Khan (Rang De Basanti) – Not sure if she really has a chance.

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52nd Filmfare Awards Nomination - VII

2007-02-22T19:58:00.000+05:30

For the Filmfare Awards for Best Actor in a comic role, the nominations are:

Arshad Warsi (Lage Raho Munnabhai) – No prizes for guessing who’s winning this year in this category. Undoubtedly it is CIRCUIT. Just like Saif Ali Khan, I think Arshad Warsi will also cream the competition in this category.

Chunkey Pandey (Apna Sapna Money Money) – What!!!!!!!!

Paresh Rawal (Phir Hera Pheri) – Although one of the most talented actors in the industry today, Paresh Rawal could not match up this year to the antics of CIRCUIT.

Sharman Joshi (Golmaal) – Very sincere performer, but doesn’t stand a chance.

Tusshar Kapoor (Golmaal) – Once again, a very sincere performer, but doesn’t stand a chance

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52nd Filmfare Awards Nomination - VI

2007-02-22T19:57:00.000+05:30

For the Filmfare Awards for Best Actor in a negative role, the nominations are:

Boman Irani (Lage Raho Munnabhai) – Boman Irani was very impressive in Lage Raho Munnabhai. But sadly, he’ll not win this year.

Emraan Hashmi (Gangster) – No Comments except that he’ll definitely not win this year.

John Abraham (Zinda) – He’ll not win this year.

Naseeruddin Shah (Krrish) – In spite of being my favourite, Naseer doesn’t have a chance this year.

Saif Ali Khan (Omkara) – And the reason for the above guys not winning is Langda Tyagi! Saif Ali Khan will win this award. I do not have any doubts about it. However, I am extremely disappointed at this nomination because Saif Ali Khan’s performance was worthy of a nomination in the Best Actor’s category. Be that as it may, it’s nominated in the Bets Actor in the negative role category and he’ll make mincemeat of the competition in this category.

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52nd Filmfare Awards Nominatons - V

2007-02-22T19:56:00.000+05:30

For the Filmfare Awards for Best Music, the nominations are:

A R Rahman (Rang De Basanti) – Just like Rubaroo, this one’s a no brainer as well. This clearly was one of the best albums of the year and undoubtedly the most deserving nomination for this award. However, in terms of popularity, it’s got strong competition from Himesh Reshamaiyya and Pritam for Dhoom 2.

Himesh Reshammiya (Aksar) – Mr. Himesh Reshamaiyya is definitely giving the A. R. Rahman’s and Jatin-Lalit’s a run for their money (and award). On the popularity chart, definitely one of the more serious contenders.

Jatin-Lalit (Fanaa) – Chand Sifarish was the only gem in this album. It’s very unlikely that Jatin Lalit will get this award only for a solo gem.

Pritam (Dhoom 2) – Once again, although the song Crazy Kiya Re and Dhoom Machale were hits, it isn’t good enough for this award.

Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy (Don) – The title track Main Hoon Don was a cracker of a number! The rest were strictly okay. Personally, I think it doesn’t stand a chance.

Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna) – Strange things seem to have happened in the Filmfare Awards in the past. Personally, I thought this album was very ordinary. However, the movie was a big hit and who knows, this might turn out to be a surprise packet. However, I hope it doesn’t win this award because it really isn’t deserving.

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52nd Filmfare Awards Nomination - 2007 - IV

2007-02-22T19:50:00.000+05:30

For the Filmfare Awards for Best Lyrics, the nominations are:

Gulzar (Beedi Jalaile - Omkara) – Definitely one of the strong contenders. Although it almost passes off as a item number, from his television interviews (during the promotions of Omkara, I have heard that Gulzar Saab actually tried to capture the essence of Uttar Pradesh and the political set up in the film into the lyrics of this song. Of course, not that I could understand that. But it’s come from the horse’s mouth.

Javed Akhtar (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna - Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna) – Javed Akhtar, inspite being one of the leading lyricists in the Hindi film industry, I feel that he stands no chance to win for this song.

Javed Akhtar (Mitwa - Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna) – No chance for this song as well. However, going by the popularity, this song stands a decent chance.

Prasoon Joshi (Chand Sifarish - Fanaa) – Prasoon Joshi is definitely one of the more recent lyricist in the Hindi film industry and is one of the more sought after lyricists around. This song is one of my personal favourites and it does have an outside chance. However, going by the popularity, this song stands a better chance.

Prasoon Joshi (Rubaroo - Rang De Basanti) – It’s a no brainer. This one’s my favourite song and is one of the best contenders for this award. I hope this song wins. However, going by the popularity, there are good chances that this song would not win. But I still want this song to win.

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52nd Filmfare Awards Nomination - III

2007-02-22T19:46:00.000+05:30

For the Filmfare Award for Best Playback (Male), the nominations are:

Atif Aslam (Tere Bin - Bas Ek Pal) – I never knew that this song was so popular. Personally, I thought this was strictly an okay song. Not worthy for this award.

Himesh Reshammiya (Jhalak Dikhlaja - Aksar) – Finally, Mr. Himesh Reshamaiyya makes the cut for the Best Playback (Male) award. Although I can’t stand his music and most definitely his playback singing, I have a feeling that he’s a strong contender for this award. Undoutedly, this song has been one of the most popular numbers last year.

Shaan & Kailash Kher (Chand Shifarish - Fanaa) – Personally, I wish this song wins this award. Both Shaan and Kailash Kher have done a wonderful job. Very well sung and a great song!

Sonu Nigaam (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna - Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna) – Sonu Nigam is definitely one of the best singers we have in the Hindi film industry today. However, I thought this was an absolutely ordinary song. Nothing to write home about. I don’t think Sonu will win for this song.

Zubin (Ya Ali - Gangster) – Zubin has an outside chance because this song has been popular as well. After all, these are popular awards.

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52nd Filmfare Awards Nomination - II

2007-02-22T19:45:00.000+05:30

I’ll start with the Filmfare Award for the Best Playback (Female). The nominations are:

Alka Yagnik (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna - Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna) – I thought this was an absolutely ordinary song. Nothing to write home about. I don’t think she’ll win for this song.

Shreya Ghoshal (Pal Pal - Lage Raho Munnabhai) – Definitely one of the stronger contenders.

Sunidhi Chauhan (Aa Aa Aashiqui Mein - 36 China Town) – Very well sung but I don’t think it’s worthy of a Best Playback Singer award.

Sunidhi Chauhan (Beedi Jalaile - Omkara) – The only other contender to Shreya Ghoshal’s “Pal Pal” from Lage Raho Munnabhai.

Sunidhi Chauhan (Soniye - Aksar) – This song was definitely popular. Personally, I didn’t like it. I don’t think Sunidhi stands a chance to win for this song.

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52nd Filmfare Awards Nominatons - I

2007-02-22T19:43:00.000+05:30

The 52nd Filmfare Awards Nominations for this year were announced a couple of days back. It is that time of the year again when everybody in the film industry patronises one another. For the first timers / newcomers, let me say that Filmfare Awards are popular awards given out by the publishers of Filmfare magazine to honour the people associated with the Hindi movies released during the year.

The nominations for the 52nd Filmfare Awards were out sometime back and the awards will be held over this weekend i.e., February 24-25, 2007. All I have done is to list out the nominations in some of the major categories with brief comments on some of the nominations (if they do deserve a comment). I will also try to set out who in my view should win the award (which most probably may differ from who the eventual winner may be.

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Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan - III

2007-01-23T16:56:00.000+05:30

My friend in the United States of America tells me that this is not the first time Indian films/India has been mentioned on a popular talk show, Jon Stewart and even Conan O'brian has made references to them. This piece just proves that there is someone on Stephen Colbert's staff who is an Indian and is possibly upto date on the going's on in Bollywood.

Stephen Colbert is making fun of Indian stars - just like he makes fun of any other "current affairs" related issue. So in a way that is something to take notice of, its like making fun of the Americans by saying – “oh so you think Rosie and Donald feud is the only celebrity feud that the nation cares about - look at the Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan feud- the Indian nation cares about that feud” and in the same vein its all a joke. For e.g., if Preity Zinta is at the party how dare Amitabh Bachchan not be there like she is so important how can you not go.

Anyway do check out >

You Tube

and search on Stephen Colbert and watch a few of the videos you'll get an idea of what its all about.

Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan - II

2007-01-23T16:55:00.000+05:30

Coming back to the reason why I am writing this piece. Bollywood has arrived in the mainstream television in the United States of America. For e.g., check out the following newsclips of Stephen Colbert. His act is really a mockery of the joke of a news channel 'Fox news'. Stephen Colbert's "character" is a spoof of all the different news anchors on Fox news. This segment (first link) was part of a bigger one called celebrity feud's. Rosie and Donald Trump's feud was mentioned as well.

>

Stephen Colbert 1

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Stephen Colbert 2

Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan - I

2007-01-23T16:46:00.000+05:30

The amount of time, paper, energy, money and media space that is being spent on the so called "rivalry" between Amitabh Bachchan is scaling new heights by the day. Firstly, it was remake of Amitabh Bachchan's 1978 superhit film Don in which Shahrukh Khan took on the role of Vijay/Don. Then it was the "hot seat" when Shahrukh Khan took over as the host of the third season of Kaun Banega Crorepati (Indian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire) which went on air yestreday (January 22, 2007).

All the media is going all over the place in making a mountain out of a molehill and creating more gossip to feed to an ever hungry audience.

Rang De Basanti - Out of Oscar Race

2007-01-17T15:41:00.000+05:30

The shortlist prior to the nomination of the final five nominations in the Best Foreign Film Category for the Oscar Awards were announced today and Rang De Basanti is not in the list. But, it was heartening to know that Deepa Mehta's Water was shortlisted in the nine films that would compete for the final five spots in the Best Foreign Film Category for the Oscar Awards. However, Deepa Mehta's Water is a Canadian nomination.

Tough luck for the nominations Rakyesh Mehra but great film nonetheless!!!

All the best Deepa Mehta!!!

2006 - The Year That Was - XI

2006-12-29T10:52:00.000+05:30

So, all in all, it was a very good year for Bollywood. Hope that the good performance of films in 2006 continues in the year 2007 as well and we get to see better films in the coming year. So, here is wishing everybody a very happy new year and have a safe and entertaining 2007!!!

2006 - The Year That Was - X

2006-12-29T10:51:00.000+05:30

The other remake was Farhan Akhtar’s Don starring Shahrukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Boman Irani, Om Puri with Kareena Kapoor in a special appearance just for one song. Farhan Akhtar stuck to the main story line of the original Don, but he had some very interesting twists (two in particular) by which, he managed to give the film his own touch.

Of course, there were critics who said that the film was too complicated in its twisted plots. However, the movie has done very good business. I am not sure if the film would be categorized as a hit or would just be a semi-hit. In any case, there seems to be flying rumours that a sequel is on the anvil with Shahrukh Khan producing and acting in it and Farhan Akhtar once again at the helm of the affairs.

2006 - The Year That Was - IX

2006-12-29T10:49:00.000+05:30

Nagesh Kukkunoor’s Dor also received rave reviews, both for the film and its lead actors Ayesha Takia, Shreyas Talpade and Gul Panag.

However, for me, one of the most entertaining small budget flick had to be Dibaker Banerjee's Khosla Ka Ghosla. It had an ensemble cast of Anupam Kher, Boman Irani, Parveen Dabas, Ranveer Shorey, Vinay Pathak, Tara Sharma, Navin Nischol and Kiron Juneja. As I have already mentioned in my earlier post on this film, this movie belonged entirely to Anupam Kher. If you have not seen, I’d strongly recommend you to see it. It’s a very simple and sweet story of a man swindled of his lifetime of savings by a shark of a builder and how his son helps him to get back his money.

Other than that, there were two prominent films remade this year. One was Umrao Jaan directed by J. P. Dutta and starring Aishwarya Rai, Abhishek Bachchan and Shabana Azmi. According to J. P. Dutta, this film was not a remake, but his interpretation of the book Umrao Jaan Ada. The film sank at the box office without a trace and as if it was never made.

2006 - The Year That Was - VIII

2006-12-29T10:47:00.000+05:30

Coming back to movies, this year saw a number of small films doing very good business. Maalamaal Weekly directed by Priyadarhsan with Ritesh Deshmukh, Reema Sen, Paresh Rawal and Om Puri alongwith the rest of the regular Priyadarshan cast, was a surprise hit.

Another off-beat film which got great critical reviews and good commercial returns was Being Cyrus directed by Homi Adjania who managed to assemble a stellar star cast of Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia, Naseeruddin Shah, Boman Irani and Simone Singh. Once again, Saif Ali Khan received critical acclaim for breaking his lover-boy image and trying the dark humour genre.

With movies like Gangster (directed by Anurag Basu and staring Emraan Hashmi, Shiney Ahuja and Kangana Ranaut) and Woh Lamhe (directed by Mohit Suri and starring Shiney Ahuja and Kangana Ranaut), the Bhatt camp was busy churning out small budget entertaining flicks which made good money at the box office. They indeed have a great business model! The music of these films also did good business.

2006 - The Year That Was - VII

2006-12-29T10:42:00.000+05:30

Other than the above, there were some other hits such as Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, Krrish, Fanaa, Dhoom 2 etc. which turned out to be huge money-spinners but were pretty ordinary as movies. The sole exception being the exceptional stunts in Krrish and Dhoom 2.

Other than that, it would be unfair if I didn’t mention Himesh Reshamaiyya. I am not sure how many he movies he composed for, but there was a time when every music channel, both on radio and television, played his songs only. And that’s not it, now he’s doing a film which will be released in 2007. Like him or hate him, you cannot ignore him! He’s arguably all over the place as India’s first ever Rockstar!!!!! Now, is that a tall claim or is that a tall claim?

2006 - The Year That Was - VI

2006-12-29T10:40:00.000+05:30

Omkara is most definitely one of the best films that has been made in recent times. Vishal Bharadwaj is undoubtedly a force to reckon with especially with this follow up to Maqbool. His story-telling skills are superb. The only film that could have given Rang De Basanti a run for its money (to be India’s official entry at the Annual Academy Awards) is Omkara.

Ajay Devgan is in superb form and Saif Ali Khan has truly come onto his own. He has successfully shed his lover-boy image (and inhibitions) to potray such a powerful role as Langda Tyagi. And to say that Saif Ali Khan was convincing as Langda Tyagi, is an understatement. It was probably one of his best performances ever.

2006 - The Year That Was - V

2006-12-29T10:38:00.000+05:30

The second movie to have a stupendous impact this year was Lage Raho Munnabhai. “Gandhigiri” evolved as a concept. Personally, I feel that “Gandhigiri” was more media generated that movie generated. Vidhu Vinod Chopra (Producer) and Rajkumar Hirani (Director) did not even imagine that the film and the concept of Gandhigiri would become such a huge rage.

The media hype was at its peak during the first 3-4 weeks after the film’s release. It’s come back into the limelight in the recent past because of the Sanjay Dutt’s legal hassles from the 1993 blast case. However, full marks for the makers of the film, it was an amazing feel good film with a good social message. There is no doubt that we need to reflect back on the thinking of the great Mahatma Gandhi in today's day and age.

2006 - The Year That Was - IV

2006-12-29T10:37:00.000+05:30

I have no hesitation in beginning with Rakyesh Mehra’s Rang De Basanti which has become one of the top grosser this year and is undoubtedly one of the best films of this year. It is no wonder that it is India’s official entry at the Annual Academy Awards to be held in early 2007. Aamir Khan, Atul Kulkarni, Sharman Joshi, Siddharth, Kunal Kapoor and Soha Ali Khan were very good. A. R. Rahman’s music was great as well.

So much was the impact of the film that there were demonstrations where people took to the streets with candles in their hands in protest against the injustice done to the families of Nitish Katara, Jessica Lal and Priyadarshini Mattoo and as a result of the public outrage, the judiciary has actually re-opened these cases and managed to convict the killers of Jessica Lal and Priyadarshini Mattoo. Real life imitating Reel life. I wish UTV, Rakyesh Mehra, Aamir Khan and the rest of the star cast of Rang De Basanti all the best for the Oscars.

2006 - The Year That Was - III

2006-12-29T10:36:00.000+05:30

Naseeruddin Shah made a promising entry into the Directors’ club. Priyadarshan continued to churn out run of the mill slapstick comedy once again with little success. Shirish Kuner’s much touted debut turned out to be nothing but a damp squib. Ravi Chopra and Sanjay Gadhvi reprised their previous acts. However, only the latter met with some amount of commercial success.

J. P. Dutta went askew with his interpretation of the famous courtesan. Kunal Kohli was spot on with his casting coup. However, this year belonged to Rakeysh Mehra, Rajkumar Hirani and Vishal Bharadwaj for churning out the biggest (and probably the best Hindi films that we have seen in recent times). Over and above these biggies, some of the fresh and new talent to emerge are Dibaker Banerjee and Homi Adjania.

It would be very difficult to cover all the movies that were released this year. However, the attempt is to capture some of the best cinema we had this year including some of the biggest mistakes / duds of the year. So, here is my take on the highlights of the year 2006 that is about to whiz past us in a few days time.

2006 - The Year That Was - II

2006-12-29T10:31:00.000+05:30

Kajol made another come back with a bang with a casting coup of this decade when she starred with Aamir Khan in Fanaa. Priyanka Chopra was part of a few hits with very little performance to boast of. Rani Mukherji had a quiet year and so did Preity Zinta. Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi re-created their Munnabhai-Circuit chemistry in to go one up on their previous outing in Munnabhai MBBS. Akshay Kumar had a mixed bag of a year. Govinda almost managed to come back.

Hrithik Roshan proved a major point as to why he is one of the topmost contenders for the next superstar tag. He played the super-hero and a perfect thief with absolute elan’. Amitabh Bachchan and Abhisehk Bachchan had a fairly tepid year. However, this year was the year of small-budget experimental but good films. We were lucky to watch movies from some of the out-of-the-box filmmakers.

2006 - The Year That Was - I

2006-12-29T10:29:00.000+05:30

The year 2006 has been one of best years that Bollywood has seen in recent times. It’s been raining hits this year. As reported by one of the national newspaper couple of days back, this year has been phenomenal for Bollywood movies in the overseas market (especially United States of America and United Kingdom) when Hindi movies have done stupendous business.

Actors like Aamir Khan, Ajay Devgan and Saif Ali Khan further cemented their position as top draws at the box office doing diverse roles. Shahrukh Khan once again proved that he cannot go wrong with Karan Johar at the helm of affairs and Farhan Akhtar’s remake gamble was also actually quite safe. Aishwarya Rai had an absolutely lacklusture 2006, pretty much like her histrionics in the movies released this year!!

Happy Birthday Govinda - V

2006-12-21T16:18:00.000+05:30

Will the king of comedy be able to make a come-back? Will he be able to do a better job in his second innings as an actor? Will he be more selective about the movies he does? Personally, I feel a strong yes for all the above three. Because all said and done, the man is talented, natural, hard working and inspite of his problems he’s been having over the last 7 years, he still has some good friends in the film industry.

What do you guys think?

Happy Birthday Govinda - IV

2006-12-21T16:14:00.000+05:30

Be that as it may, now the man seems to have cleaned up his act and seems to be raring to have a second go at his profession. He’s currently riding high on two new releases. First to hit the big screen tomorrow is Bhaagam Bhaag directed by Priyadarshan and also starring Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, Lara Dutta and Tanushree Dutta. Of course, in Bhaagam Bhaag, Govinda’s doing what he does best, comedy.

The second movie which would be released after Bhaagam Bhaag is Nikhil Advani’s Salaam-E-Ishq. This movie is a super-star-studded with Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Akshaye Khanna, John Abraham, Sohail Khan, Govinda, Priyanka Chopra, Juhi Chawla, Ayesha Takia, Vidya Balan and Isha Koppikar. The music of the film is by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and the movie is clearly one of the most eagerly awaited movies in recent times.

Happy Birthday Govinda - III

2006-12-21T16:12:00.000+05:30

Another big mistake he made was choosing wrong films and filmmakers. I have read in the media that Subhash Ghai had offered Govinda was offered Anil Kapoor’s role in Taal. The movie had Akshaye Khanna and Aishwarya Rai in the lead. However, since he did not want to play second fiddle to Akshaye Khanna, he refused the film.

Another role that he refused was that of Chunnilal in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas which was eventually done by Jackie Shroff. Devdas had the enviable star cast of Shahrukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit. Although his role may not have been anything to write home about, it was a big hit nonetheless and he would have had another feather in his cap. Another notorious habit that had all the producers fuming at Govinda is his habit of coming famously late on the sets. They would have had to incur huge losses due to his problem with keeping time commitments.

Thereafter, he had problems on his personal front with rumours of his marriage being on rocks, his alleged affairs with his leading ladies and the fateful accident his family met while on their way to Ajmer Sharif this year. In the interim, he also entered politics and won the general election from Mumbai by defeating a Bhartiya Janata Party heavyweight Ram Naik. All was not good on that front as well as there were rumours that he’s neglecting his constituency and not doing much as a politician.

Happy Birthday Govinda - II

2006-12-21T16:11:00.000+05:30

And the reason for the movies to flop was because he did the same thing again and again and the audience just got bored of him. I don’t think he was criticized for his histrionics and dancing as he was for being repetitive. Govinda has one of the best comic timings in the film industry today. And inspite of his weight issues, he’s one of the best dancers we have in the industry. His acting, like his dancing, is effortless and he’s a complete natural.

Consider this - in 1998 when he starred with Amitabh Bachchan in Bade Miya Chote Miya, directed by David Dhawan, Govinda completely overshadowed Amitabh Bachchan in the film and was considered the next big actor of that decade. However, that was then when he was having the time of his life and probably became over-confident that nothing could go wrong with his career. And that’s when the worst happened. The phase from 1999 – 2006 must have been the worst seven years of his life.

Happy Birthday Govinda - I

2006-12-21T16:05:00.000+05:30

Today is Govinda’s birthday. Here is wishing him a very happy birthday!

Readers may wonder that out of all the filmstars, why would I wish Govinda? Firstly, it’s his birthday. Secondly, I am a huge fan of Govinda, notwithstanding his loud dressing style (which he has improved over the period of last few years) and his large girth. Lastly and most importantly the man’s on the verge of proving himself all over again.

The man has been down and almost out for over a few years now. He’s had a disastrous run at the box office. It’s not surprising that Govinda’s last hit was, Haseena Maan Jaayegi (1999) directed by David Dhawan with Sanjay Dutt, Karisma Kapoor, Pooja Batra, Paresh Rawal, Anupam Kher and Aroona Irani as his co-stars.

After that, he’s had string of flops. Believe it or not, he’s had 21 flops in a row. To be precise, these movies are Sandwich (2006), Ssukh (2005), Khullam Khulla Pyaar Karen (2005), Raja Bhaiya (2003), Ek Aur Ek Gyarah (2003), Chalo Ishq Ladaaye (2002), Waah! Tera Kya Kehna (2002), Akhiyon Se Goli Maare (2002), Pyaar Diwana Hota Hai (2002), Aamdani Atthanni Kharcha Rupaiya (2001), Kyo Kii... Main Jhuth Nahin Bolta (2001), Albela (2001), Jodi No.1 (2001), Dil Ne Phir Yaad Kiya (2001), Beti No. 1 (2000), Jis Desh Mein Ganga Rehta Hain (2000), Shikari (2000), Joru Ka Ghulam (2000), Hadh Kar Di Aapne (2000), Kunwara (2000), Hum Tum Pe Marte Hain (1999).

Farhan Akhtar's Don - VI

2006-11-22T19:27:00.000+05:30

The highlight for me were the (i) title track of the film "Main Hoon Don" which was very well sung by Shaan, (ii) two major twists in the plot of the film which were a major deviation from the original film and (iii) a very restrained Shahrukh Khan which automatically translated into a very bearable Shahrukh Khan. The title track “Main Hoon Don” is a very racy and peppy number and I must say that it’s picturised very well on Shahrukh Khan. It is in this song that Shahrukh Khan really comes onto his own while potraying the attitude of Don. The other supposedly highlight of the music of the film i.e., "Khaike Pan Banaraswala" was very disappointing. That's all I can say about this song.

So, for all you people who have a prejudiced mind against Farhan Akhtar's Don, I would highly recommend it as a must watch. If not for anything, purely for its thrill, fast paced action, extremely entertaining and jazzed up background score (which does remind you of the original Don).

An interesting trivia about this film is that Farhan Akhtar initially wanted to cast Hrithik Roshan as Don. However, after writing the character of Don, he thought he would need a more mature actor and hence he zeroed in on Shahrukh Khan. My limited knowledge of Hindi film industry says that Hrithik Roshan would have done better justice to this role than Shahrukh Khan. But then, these are my views and it is not a wonder that Farhan Akhtar and Shahrukh Khan have reached places in their respective careers which I can only dream of.

I also noticed a small blooper in the film. When Boman Irani escapes from the van by getting out of the van (before the van blows up) and then getting in the manhole which was under the van. After Boman Irani goes away into the manhole and when the van moves, the manhole is just not there. Seems like Boman Irani took away the manhole with him when he went underground :-)

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Farhan Akhtar's Don - V

2006-11-22T19:24:00.000+05:30

Amongst the other star cast of the film, Priyanka Chopra (as Roma) and Isha Koppikar (as Anita) didn't have much to offer except just look good on screen which they did. Arjun Rampal (as Jasjit) is strictly okay. Kareena Kapoor (as Kamini) was okay though her gyrations on “Yeh Mera Dil” was very disappointing. Om Puri (as Interpol inspector Malik) was wasted. The only other person who had a meaty role was Boman Irani (as Inspector De'Silva). His role was almost parallel to that of Shahrukh Khan. Although I though Boman Irani was a bit disappointing, he was very earnest in his pursuit to potray Inspector D'Silva though. Personally, I thought Farhan Akhtar ought to have cast somebody who was more fit, lean and agile as opposed to Boman Irani who inspite of being a brilliant actor, did not fit the bill of an inspector who would run to chase a criminal. Frankly, I thought he was not convincing as Inspector De'Silva.

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Farhan Akhtar's Don - IV

2006-11-22T19:23:00.000+05:30

All in all, very well made film even though it may not have had a phenomenal run at the box office. But it has done very well to ensure that it’s producers / distributors are laughing all the way to the bank. Although I am not a Shahrukh Khan fan, I thought he was decent. What I was impressed most was that Farhan Akhtar had managed to get Shahrukh Khan to not be his usual self. This according to me was Farhan Akhtar’s biggest accomplishment.

Had Shahrukh Khan been his usual self and acted the way he acts in almost all his films, then Farhan Akhtar’s Don would most definitely had been a disaster. Besides Farhan Akhtar, Ashutosh Gowariker is the only director who has managed to get a good performance out of Shahrukh Khan in Swades. However, he just doesn’t have the voice and dialogue delivery to pack the killer punch into the character of Don / Vijay which was so effortlessly done by Amitabh Bachchan.

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Farhan Akhtar's Don - III

2006-11-22T19:21:00.000+05:30

And to be very honest, I wasn't disappointed after watching the Farhan Akhtar’s Don. Farhan Akhtar has adapted the story to his sensibilities and made the movie according to his interpretation. And he's come out with flying colours.

He has indeed managed to hold on to his own inspite of knowing very well that comparison of his Don with Chandra Barot's Don was absolutely inevitable. Farhan Akhtar has very cleverly made changes to the story line of Don and without revealing the twists, I was extremely impressed with two of the most important twists in the film, one of which comes in the last few seconds of the movie. Farhan Akhtar has managed to adapt his interpretation of Don into a fast paced and racy action thriller which was more in the mould of Bond flicks or like Mission Impossible kind of movies.

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Farhan Akhtar's Don - II

2006-11-22T19:20:00.000+05:30

To be very honest, I was a little apprehensive before watching Farhan Akhtar’s Don the first time around because I was convinced that Shahrukh Khan just doesn't have the required ammunition in his arsenal (voice, attitude and most importantly dialogue delivery) to carry off the legendary and unforgettable dialogues of Don.

Secondly, the music of Farhan Akhtar’s Don by Shankar Ehsaan and Loy did not catch my fancy barring the very entertaining title track “Main Hoon Don” which has been very well rendered by Shaan.

Regarding my views on the other songs of Farhan Akhtar’s Don, I have already written about them in my earlier posts and hence am not repeating myself. However, I must say that with all these reservations, I went to see Farhan Akhtar's Don and the only reason for that is that I have tremendous respect for Farhan Akhtar as a film-maker and according to me, he's one of the leading filmmakers who will take Hindi film industry to greater heights.

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Farhan Akhtar's Don - I

2006-11-22T19:18:00.000+05:30

Farhan Akhtar's Don, which is a remake of the cult 1978 Chandra Barot directed thriller Don with Amitabh Bachchan playing the Don. The original Don is a cult movie in more ways than one. Amitabh Bachchan's suave Don act as well as the bumbling idiot turned Don, Kalyanji Anandji's music and the hysteria the movie generated. Chandra Barot’s Don is truly a cult film and in many ways was quite ahead of its times. It was more in the mould of Bond flicks and not many films in those times had plots like Don.

Being such a huge fan of the original Don, I was very keen to watch Farhan Akhtar's Don. I have already seen it twice, once because I wanted to see it and second time when I was in one of the remote town of Gujarat on work and I had half a day to kill post lunch and Don was the only film that I could have watched.

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Music release of J. P. Dutta's Umrao Jaan - III

2006-10-10T13:03:00.000+05:30

In comparison (very unfairly though), Aishwarya Rai is not even a patch on Rekha. I know that she’s the most beautiful woman on this planet (an oft used expression for Aishwarya Rai) and that she’s the most recognizable Indian faces on the world stage and all that rubbish. However, personally I don’t rate Aishwarya Rai very highly, both in terms of looks as well as performance. But then that’s me and I may be in minority.

Another very irritating fact that I noted is that in all the interviews that Aishwarya Rai gave to the sound-byte-hungry news channels, she seemed to put on such a fake stiff upper lip accent and tried to sound extremely intelligent about her interpretation and take of role of Umrao Jaan in J. P. Dutta’s interpretation of Mirza Hadi Ruswa`s novel. It’s the best “most fake and pretentious” interview that I’ve heard in recent times.

Music release of J. P. Dutta's Umrao Jaan - II

2006-10-10T13:02:00.000+05:30

The two songs that have been released don’t seem to be very impressive. The first song “Salaam” which is a solo song picturised on Aishwarya Rai and I think it’s sung by Alka Yagnik. There is another duet song that is already on air these days and it’s picturised on Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai. I think it’s sung by Sonu Nigam and Alka Yagnik. Honestly, I wasn’t too impressed with either of the songs.

In all fairness, I must admit that when I hear the songs of J. P. Dutta’s Umrao Jaan, I invariably end up comparing it with the music of Muzaffar Ali’s Umrao Jaan which was composed by Khayyam which songs have been made deeply etched in my memory with the soulful voice of Asha Bhosle and the timeless Rekha.

Music release of J. P. Dutta's Umrao Jaan - I

2006-10-10T13:01:00.000+05:30

Very recently, the music of J. P. Dutta’s Umrao Jaan was released on October 3, 2006 and the music videos of couple of songs from the movie have started appearing on television. The music of J. P. Dutta’s Umrao Jaan is by Anu Malik and lyrics are by Javed Akhtar.

Cannot resist but make the following observations.

According to the filmmaker J. P. Dutta and his lead actors, Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, this film is not a remake of Muzaffar Ali’s Umrao Jaan that was released in the year 1981. According to J. P. Dutta, his film is based on Mirza Hadi Ruswa`s novel Umrao Jaan Ada, published in the year 1904 and was probably one of the first Urdu book that was ever printed and it is J. P. Dutta’s interpretation of the Ruswa’s novel.

Khosla Ka Ghosla - V

2006-10-06T18:11:00.000+05:30

Coming back to Khosla Ka Ghosla, the movie however totally belongs to Anupam Kher. He has said in one of his interviews to a newspaper that he is grateful to one of his friends father on whom the character of Mr. Khosla was based. Anupam Kher is totally in his elements and evokes empathy from the viewers immediately upon his entry on the screen. Right from his dialogue delivery to his body language, each and every way, Anupam Kher is your regular simple service class man who is meek and timid and can be easily bullied by somebody. His love for his kids especially Parvin Dabas, his concern for his family and his wish to build a big family mansion in the plush South Delhi locality are all very sweet.

All in all, I thought the movie was pretty good if you go by the normal parameters of judging a film i.e., simple story line, good story telling by the director, good performances in the film, not too long and above all, no melodrama or over the top acting. Check it out if you have not already!!!

Khosla Ka Ghosla - IV

2006-10-06T18:09:00.001+05:30

Amongst the performers, Boman Irani as the builder Kishen Khurana is his usual self, brilliant! Although the length of his role is not great, but he does manage to pack a punch into the character of Khurana, especially with his mannerisms of threatening Mr. Khosla during their first meeting, his adjusting / scratching his crotch everytime he got out of the car, his weakness for women etc.

Parvin Dabas was decent and Tara Sharma needs to take serious (and immediate) course on dialogue delivery. Kiron Juneja was also endearing.

However the surprise packet of the film is Ranvir Shorey as the good for nothing older son of Mr. Khosla. His sincerity comes effortlessly on screen and his Punjabi dialogue delivery is first rate. Equally effective is Vinay Pathak as the visa agent (and one who was working for the builder Khurana and knows all about the tricks of his trade) is in good form as well. As an aside, these two talented actors, i.e., Vinay Pathak and Ranvir Shorey are hilarious in a stand up comedy show on Star One called "The Comedy Show Ha Ha Ha" which was earlier known as The Great Indian Comedy Show. Sometimes the humour is flat but generally these guys are quite funny. If anyone of you has not seen them yet, I’d strongly recomment it. The show is aired from Monday to Wednesday at 10.30 pm on Star One.

Khosla Ka Ghosla - III

2006-10-06T18:09:00.000+05:30

The movie is entertaining with good performances. Most importantly, the story and concept of the film is simple and the director has ensured that the script, screenplay and the narrative of the film also stay as simple. And he has managed to achieve this task, which it seems (looking at the movies that are being released these days) is something most of the directors are missing. Dibakaer Banerjee seems to be from the KISS school of film-making viz., Keep It Simple Sweety!!!! And the result is for everyone to see. From the reports in the media, the movie is doing good business although I don’t know the figures.

The USP of Khosla Ka Ghosla is that its characters are very real and believable and the bad experience that the Khosla family goes through could easily have been experienced by any one of us and we do indeed get to hear or read about these stories day in and day out. This is where the director Dibaker Banerjee may have struck a chord with the middle class.

Khosla Ka Ghosla - II

2006-10-06T18:07:00.000+05:30

Mr. Khosla invests all the savings of his lifetime that he had accumulated over a period of thirty years, into a plot of land in plush South Delhi, where he wants to build a plush home for his family. However, he’s swindled by the broker through whom he buys the plot and the plot is now fraudulently encroached upon by the shark-like builder Kishren Khurana, played effortlessly by Boman Irani.

Thereafter, the builder Khurana asks Khosla to buy that plot of land for half the cost (which was paid by Khosla to buy the plot in the first place). The plot of the film is about how Khosla’s two sons, alongwith able assistance with some common friends and a visa agent, try to turn the tables onto Khurana and get back the plot by playing the same game as the builder Khurana.

Khosla Ka Ghosla - I

2006-10-06T18:05:00.000+05:30

About two weeks back, I managed to see the small budget flick Khosla Ka Ghosla made by debutant Dibaker Banerjee and written by Jaideep Sahni. The ensemble star cast of the movie is being led by the experienced Anupam Kher alongiwth Boman Irani, Parvin Dabas, Ranvir Shorey, Tara Sharma, Vinay Pathak. The music of the film is by Bapi – Tutul and Dhruv Dhalla.

The premise of the movie is fairly straightforward and simple. Mr. Kamal Kishore Khosla played by Anupam Kher is a very simple-about to retire-service class man who is in his late 50’s and has two sons and a daughter and a nagging but loving wife. His older son is a high school drop out and the younger son (who is also Mr. Khosla’s favourite) is a software engineer who is on his way to the United States of America, much to his father’s disappointment.

India's official entry for the 79th Annual Academy Awards II

2006-09-27T20:44:00.000+05:30

Anyways, now that Rang De Basanti has been nominated as India’s official entry to the 79th Annual Academy Awards, I feel that it has a good chance of making it to the final five. The main reason for it in my view is that the movie would be able to stand on its own keeping in mind the theme of the film and its relevance in today’s time.

Further, the presence of Aamir Khan in the film should ring a bell for the jury members as Aamir Khan was in the United States of America in the year 2002 when his film Lagaan was nominated as India’s entry to the Annual Academy Awards and was in fact nominated in as one of the five films in the Best Foreign Film category. The previous occasions when Indian films were nominated at the Annual Academy Awards were Mehboob Khan’s Mother India and Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay. Interestingly, Deepa Mehta’s “Water” is Canada’s official entry for the 79th Annual Academy Awards.

Here is wishing Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra, Aamir Khan, Ronnie Screwala and the rest of the team of Rang De Basanti all the very best and hope that they manage to bring Indian cinema on the world map.

India's official entry for 79th Annual Academy Awards I

2006-09-27T20:30:00.000+05:30

The announcement for India’s official entry to the 79th Annual Academy Awards (Oscar Awards) was made yesterday. The competition was very tough as this year, Bollywood has had a very good run at the box office. There were movies like Lage Raho Munnabhai, Omkara, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, Krrish and Rang De Basanti that were in the fray for being selected as India's official entry for the 79th Annual Academy Awards. Finally, the results were out yesterday and Rang De Basanti has been nominated as India’s entry to the 79th Annual Academy Awards this year.

In my view, out of the above movies that were in contention, the only movies that had a real chance of nomination were Lage Raho Munnabhai, Omkara and Rang De Basanti. I was very sure that Krrish and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna would never make the cut for the simple reason that although both being commercial blockbusters, they had nothing to offer that would be worthy to represent Indian Cinema at the 79th Annual Academy Awards. On the other hand, Lage Raho Munnabhai, Omkara and Rang De Basanti were all movies that would have made Indian cinema stand out amongst world cinema at the 79th Annual Academy Awards.

Don - VII

2006-09-27T15:15:00.000+05:30

I am totally excited to see Farhan Akhtar’s Don. Not because of Shahrukh Khan but because of Farhan Akhtar and because of the fact that I totally loved the original Chandra Barot’s Don.

I have lot of respect for Farhan Akhtar as a director and a story teller. I thought Dil Chahta Hai was a fantastic debut for Farhan Akhtar and he followed it up with an even better Lakshya. Although Lakshya did not do very well commercially, I thought that it was a very good film in terms of storytelling and performance. According to me, Lakshya will definitely go down as one of better performances of Hrithik Roshan.

One interesting trivia about Farhan Akhtar’s Don was that Hrithik Roshan was supposed to play the main lead of Don / Vijay. However, it didn’t work out as a result of which Farhan Akhtar approached Shahrukh Khan for the role which was gladly accepted by Shahrukh Khan.

Don - VI

2006-09-27T15:11:00.000+05:30

They don’t make dancers like Helen any more. The song Yeh Mera Dil, picturesed on Kareena Kapoor is strictly okay. I did not find Kareena Kapooor to be as spunky and vivacious as Helen. It’s been sung by Sunidhi Chauhan in a very husky voice, apparently to ensure that it goes with the personality of Kareena Kapoor. I am not sure if the song Yeh Mera Dil picturised on Kareena Kapoor is getting good reviews. I don’t think the song is doing that great as well.

The music of the film, at least what has been shown on television has been fairly average with nothing to write home about. However, I am awaiting the main song i.e, Khaike Pan Banaraswala and am really interested in knowing how Farhan Akhtar – Javed Akhtar – Shankar Ehsan Loy would have done this song in view of the fact that this is one of the two songs that they have retained in the remake. The promos of Khaike Pan Banarswala have already started and it’s got the fresh voice of Udit Narayan, who seems to be in his elements while singing this song. He’s sounding very good. Maybe because the beat of this song is such that it has to sound good. From the promos, it seems that the basic orchestration seems to be the same. However, it would be very difficult to rate a song based on a 5 second promo. So, will have to wait for the real thing. The interesting trivia about this song Khaike Pan Banaraswala is that when Kishore Kumar was recording the song, he actually had a pan and sung the opening lines "Arrre Bhang Ka Rang Jama Ho Chakachak, Phir Lyo Pan Chabaay, Arre Aisa Jhatka, Lage Jiya Pe, Punar Janam Hui Jaaye". No wonder the song was such a huge hit. Not only did it have a magical voice of Kishore Kumar at work, it also had the attitude which was so effortlessly carried on screen by Amitabh Bachchan.

Don - V

2006-09-27T15:08:00.000+05:30

The music of Farhan Akhtar’s Don is by Shankar Ehsaan and Loy and the lyrics are by Javed Akhtar. Farhan Akhtar has retained two songs from the original Don i.e., Khaike Pan Banaraswala and Yeh Mera Dil and Shanker Ehsaan and Loy have given a jazzed up remixed version of these two songs. So far, they have aired three songs from the film, i.e., Moriya Re (co-inciding with the just concluded Ganesha Festival), the ever-green Yeh Mera Dil and the remixed, re-worded, re-composed and jazzed up Main Hoon Don.

The title track Main Hoon Don has been sung by Shaan. In the original Don, Kishore Kumar had breathed life into the song by his playful singing. Probably keeping this in mind, Shankar Ehsaan and Loy have consciously ensured to stay away from the original soundtrack of Main Hoon Don and have come up with a very stylized and very techno soundtrack. Personally, I like this song and Shaan has done a wonderful job and so have Shankar Ehsaan and Loy.

Don - IV

2006-09-27T14:55:00.000+05:30

However, from the television interviews of Farhan Akhtar, it seems that he has made slight changes to the story line of Don and keeping the same in sync with today’s generation.. Another departure apparently is that Farhan Akhtar’s Don is meaner, more suave and very stylish.

Unfortunately, it seems Shahrukh Khan has put in lot of effort to act (read ham) to look mean as the Don and I think that this may be the reason for him not succeeding as Don. One look at Shahrukh Khan’s filmography as a mean, negative or action oriented role, and it would be clear that he has not had great run either at the box office or for critical acclaim save and except Darr and Baazigar.

He’s had pretty disastrous outings as a baddie / action oriented roles viz., Anjaam, One Two Ka Four, Ram Jaane, Duplicate etc. Anyways, this would be another test for the great Shahrukh Khan to prove his mettle as an actor considering his movies that have done earth-shattering business till date have only been candy-floss mushy and romantic films. Although very little, but Shahrukh Khan has made some of these above attempts at playing negative / bad / action oriented roles but with very little success.

Don - III

2006-09-27T14:35:00.000+05:30

The main characters in Farhan Akhtar’s Don are pretty much the same as that of Chandra Barot’s original Don.

Name of Character – Farhan Akhtar’s Don (Remake) – Chandra Barot’s Don (Original)

Don / Vijay – Shahrukh Khan (earlier played by Amitabh Bachchan in the original)

Roma – Priyanka Chopra (earlier played by Zeenat Aman in the original)

Jasjit – Arjun Rampal (earlier played by Pran in the original)

Inspector D’Silva – Boman Irani (earlier played by Iftikhar in the original)

Malik – Om Puri (earlier played by Om Shiv Puri in the original)

Anita – Isha Koppikar (earlier played by Aparna Choudhary in the original)

Kamini – Kareena Kapoor (earlier played by Helen in the original)

Don - II

2006-09-27T13:04:00.000+05:30

Fortunately or unfortunately, comparisons to the original Don are inevitable. The original Don (1978) was directed by Chandra Barot and was written by Salim – Javed duo and earned Amitabh Bachchan his Filmfare Best Actor Award. The music of the film was by Kalyanji Anandji and the lyrics were by Anjaan. All the songs in the film were superhit especially the Khaike Pan Banaraswala, Main Hoon Don and Yeh Mera Dil.

Farhan Akhtar is remaking this 1978 classic where Shahrukh Khan takes over the mantle (and huge responsibility) of playing the characters of both Don and Vijay. The television promos of this film have started and one thing that comes across immediately is that this is a very stylized version of the film.

Don - I

2006-09-27T13:01:00.000+05:30

Don ki talash gyaraah mulkon ki police kar rahi hai, lekin Don ko pakadna mushkil hi nahin, na mumkin hai!

This famous dialogue (I may not have got the dialogue verbatim) from the movie Don brings back the memories of Amitabh Bachchan with his trademark booming baritone playing the unforgettable Don in this 1978 super hit film. Unfortunately, Shahrukh Khan, in Farhan Akhtar’s remake of the same film, does not sound as effective as Amitabh Bachchan when he says this same dialogue.

Omkara - V

2006-09-09T12:49:00.000+05:30

To sum up, I don’t think that these minor negatives can in any way affect the quality of the film. Omkara is one of the best films to be released in recent times. It takes lot of guts and gumption to make a film like Omkara and to say that Vishal Bharadwaj has excelled in his endeavour to make a good film, would be an understatement. I would be surprised if Omkara does not sweep away all the major awards next year.

Vishal Bharadwaj is clearly one of the leading film makers we have today and considering his earlier films Makdee and Maqbool, he has proven himself beyond anybody’s doubts about his ability as a master story teller. He’s here to stay and will in time to come, become one of our finest filmmakers.

Omkara - IV

2006-09-09T12:46:00.000+05:30

One of the negatives in the film may have been the language. Although, the story and Uttar Pradesh settings demanded use of such language, the local Uttar Pradesh dialect can be difficult to understand. Which probably was one reason why the movie could have done even better than what it already is. Needlessly to say that the movie is both, critical and (huge) commercial hit.

Another negative is the excessive use of expletives in the film. I guess the story demanded use of expletives. Although I’m not too sure, but the use of the foul language in the film makes it difficult for a whole family to watch the film together. Nonetheless, I think that the cuss words were very effective to the narrative of the film. After the release of the film, there was this big hype about use of foul language and actually somebody had taken the producers and director of Omkara to court to cut out the expletives. Of course, the court said that if the censor board has passed the film with the expletives so be it and the request was rightly turned down by the court.

Omkara - III

2006-09-09T12:40:00.000+05:30

Naseeruddin Shah as the politician Bhaisahab has very limited to do and is good at it. Ajay Devgan as Omkara the weak, suspecting and jealous protagonist is awesome and clearly is in his elements and having the time of his life in his career. He’s really transformed into one of the leading actors of his time. His brooding intensity and his earnest potrayal of Omkara comes across effortlessly onto screen. Ajay Devgan breathes life into the character of Omkara as if he was living it. Konkona Sen Sharma as Indu, wife of Langda Tyagi is also top rate. Even though Kareena Kapoor does not have much to do, she’s done a pretty decent job of whatever little scope her character had. Bipasha Basu did not have much to do in the film. One surprise element in the film is Deepak Dobriyal who makes his debut in this film. He has shown good promise and with good roles, will emerge as a good acting talent.

However, the entire movie belongs to the devil himself, LANGDA TYAGI!!! Inspite of not having an author backed role, Saif Ali Khan has managed to come out tops with flying colours. He has infused reality into his scheming Langda Tyagi character. Right from the look to the mannerisms to the language to the body language – everything is awesome! His entire performance where he tries to ensure Kesu Firangi’s downfall and his attempts to poison Omkara’s mind against Dolly Mishra. I've read in media reports that he actually consumed tobacco to get that realistic look (read dirty teeth) and he had to make many visits to his dentist after the shooting of the film was completed. Saif Ali Khan probably should win all the major awards for his terrific potrayal of Langda Tyagi and this movie would go down as one of his finest performances of his career. Here's another actor who's broken the rules and done movies ranging from Dil Chahta Hai to Kal Ho Naa Ho to Hum Tum to Salaam Namaste to Being Cyrus to Omkara. What a range!!!! He's grown into a very fine and mature actor.

Omkara - II

2006-09-09T12:36:00.000+05:30

The story is set in Uttar Pradesh (a Northern state in India) where Omkara “Omi” Shukla is the “Bahubali” to Bhaisahab and leads a gang of outlaws. Amongst other cohorts, Langda Tyagi and Kesu Firangi are the two trusted lieutenants to Omkara. When Bhaisahab moves from the local politics to a higher level, he appoints Omkara in his place. And when the time comes, Omkara appoints Kesu Firangi as his “Bahubali”, much to the disappointment of Langda Tyagi who has been his trusted lieutenant for over 15 years. This is where the movie becomes extremely interesting as from this point on, Langda Tyagi schemes the downfall of Kesu Firangi and unknowingly triggers off a chain of events that destroys everything around him and Omkara.

Right from the story to the script to screenplay and most importantly the characterizations of the lead actors, Vishal Bharadwaj is top rate in every department of filmmaking. However, he could have totally done away with the music in the film as it tends to dilute the intensity of the story and disturb the narrative flow. Save and except the title track, all the songs were dragging the plot. And the title song has been sung exceptionally well by Sukhwinder Singh setting out the (mostly bad) qualities of Omkara. The title track has very good music and lyrics.

If the other songs were cut out of the film, then the impact of the movie would have been significantly higher. However, these days, producers have to keep the commercial parameters in mind while producing the film and I guess the same would have happened to Omkara. There were two item songs “Beedi” and “Namak” in the film. Of course, the song “Beedi” is a huge hit and may have ensured good sales of music of the film. Of course, it also had Bipasha Basu as Billo Chaman Bahar gyrating to the beats of “Beedi” with the wily Langda Tyagi and her lover Kesu Firangi.

Omkara - I

2006-09-09T12:34:00.000+05:30

Evil! Thy name is Langda Tyagi!!!

Omkara (2006) directed by Vishal Bharadwaj and starring Ajay Devgan, Saif Ali Khan, Vivek Oberoi, Kareena Kapoor, Konkona Sen Sharma, Deepak Dobriyal (debut) Bipasha Basu and Naseeruddin Shah, was released about 5-6 weeks back and is doing amazing business at the box office, both India and abroad.

Omkara is Vishal Bharadwaj’s adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Othello. Ajay Devgan plays Omkara “Omi” Shukla (Othello), Kareena Kapoor is Dolly Mishra (Desdemona), Saif Ali Khan is Ishwar “Langda” Tyagi (Iago), Vivek Oberoi is Keshav “Kesu Firangi” Upadhyay (Cassio), Bipasha Basu as Billo Chaman Bahar and Naseeruddin Shah as Bhaisahab.

Vishal Bharadwaj’s adaptation of Othello is very impressive, even though I haven’t read Othello at all. However, in one of the promotional interviews, Vishal Bharadwaj said that slight changes were made while making Omkara. Vishal Bharadwaj also wears many hats while he was at the helm of Omkara. He has co-written the screenplay and the dialogues of the film. He has also composed the music of the film. Very talented indeed!!

Happy Birthday Asha Bhosle - II

2006-09-08T12:47:00.000+05:30

In her career spanning six decades, Asha Bhosle has numerous awards. Some of the main awards won by her are as follows

7 Filmfare Awards:

Don (1978) - Yeh Mera Dil Pyaar Ka Deewana
Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye (1974) - Chain Se Kabhi
Naina (1973) - Hone Lagi Hai Raat Jawan
Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1972) - Dum Mara Dum
Caravan (1971) - Piya Tu Ab To Aaja
Shikaar (1968) - Parde Mein Rehne Do
Dus Lakh (1967) - Garibon Ke Suno

2 Indian National Awards for:

Umrao Jaan (1981) - Dil Cheez Kya Hai
Ijazat (1986) - Mera Kuch Samaan

In 1997, she became the first Indian singer to be nominated for the Grammy Award, for Legacy, an album with Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. She has received seventeen Maharashtra State Awards. She received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2001 for her outstanding contribution to Indian cinema.

Here is wishing Asha Bhosle many happy returns of the day!!!

Happy Birthday Asha Bhosle - I

2006-09-08T12:32:00.000+05:30

Asha Bhosle, the diva of Indian film industry was born on September 8, 1933 in Sangli, Maharashtra, into the musical family of Pandit Dinanath Mangeshkar. Her father was a theater actor and classical singer who had been born in the village of Mangeshi in Goa. When she was nine years old, her father died and their family moved from Pune to Kolhapur and then to Bombay. She and her famous older sister Lata Mangeshkar began singing and acting in films to support their family.

Her career started in 1943 and has spanned over six decades. She has done playback singing for over 900 Bollywood movies and sold many records. Nobody knows exactly how many songs she has sung, but in one of her interviews she had said that she may have sung more than 12,000 songs in her entire career spanning six decades. Some people believe that she may have sung more than 20,000-25,000 songs in her career.

Asha Bhosle has sung songs primarily from film music and continued to sing and excel at pop music, ghazals, bhajans, traditional Indian Classical music, folk songs, qawwalis, and Rabindra Sangeet. She has sung for actresses right from the 40’s till date and continues to wow audiences with her ever so young voice.

She has worked with various music directors right from O. P. Nayyar to Khayyam to Sachin Dev Burman and Rahul Dev Burman and right upto A. R. Rahman.

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna - The Movie IX

2006-09-06T14:37:00.000+05:30

However, I would like to add one comment of my own. Towards the end of the film, there is a dialogue. I cannot remember the whole dialogue, but it says that for a successful marriage to work, the only thing one needs is “be-intehaan mohabbat” meaning tremendous love. From personal experience (and at the cost of sound like a cynic), I can say that these things when said on screen, sound very good but is not the entire truth. It is not just love that can sustain a successful marriage. There has to be trust between the two people, there has to be respect for one another, there has to be transparency in the relationship and there has to be faith between the two people. Of course, this is not an exhaustive list. This is what I feel. Of course, I could be wrong here. But this is what I genuinely believe. And it is this aspect of marriage that has not been explored by Karan Johar in Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna and which is why I think he’s gone wrong in dealing with the sensitive issue of an extra-marital affair. Had he done that, I think the movie would have been far too superior than what it is today. Anyways, these are just the thoughts of an amateur blogger.

What do you guys think of what I’ve said above? Does anybody have any comments?

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna - The Movie VIII

2006-09-06T14:36:00.000+05:30

One guy who’s risen above the circumspect acting in the movie of the other stars and the flawed script / story, is Abhishek Bachchan. He is so very natural. He is quite effortless with a range of emotions right from funny, to being loving and caring husband to a raging husband to a grieving son who knows that he is about to lose his father. His jig on the song “Just Chill” was quite good. And he was the junior most in comparison to all other stars in the film in terms of acting, number of years in the industry, accolates and hits. And yet he stood out. He’s clearly here to stay and for a long time.

Another aspect that stood out in the film was the chemistry between Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan. These two are very good together and their off-screen chemistry comes so naturally on screen.

All in all, my take on Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna is that it’s a bad movie with bad performances (except Abhishek Bachchan), bad music and a really bad story. However, the box office collections have another story to tell. Which may also throw some light on my skills to write a critique about a film.

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna - The Movie VII

2006-09-06T14:33:00.000+05:30

Music of Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna is by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and lyrics are by Javed Akhtar. Sadly, the music is lacklusture. The only passable song is Mitwaa and it has some very good lyrics. However, one striking fact about this song in the movie is that the lyrics of the song do not match with the situation in the film. I don’t know if anybody else felt this way. The other song Rock and Roll Soniye is totally in the Kajra Re mould and tries to capture the chemistry of Amitabh Bachchan-Abhishek Bachchan. Other than that, there is not even one song worth its salt that needs mentioning.

In terms of performances, I thought that this possibly was Shahrukh Khan’s worst performances. For some reason, the way he has acted in this film, reminded me of the way he acted in Ram Jaane. He is trying too hard to live the flawed character but just ends up looking unconvincing. Frankly, he has not done justice to the role. Of course, his presence has ensured stupendous box office collections for Karan Johar. But that’s a different story and I’ve dealt with it. Rani Mukherji was strictly okay and Preity Zinta did not have much to do except wear designer outfits and look good. Amitabh Bachchan as Sexy Sam was okay.

Karan Johar in his promotional interviews had said that had Amitabh Bachchan not said okay to play Sexy Sam, Karan Johar would not have made this film. I don’t know why these guys patronize one another so much. The character of Sexy Sam besides being inconsequential, was not even a part of the so called story of the film.

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna - The Movie VI

2006-09-06T14:32:00.000+05:30

Even when Shahrukh Khan and Rani Mukherji get dumped by Preity Zinta and Abhishek Bachchan, they don’t make any efforts to work towards their already fallen marriage. Considering Shahrukh Khan has a young son, he has no remorse in leaving his son and mother behind. That I thought was a little strange because his relationship with his wife may have been over, but he still had his son and his mother. That aspect of their relationship also half baked like the rest of the story of the film.

The humour in the film is completely contrived. Especially that part where Shahrukh Khan and Rani Mukherji try to get cosy with Preity Zinta and Abhishek Bachchan respectively (at the Opera) in an effort to outdo the other. For god’s sake, they are all grown up people, not some school children. I thought that entire sequence was churlish.

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna - The Movie IV

2006-09-06T14:30:00.001+05:30

The entire sequence where both Shahrukh Khan and Rani Mukherji try to advise one another on how to spice up their marriage and how to make their respective relationships with Preity Zinta and Abhishek Bachchan work was not convincing. Karan Johar has said in many interviews that the character of Shahrukh Khan and Rani Mukherji are flawed. I think that so is his story. The structure of the story where Shahrukh Khan and Rani Mukherji come close to each other and decide to have an extra marital affair is just not convincing.

Finally, what I thought was the most complicated and confused part in the film was when Preity Zinta and Abhishek Bachchan realize that Shahrukh Khan and Rani Mukherji may not know that both their marriages have fallen apart and when then meet up accidently at Abhishek Bachchan’s second wedding, they egg Rani Mukherji on to go and make a life with Shahrukh Khan as he is on his way to Canada for ever. That to me can never be a reason for two people to get together. This actually justifies their extra marital relationship and the old adage that “end justifies the means”. It was almost as if they came back together full of guilt and due to the fact that since both of them had been dumped by their respective partners, it’s okay for them to come together.

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna - The Movie V

2006-09-06T14:30:00.000+05:30

However, what I could not understand was the problem in the relationship of Abhishek Bachchan-Rani Mukherji. Okay, their life styles were distinctly different i.e., Abhishek Bachchan headed a Public Relations firm and Rani Mukherji was a school teacher. However, Abhishek Bachchan loved Rani Mukherji completely and was always on the lookout to spice up their married yet mundane lives. I just could not understand why does Rani Mukherji feel that their marriage is falling apart. Her apprehension before getting married to Abhishek Bachchan is fine as every woman goes through the same emotion i.e., whether they are marrying the right man or not, but once having married him, a woman cannot keep on having that feeling all through her life whether she’s married the right man or not.

In fact, Abhishek Bachchan and Rani Mukherji had been childhood friends and she had grown up with Abhishek Bachchan. All the more reason for her to feel more comfortable with Abhishek Bachchan. However, that aspect of Abhishek Bachchan and Rani Mukherji’s relationship has not been exploited at all. This according to me is one of the major drawbacks of Karan Johar’s story.

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna - The Movie III

2006-09-06T14:28:00.000+05:30

Anyways, coming back to the movie, I thought there were more negatives in the movie than the positives. To put it succinctly, the story of Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna is about various problems in the married relationship of Shahrukh Khan-Preity Zinta and Abhishek Bachchan-Rani Mukherji and how they fall out of their marriage and how Shahrukh Khan and Rani Mukherji fall in love outside of their marriage.

The problem in the relationship of Shahrukh Khan-Preity Zinta was okay inasmuch as Shahrukh Khan was a failure as a footballer and as a husband and that his wife is a beautiful super-successful and super- ambitious working woman and he had that obvious element of jealousy and low self esteem that in their marriage, it is Preity Zinta who “wears the pants”.

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna - The Movie II

2006-09-06T14:27:00.000+05:30

The reason why I think Karan Johar makes movies only to make money are:

1. His movies only have big and established stars which guarantee him the openings. Case in point, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Kal Ho Naa Ho, Kaal and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. Hang on a second! Isn’t that the entire of filmography of Karan Johar both as a as director as well as a producer? Well of course it is and that’s my point.

2. He taps the NRI (Non-Resident Indian) market very well but shooting his film in New York. Both his last films Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna and Kal Ho Naa Ho were based in New York and he ensured that the movie got tremendous publicity while it was being shot. Not to mention the fact that Karan Johar knows how to tap the NRI market by cashing in on Shahrukh Khan’s popularity.

3. The canvas of his movies is large, lavish sets, lavish locations, fancy gadgets, latest designer costumes etc. These are all the ingredients to lure the common man to live that fantasy for those three hours. Of course, nothing wrong with creating a fantasy for the common man. Just that the fantasy should not (actually NEVER) take precedence of the main crux of the film i.e., the story.

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna - The Movie I

2006-09-06T14:25:00.000+05:30

After writing my previous posts on Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, I got an anonymous comment on the same criticizing me for writing about Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna without even watching it.

Inspite of all my efforts of not watching Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, I eventually had to give in to my wife’s emotional blackmailing and saw the movie on Monday i.e., August 28, 2006. Well, to recapitulate from some of my previous posts, I wasn’t too jazzed about watching the film and had many apprehensions about the film. And I was absolutely spot on. So, here’s my take on the film after watching it.

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna is considered to be a bold move by its director Karan Johar and he has thinks that watching this movie will make people think about their married relationships. Karan Johar also thinks that he has matured as a film maker. I am not sure as to whether he has matured as a film maker indeed or not, but I personally think he has not. As stated in my earlier posts on Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, it seems that he is primarily makes movies to make lots of money. And that he does in style. Full page advertisements carried in leading national newspapers stated that Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna had collected 120 crores in just three weeks of its release (as it then was) and I’m sure he’ s added quite a few numbers to that as you read this.

Hrishikesh Mukherjee - R.I.P. - I

2006-08-28T17:15:00.000+05:30

Born on September 30, 1922 at Calcutta in West Bengal, one of the finest filmmakers of all time, Hrishikesh Mukherjee passed away on August 27, 2006 at the ripe old age of 84. He is survived by 2 sons and 3 daughters. He died after a couple of months of prolonged illness. He was admitted to Leelavati Hospital due to renal failure and was on dialysis for sometime. He passed away at around 4.30 pm on August 27, 2006.

Personally, Hrishikesh Mukherjee was one of my favourite filmmakers and most importantly, a story teller par excellence. The art of storytelling, unfortunately has died with the sad demise of Hrishi daa and it is very unfortunate that inspite of having all the best technology at its disposal today, Bollywood cannot boast of even one genuine story teller. Even during his time i.e., 60’s and 70’s, Hrishi daa was peerless.

Some of the leading actors of the 60’s and 70’s have given their best performances under the direction of Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Actors like Dharmendra, Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bhaduri, Sharmila Tagore, Amol Palekar, Rekha etc. have given their best performances in Hrishikesh Mukherjee films.

May his soul rest in peace.

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna - VII

2006-08-25T19:18:00.000+05:30

And last but not the least is Masoom (1983) directed by Shekhar Kapur and starring Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, Saeed Jaffrey, Tanuja, Jugal Hansraj and Urmila Matondkar. Music was by Rahul Dev Burman and lyrics were by Gulzar. Once again, the music was terrific.

So, although Karan Johar may have made Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna with on such a lavish canvas with a star cast to die for and which may eventually become one of the biggest blockbusters of all time, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna can never find a mention alongwith films like Arth, Silsila and Masoom.

Anybody, any thoughts?

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna - VI

2006-08-25T19:16:00.000+05:30

Coming back to genuinely good cinema, in case somebody were to ask me about my favourite movie on infidelity / extra marital affairs, I can readily think of three awesome films that have been based on extra marital affairs and the directors have dealt this sensitive issue very beautifully.

First on the list is Arth (1982) directed by Mahesh Bhatt and starring Shabana Azmi, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Smita Patil and Raj Kiran. Music was by Jagjit Singh and Chitra Singh. This definitely remains one of Mahesh Bhatt’s best films of all times and one of the better Hindi films with unforgettable music.

Second is Silsila (1981) directed by Yash Chopra and starring Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Rekha and Jaya Bachchan. This movie had the casting coup of the century as the rumour of Amitabh-Rekha romance was at it’s height. The music by Shiv-Hari is timeless and the lyrics were by Javed Akhtar.

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna - VI

2006-08-25T19:15:00.000+05:30

When the movie was released two weeks back, the way media has gone over the top in rating this film just goes on to show that even film reviews can be bought. Each and every news paper, every news channel, every entertainment channel, every radio channel had only good things to say about Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. I just don’t see anybody giving frank and forthright reviews of the films. Everybody has only nice things to say about Karan Johar and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. So much so that a leading news channel which hosts a very popular debate show, had a debate last week on extra marital affairs and panelists were Shahrukh Khan, Karan Johar, Shobha De, CEO of shaadi.com and a psychiatrist. The show was entirely a promotional gimmick for the film. And during the entire debate, the only person who spoke intelligently was Shahrukh Khan.

Omkara was already a huge hit much prior to the release of Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. There’s another conspiracy theory doing the rounds is that Karan Johar tried to sabotage the success of Omkara by spreading news in various media that women and children are walking out of the theatre because of the crude and crass language used in Omkara. This was supposed to be a ploy to ensure that people do not go to the theatres to watch Omkara and actually go to the theatres to watch Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. Of course, there is no official “confirmation” on this conspiracy theory, but it’s floating around for some time now.

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna - V

2006-08-25T19:14:00.000+05:30

According to me, if a movie is made only around commercial considerations, then you are not being an honest film-maker and you may manage to make a commercially successful film, but it would rarely be considered as good cinema. My take is that the story and characters of Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna could have been in any city in the world and it would not have made any difference to the film or its story. I can totally imagine the characters of Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna being the same even if they are in any metropolitan city in India or even a small town in India. The only probably difference would have been the box office collections.

One geographical error (amongst a few others) in Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna is that the trains shown in the movie are actually SEPTA trains, which operate in Philadelphia, and not in New York City. Of course, I have not noticed this error. It’s been pointed out to me by one of my friend who lives in New York. I found it notable and hence this finds a mention here.