Sorry for my lack of posts, I’ve been crazily busy. I’m going on holiday so unfortunately there won’t be any posts for more than a month… (But after this last huge hiatus I doubt anyone reads this space anymore)
MsBlogger
Rangeela really does represent why I love Bollywood and what I love about it!
When one wants to make a film in Bollywood, there are a few beaten tracks one could consider… Rangeela pretty much has all of them and just proves that it’s not the story that matters, it’s the way it’s told.
Here’s a few of those clichés that are worked so well into Rangeela:
1. The underdog who puts sweat, blood and tears into trying to make that girl happy.
2. The ambitious girl (ok, maybe not so much a cliché, seen as she doesn’t want to become a model)
3. The love triangle (anyone who says this isn’t typical, BRING IT ON! “Mujhe karate aata hai”=])
4. The person in the love triangle that seems to have it all easy and the girl appears to only be interested in him.
5. The last minute running, panicking and searching.
6. The we’re-just-friends attitude.
The performances really are amazing, what more can I say? I never knew Urmila Matonkar looked so pretty before… I’ve really only seen her in her Om Shanti Om avatar:
Nothing compared to her in Rangeela.
One issue I had with her character was that she never seemed to be in love with Munna; but then again, she might have only realised how strong her feelings were *SPOILER* after he’d gone *SPOILER*
Aamir was really perfect, right down to the last ‘apun’. I found him quite winning while slightly repulsive but always endearing. I always like to watch Aamir films, old and new because you always see a different person onscreen, that’s not something you see with many other actors. Nonetheless, his character occasionally seemed a little obnoxious and arrogant but maybe that was just to impress the pretty lady ;)
Jackie Shroff delivered quite a restrained performance *SPOILER* expect for when he jumps about in his house yelling he’s in love. They really could have missed that out seen as you could tell from his face, his eyes, how much he loved her, no need for the prancing. It spoilt his restrained, slightly tormented character in a way *SPOILER* Also, normally one of the two men vying for the girl has obvious flaws, like, say, in Jab We Met, but here he really was a character with a holographic heart of gold, which made vying for Munna harder.
The music was above average (well it would be when A R Rahman composing) with one track really sticking in my head, the title track, Rangeela Re.
For some strange reason it reminds me of the title track from Hungama, not that I’m implying the makers of Hungama have copied this song…
This was, as far as I can remember, the first film of Ram Gopal Verma’s that I’ve seen. Actually, that’s one of the main reasons I watched it… seen as I’ve often read his blog and got to know a bit about the kind of person he is. He’s entertaining on his blog but nevertheless, I’d never comment because I have no wish to have my words ridiculed, which must be slightly embarrassing to say the least. As far as I know, he used to be really popular around the time Rangeela came out but then he just kind of died out and no one wants to watch Rann. It really makes me wonder what went wrong…
Rating: 3.5/5 A sweet film that’ll make you fall in love with Bollywood all over again!
P.S. I’ve been trying out these ‘modern classical’ films as I call them that are from the late 80’s and 90’s that were popular at the time or are popular now. I would love recommendations… Do you have any suggestions of such films that I haven’t already reviewed? I’ll be reviewing Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin and will watch Raja Hindustani but any except for them two? Any SRK or Salman ones?
I must admit I really liked this film. It’s a bi like Kaminey but doesn’t have that same way of making you think during the film and long afterwards.
Now, I know Neha Dhupia isn’t all that popular, I really do like her and have done so since watching Chup Chup Ke. She was a little dull in the first half but really picked it up during he second half! I’ve only seen Abhay Deol in Dev D, which I thought he was pretty good in, but I really enjoyed watching him here, you had that feeling of knowing more than him, seen as there were a few spots where anyone who has watched a few movies could have guessed what was coming, but he, Abhay Deol, didn’t know. If I’m honest, I found him pretty cute here…
When I’d finished watching this, I wasn’t sure of what I was thinking, overall I felt happy and felt it was a paisa vasool, but then again I could see there were flaws. So I did what comes to me, went to Google and looked at some reviews. Overall, most people had issues with the way the director, Sanjay Khanduri, tried to cram everything in and didn’t edit as much as he ought to have. I agree on some of it and did feel it needed some editing in places but overall I thought that those moments when loads was happening at the same time were supposed to reflect on the mad chaos of the Mumbai underworld. Nonetheless, they really could have made the gangs easier to identify and give them traits that separate them from each other.
I’m glad I put on the spoiler alert right in the title because I just have to mention about how one twist in the tale really worked. That was the revelation that Madhu/Mala was a prostitute. Now, unlike some other people, I don’t hate, nor am I disgusted by, prostitutes. And this film really summed up why. They are humans, just like the rest of us and it’s normally because they are desperate that they go down this line, not because they want to or because they like it, as I’d guess many people think. I thought Neha really shone in that scene.
In terms of music, there weren't any proper song sequences, but I guess they would have been a bit out of place. I really like the song Laree Choote; here's the remix video:
The whole experimental idea of this movie should be appreciated, and although this might not be everyone’s cup of tea, I found it pretty pleasing.
Rating: 3/5
Well Alvida to this one!
I picked this poster for a reason, in my opinion it seems to be ranked by the standard of acting, I thought Rani outshone the others, SRK was good as always, it dawned on me that his shaking was actually just him holding in his emotions. Abhishek and Amitabh are interchangeable while Preity was little more than the haughty. That’s how her character always seemed… haughty.
The music was bearable, quite pleasant in places, I like ‘Where’s the Party Tonight’ but what was that skirt Preity was wearing??
The skirt looks like something someone peeled off the Golden Temple in Amritsar (not meant in a harsh way at all, I’m going to go visit it soon!).
I was looking for a picture of Kajol from the film and I came across this:
How could I have possibly missed this before? To all those who read this blog (i.e. no one) do you have any links to fashion debacles or just silly, stupid pictures?
One of the things I did like though was the character development,they were all grey, all had faults and good points. Here’s my (short) analysis:
-Dev aka. Shahrukh Khan: He seems to be desperate to get out of this relationship, not wanting to hold it together, which annoyed me a LOT. He obviously loves his kid but tries to force his dreams on to his shoulders as many parents do. However *SPOILER* when he tells his kid to play the violin because it’s ‘cool’ I got annoyed. Never mind mentioning anything about the talent it takes or how his son is dedicated, no, it’s cool to play the violin. ARE YOU SAYING I’M NOT COOL? *SPOILER*
-Maya aka. Rani: She really is the lightest grey, she can see her husband is trying to love her and accepts her for who she is but she never seems to be able to appreciate that. Nonetheless, unlike Dev, she wants to keep her marriage together. She’d reluctant to get into a relationship with him and tries pretty hard to balance her double life. *SPOILER* Where did she randomly get the money to buy or even rent a new house the moment she left?*
-Rhea aka. Preity: Really ambitious but still loves Dev. However I get this feeling she just can’t understand him and she knows this at the back of her mind. At the beginning she just can’t give her son enough time but develops throughout. She always seems to be above others, especially near Maya, ok I can understand she ruined her life but there’s no need to look at her as if she’s vermin.
-Rishi aka. Abhishek: A child at heart and one of the most amusing characters, he can’t accept his wife doesn’t love him and, like a child, doesn’t think before he speaks. On the other hand, you can see he really is making an effort to please Maya despite her shortcomings but just doesn’t know the right way to go about it. One thing pleased me though *SPOILER* Even when he had found out about Maya’s infidelity and was stark raving mad, he still didn’t hit her, didn’t hurt her in any way *SPOILER*
The slapstick worked well in places such as:
“If you think you can bribe me in to giving you a party…. you’re absolutely right!”
But there were bits *ahemBlackBeastahem* that were overdone. You can clearly see it’s Karan Johar’s film right from the glitzy settings to the loving parents. I really liked Amitabh Bachchan and Kirron Kher in it. I can’t think of any more to say so I’ll end it here.
Rating: 2.5/5 A difficult subject handled in a reasonably interesting way
This review isn’t going to be very long seen as I’m pretty sleepy. I can see why people didn’t like this film, but that didn’t stop me from liking it, like not love.
As always I’m not going to bother with a plot synopsis because
a) I’m too lazy
b) I’m sure to give too much away
So… I liked the way this film was openly just tying to promote an inherently good message. they were clearly not doing it for commercial reasons and neither were they trying to make an art film, they just wanted to get an important message across and it really is a shame that most people didn’t get this message.
Acting-wise I liked Shahid’s subtlety (obviously) and Nana Patekar’s restraint, you could see he was holding his emotions back why letting them play across his face. Ayesha was sweet but did little more than smile and look sad. The kids were believable and it had Swini Khare whom I adore!
The music was pretty nice and fitted in well, for more check out the music review.
I didn’t like the moments of preaching such as at the end and bits scattered about. Also why was Shahid the only one playing the guitar, the kids weren’t learning anything by jumping around and Shahid didn’t even look like he was playing which was a shame.
Rating: 3.5/5 I’d check it out if you have some time on your hands
PS. I’m not so much of a big fan of Shahid anymore (although this review hardly proves it), I still like him intensely like I like Aamir and may occasionally have my little moments of fangirlyness but overall I’ve forced myself to stop loving him as I don’t like the idea of getting so attached to someone I can’t even have. Sorry if I’ve disappointed anybody but that’s just the way it is, I’ll still talk about him but not with the same regularity and tone and the next film I review will definitely not be one of Shahid’s.
MsBlogger xx
I don’t get what everyone’s raving about, I really don’t. Ok the heroines are independent and strong willed and ok all the characters are shades of grey, but really!
I haven’t seen the previous Devdases so I can’t really compare them, although now having seen this, I’m intrigued to see how good they were, I think I’ll start with the Shahrukh Khan one. I love the songs in that and strangely enough I love the songs here too. After I’ve watched it, if I remember to, I’ll do a comparison post between the two.
I like this ending better than the original ending because I definitely prefer Chandramukhi over Paro who seems independent and assertive in some things but still agrees to Dev’s every whim. Chandra’s different and they share a mutual respect which should be there in relationships. Chanda’s been through a lot and I agree she shouldn’t have done what she did but I think she repented fully and my best guess would be that they put it in to show the hypocrisy within society. However, one thought I had while watching Dev and Paro in the sugarcane field was ‘Don’t they have any depth to their love? Why is it only showing them wanting sex? Where are the feelings, the emotions?’ I agree its’s meant to be a ‘modern’ that ‘pushes the boundaries’ but why do it in a way that takes have the appeal of Bollywood with it?
There’s a strong urban feel to it all which is interesting at times but also tedious at times because who wants to pay to watch onscreen what they can see in real life anyway? The cinematography is slick and different, hats off to Rajeev Ravi for that. The editing is great too, none of the scenes seemed unnecessary.
The acting was great in all fronts and I’m not really in a position to say this, but it does seem like Abhay Deol only plays characters who are full of angst, want to go against their parents and just can’t fit into the world, I’ve heard he plays a very similar role in Road, Movie; I wish he’d take on a variety of projects so we could see all of his potential in different ways, I don’t deny he’s good, he has to be to play such roles all the time. Kalki Koechlin really stood out to me even if her Hindi was shaky, her acting was so good! The best bit being she actually looked 18! Yesterday I was watching Milli (Jaya Badhuri and Amitabh Bachchan) and a 30 year old actress claimed that her 16th birthday was last week! It just all sounded so stupid!
The music was great as I’ve mentioned. Amit Trivedi has gotten a range of feelings into his songs and the ones, apart from the leitmotifs of all the characters which worked well, that stood out to me were ‘Emosanal Attyachar’ and ‘Duniya’
Most of the things I’ve mentioned here are pretty good, so why didn’t it impress me? Its a good question I’m posing to myself, one I don’t have an answer for. I had some expectations, after hearing such praise for this movie, but not much. Then again I preferred the second half to the first half which is because of either or both of these things:
-The little I was expecting was still too much so I was disappointed at the beginning but slowly my expectations wore off and I just began to enjoy the film more for what it was rather than what I expected it to be.
-I prefer Chanda over Paro, I’m pretty sure this one is definitely true
Overall a hatke watch but some of the characters just don’t work. I need to watch some more of Anurag Kashyap's work.
Rating: 3/5
PS. Please could someone explain to me what is supposed to be so funny about Monty Python’s Life of Brian? I was watching it, having heard a lot about it and I just got bored and couldn’t be bothered to finish it.
I think I’ll be reviewing Paathshaala next… hopefully!
First of all, I must say this was far better than I expected, I hoped for little because although the trailers had plenty of glitz and glamour, I was expecting little plot and there’d be no need for a brain. It had a pleasant surprise in store…
I read a review that was mostly positive and I agreed with some of it and disagreed with other bits, so I thought I’d use this review to express my own views as it can sometimes be pretty hard to write something original when there are twenty other reviews out there, the chances are you’ve lost your chance.
The full review is here:
So here goes…
It’s got a background score that sounds suspiciously like Ocean’s 11, a storyline with shades of 21, and clichés that you associate with a ‘Bollywood’ film. In spite of all that, Badmaash Company is immensely watchable. Without some inconsistencies and a little more imagination, it could have been a lot better.
I haven’t seen 21 or Ocean’s 11 and love Bollywood for these cliches. I agree it is watchable, more than that, it’s raveable! I agree there were some loose ends, but I don’t see how more imagination would have helped.
Each of the three men develops a vice — Zing becomes an alcoholic, Chandu a womaniser, while Karan’s weakness is money — and it leads to interpersonal differences and the group breaking up
I think most of the breaking up was caused by Karan, with his huge ego, I started to hate Shahid’s character at that point which was the desired effect. I agree they all have their vices and was hoping Zing wouldn’t be drinking by the end, alas…
Parmeet Sethi, still remembered as the Punjab da puttar that Simran was to get married to in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, gets to kickstart his directorial career with the same banner that launched him as an actor. And, frankly, he does a good job, too. When you read his name under Story, Screenplay, Dialogues, and Direction, you are a wee bit sceptical, but your doubts are laid to rest soon.
Agree with everything here. I wasn’t skeptical because I had decided to expect nothing but hope for hit, I was pleasantly surprised by the first and am hoping the second works out too.
The story, of course, isn’t anything we haven’t seen before. Ambitious youngsters resorting to con jobs to make quick money only to realise their ‘follies’ eventually is something we saw even recently in the very forgettable Teen Patti, which itself was a rip-off of the Hollywood hit 21. In fact, Yash Raj’s Bunty Aur Babli had a similar storyline, too
I do disagree a bit here. Only the absolute basic idea was similar to others, charcters get led off course, they correct themselves. I thought this was ten times more watchable than Bunti Aur Babli, with the cons being more intelligent and the characters better developed. BaB had its own fluffy fun, and this has its own slicker path too. I haven’t seen Teen Patti so no comment.
Where Sethi makes his mark, though, is in the screenplay, which moves fast and keeps you hooked, and in the dialogues, which make the proceedings fun. His characters are interesting, the casting is apt, and he has managed to extract good performances out of the fairly new bunch of actors.
Hehe, after watching so many interviews of the Badmaash four and Vir’s comedy clips, they hardly seemed new to me. The dialogues were crisp but not all that memorable in my opinion seen as I can’t specifically remember any of them, but they might come to me later. The characters are well developed and possibly with the exception of Bulbul, all were shades of grey.
You wish, though, that some corners weren’t cut. Although the cons have been well thought out and executed, sometimes you get the feeling that the four get what they want a trifle too easily. Whether it is persuading an American company to do business with them though they are newcomers, or securing a bank loan in a foreign country, it all seems a cakewalk
I have a theory with this. I think that they would have been shown having at least one problem, but knowing Yash Raj, they’d stretch it out so it took up maybe 15 minutes or even half an hour, so for tight editing, they decided they’d miss it out. It does seem the more sensible option… Imagine this:
“I’ve run into a problem” “I’ve just had an idea how to fix it” “it’s fixed, we can carry on”
It’d never happen, they’d drag it out to infinity, so I’m glad they didn’t have any problems.
Karan's marriage with an American for a green card disappears from the plot as suddenly as it appears. Whatever happened to that track? Also, though the more conventional audience may be impressed by the fact that the characters ‘realise their mistakes’ and Karan has to ‘pay for his crimes’, it takes away from the inherent zing the film possesses till that point.
I completely agree with the first bit and that’s one of the unanswered questions I was talking about. It’s really bugging me now! Maybe I should be classed as one of the ‘conventional’ audience because I’m sure the film wouldn’t have been half as good if they hadn’t realised their mistakes because I hated Karan when they all broke up. Really, what fun or emotional would there be to just watch an egotistic Karan just go about in his horrid way destroying relationships?
Frankly, if Sethi had kept out some unnecessary ‘weepy’ moments, like the one where Karan’s father (Anupam Kher) receives an award, or the one where Karan finds out he’s a father, the film could have been shorter, crisper, and more enjoyable. And we would have got to see a Hindi film in which the protagonists aren’t apologetic about wanting to do something they don’t consider ‘wrong’, even if it may be so morally.
No no no no no. These kind of things do happen in films sometimes, for example, in 3 Idiots, it isn’t right to pretend to be someone else (I won’t add details or else it’ll become a spoiler) but did that person ever apologise? It would have been ok to not apologise if Karan had kept his head on his shoulders (as the person from 3 Idiots had) but he didn’t, he got big headed to the extent I hated him, so it is, in my opinion, perfectly right for him to regret it. Karan finding out he’s a father is such a touching scene! *SPOILER* I thought it marked the pinnacle of the change from egotistic gambler to caring, hard working, loving man *SPOILER* I do agree the award was a bit pointless.
That little conventionality and some convenient writing apart, Badmaash Company is fairly entertaining. Shahid Kapur rediscovers the good form he struck in Kaminey and seemed to have lost in Chance Pe Dance. The actor has the persona and the skills to carry off the shrewd con man he plays with style
I hadn’t noticed till now how my Charlie boy has grown! He played a kind of similar role in Shikhar, but here he was so much more immersed within Karan, it had me confused. His roles in Kaminey were far easier to accept because he looked so different as Charlie and he was the sweet stammerer when Guddu, here he looked like Shahid but he acted nothing like it, it was hard for me to accept but I did and loved it thoroughly!
Sharma looks like a million bucks and puts in a bindaas act. She and Kapur share a great chemistry and are responsible for making the film immensely watchable
She definitely puts in a bindaas act but doesn’t really have such a huge role, there were some small similarities with Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, such as she was again an independent woman who would take the lead when needed. It annoyed me that she had to be an aspiring model, had Parmeet watched BaB recently?
Both Vir Das and Meiyang Chang put in good debut performances and have the potential to be seen in supporting roles on a regular basis.
As I said before, they didn’t seem new to me and I agree that they acted really well, but why just supporting roles? Also, weren’t they being a bit harsh in always calling Chang Chinese?
Badmaash Company is the film entertainment-starved audiences have been waiting for. And this one might actually go beyond ‘opening weekend numbers’ and prove to be a genuine hit. It has what it takes to do so, for sure.
Amen to that!
SPOILER ALERT!
Don’t say you hadn’t been warned…
Questions of my own:
1. How did Jazz uncle and Karan’s dad get together again?
2. So what business did they start in the end? Was is just part of Jazz’s business or a legal business of their own?
3. Wasn’t the whole Bleeding Madras idea a little OTT?
4. How come Anuskha’s hostel which wouldn’t allow then to even phone boys, suddenly allow Karan to stay?
5. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE GREEN CARD MARRIAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!???????????????!!!!!!!!!!!! That has really been annoying me…
I thought the Michael Jackson representation was still better than the Barrack Obama one in My Name Is Khan.
If I’m honest, it didn’t live up to my expectations. That’s my problem, I always expect too much, I expected too much of Chance Pe Dance and enjoyed it less when I saw it; when I saw it again expecting nothing, it was much more enjoyable. The same is happening here. I didn’t like the album much at first but now it’s in my top twenty!
Ayaashi- The catchiest of a catchy bunch! The lyrics aren’t full of meaning but still contains poetic techniques like alliteration and repetition. The remix turns this fun filled song into a dance number which isn’t too bad but definitely isn’t as good as the original. But then again, I tend to have a prejudice against remixes.
Jingle Jingle- While I was on YouTube watching the video I saw in the comments that a lot of people didn’t like the change to a Punjabi chorus. I’m surprised because in my opinion it’s one of the best bits in the album! It isn’t overdone and it’s catchy so what’s wrong with it? I do like the guitar riff and the lyrics at the beginning but I, not exactly welcome, but rather don’t mind the change.
Fakeera- It may come as a surprise but I’m not a huge fan of this one. I’m used to Rahet Fateh Ali Khan singing songs like Aaj Din Chaddeya, not rock based ones like Fakeera. There was just something a little lifeless about it and I’m hoping it’ll either grow on me or the video will make up for it.
Chaska- This one grows on you. It reminds me of Fatak, I don’t like it at first but really like it after hearing it a few more times. Once again, a very catchy song with a great chorus! The video adds to it all and it had me humming it all day! It's remix ws far better than that of Ayaashi’s, it kept the essence of the song while making it peppier and a work of art in its own right.
Badmaash Company- This is actually a really fun song with the video! Did anyone else notice that the girl singing in the video sounded like she had a blocked nose? Just at the beginning when she says: “Look look left, look look right” Nonetheless I liked the '”hey ho hey ho hi, paisa bana le bhai, hey ho hey ho hey hi” bit. The lyrics are pointless but the fun video makes it all bearable and actually pretty fun!
So that’s my summing up… Do you agree/disagree? What was your favourite song?
I was born in and live in India, so it may come as a surprise that something needed to get me interested in Bollywood, considering I was born watching films and will die watching films…
I had read stories before of how people got interested, normally by non-desis and they interested me. I’m following on from veracious’ and Filmi Girl’s posts about this topic, they have some pretty interesting stories to tell.
I had been watching Bollywood films for 16 years of my life before I paid any proper attention to it. This was mainly because it was no more than a timepass, albeit a pretty boring one. My parents watch the old, Raj Kapoor time films and they never interested me, but I didn’t bother going to look for newer ones.
Then one day I was at my friend’s house and we watched Chup Chup Ke… this is going to sound mad, but I instantly loved Shahid Kapoor, so I could credit him for my introduction to Bollywood.
Like Filmi Girl, I always find myself siding for the underdog, Jai was that underdog. He was a destitute but ambitious guy who’s been pushed around by others far more than he deserves, I felt for him. I loved him.
Later, I went on the lookout for news about him on the internet, of course its never that easy to find everything about a star you want to know, so I browsed through articles, clicking on anything that sounded interesting, slowly I built up a foundation of other actors, actresses, directors, singers and so on. Some interested me, I wanted to know more so I’d go and buy one of their films, or if they were pretty old, have a look through my parents’ collections. I still don’t know as much as I’d like to but I seem to know enough to understand news articles and know why there is bias.
While I was on the net, I came across Bollywhat and I read comments on the forums about how Bollywood has helped people, some were touching a lot of them mentioned that it made them grow closer to their families which is sweet. I always think family is important as well as true friends, so I quite like KJo films, they are pretty good for escapism. Not that a little reality hurts.
A lot of people criticise Bollywood for its escapist nature… In all honesty, if I wanted reality, I’d read a newspaper (which I do)! Hollywood is fine if you want a break from Bollywood but I wouldn’t want to watch it as often as I do Bollywood, I think the opposite could be said for Hollywood lovers, they should try out Bollywood when they want a break from reality. Neither is better or worse, just depends on your tastes.
I personally like underdog heroes, independent heroines, cruel villains, strong plotlines and plenty of comedy or a poignant film, either is fine.
I saw both of these back to back recently and they are both pretty similar except one I enjoyed far more than the other.
Both are chick flicks, which put me off them right from the beginning, but when I saw no other option (I was at someone else’s house) I thought I’d go ahead.
Both are coming of age stories and have, on one level a pretty similar plot. Both have the spoilt girl turning her life around idea near the end but when it comes to characters, Mean Girls wins straight out, like it does in nearly all of the categories. At least the viewer likes Cady at the beginning for her simplicity, I just felt Georgia was annoying, immature and trying to grow up too fast. The Mean Girls’ characters are also more developed, there are girls like Regina who praise you to your face and then bitch behind your back, however I doubt there are such stupid cronies anywhere in the world. The mean girl from Angus, Thongs… is pretty stereotypical and has hardly been given any thought. Also I wonder why Georgia would want Robbie when he manages to prove he is pretty darn stupid, he sees Lindsay hit Georgia and a couple of kind words from her make him forget all that! Of course there is the obvious ‘it’s pretty obvious I’m stalking you’ but lets ignore that. In Mean Girls, Aaron proves his common sense by seeing through Cady’s facade.
Mean Girls really did make me laugh out loud a couple of times which I wasn’t expecting and was far more than Angus managed to do. The only place I came close to smiling was when she said
“Yeah, I’m gutted”
Anyone who’s seen it, knows what I’m talking about. However, in Mean Girls, not only did I like the idea of confessing all the things that hurt you and you have a problem with, I couldn’t help but laugh when that random girl came on and started to talk and she wasn’t even from that school. I would put spoiler alert but it really isn’t a spoiler.
The acting was good in both films, I liked the friends circle in Angus (although why they named it the ‘Ace Gang’ I’ll never know) even if the only things they talked about were their looks and boys. I also liked the two different groups of friends Cady has in Mean Girls. Performances were excellent all round.
In general Mean Girls wins hands down, Angus isn’t even worth a watch in my opinion!
I started watching this knowing nothing about it, I didn’t have a clue what to expect. I knew Shahrukh Khan was in it and I thought Kajol was in it too, my bad. I guessed that it had a serious tone from the way people spoke of it on forums but didn’t know the theme… Of course I was in for quite a surprise!
Pros
-The first pleasant surprise came when I saw Mani Ratnam was the director, that is always a sign of a good movie. Although I’m not a huge fan of Ram Gopal Verma’s work, I love his sarcastic blogging, the kind of attitude you can only have if you’re famous.
-The plot, not the kind that will lose you if you’re paying attention but it can if you leave your brain at the door.
-The acting, especially by Manisha Koirala, was top notch for most parts. I felt there was a little hamming coming from Shahrukh but overall he shone in the emotionally charged bits. Manisha is like a supernova, an amazing star while she was around but had to die out soon, I thought she was superb in this.
-When AR Rahman and Gulzar are combined the music has to be good, and it didn’t disappoint. I found myself singing along to Chaiyyan Chaiyyan, but one question, who was the girl dancing in it meant to be? Was it Manisha? I couldn’t tell.
Cons
-The major plothole I could find… why did the Indian soldiers do what they did? I don’t want to say anymore and give the game away but anyone who’s seen i knows what I mean. The thing is, none of those questions near the end would arouse if it hadn't happened. At the beginning the locals were complaining about how they had been ignored because of how powerless they are, but they never mentioned the shootings did they? So why did it happen? No country shoots its own innocent civilians unless some psycho like Hitler is in charge and that wasn’t the case in India.
- Manisha seems to constantly have too much make up on in the first half which was annoying the hell out of me.
-I liked the songs but hated the cinematography in some of them, I can understand and appreciate they were trying to try out something new but it looked ok at first but more and more cheesy as time went on.
Overall: I’d say the pros outnumber the cons and so its definitely a good film
Rating: 4/5
All credit for the idea must go to Aspi who first thought of the idea of decoding a poster before the movie is out to see what clues it gave about the plot, characters and setting. I hope he forgives me for copying him… Here’s the link to the original idea.
Badmaash Company
The film I am looking forward to the most…
Here we can see Shahid and Anuskha are the couple but Shahid is bigger than the other three suggesting he’s the main character. Chang is holding a bag of money, probably what they’re after or maybe what they already have, seen as how glitzy all their costumes are. It is set in a city as we can see from the post chandelier and gold background. The tagline suggests the money in Chang’s hand probably wasn’t earned in an honest way. Anuskha wearing silver where everyone else is wearing black may be marking her out as different, possibly purer and less guilty. Anyone got any other ideas?
Rajneeti
We can see immediately its about politics from the garlands and Katrina in full length clothing, not to mention the tagline. They all look pretty photoshopped which could be suggesting none of them fit into the world of politics. While all of are wearing traditional Indian clothes, Ranbir is in a suit suggesting he’s the odd one out and maybe even from abroad, also while others are looking in different directions, he’ds looking at us, maybe because he’s going to be the one who reaches the general public, i.e. us.
Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai
This is a film aimed at the youth which can be seen from the young actors and casual clothes. It has something to do with aliens, seen from the spaceship above Ritesh’s head and the ‘out of this world’ bit in the tagline but this is probably not that important considering. There a love triangle within in the plot which is far more important than the alien angle.
That’s it for today guys!
Well thank God Shahid has denied that previous story on twitter!
Hahahaha not gettin hitched all check da date mornin all have a fun day its a hot day b cool :)
As big a fan I am, I wish he'd spell properly!
Also, the Zoom article about Shahid and Anuskha turns out to just be Shahid acting... or so his publicist says.
Here's a video to lighten the mood:
It is absolutely hilarious! I’d say a bit more but I don’t want to give the game away!
Oh what the hell! *SPOILER* I thought they were trying to trick Shahid all along, poor girl! All of them acted pretty well *SPOILER*
http://www.mid-day.com/entertainment/2010/mar/290310-shahid-student-suicide.htm
A link I got from @Shahid_Online, it really is a desperate problem that needs to be looked into.
I watched Chal Chalein to see their take on the situation and although it was a really dull and dreary film, it did come to light that maybe a government scheme to help both parents and children make the right career choices with their likes and dislikes in mind might help, but in the end, it has to be a decision made by the child with guidance from parents, teachers etc.
I’m glad Shahid has decided to help out but I don’t really know how much he can actually do, I mean he’s only one person, he may be able to convince his fangirls to not take their lives and maybe even those who look at him as role models, I hope he does more than just address the students, maybe he could start up a programme to make students aware of the range of careers available and how achievable they are… not everyone can come to Mumbai and become the next Shahrukh, but may can go into theatre or even teaching with a degree in Performing Arts.
I’ve never known anyone who has committed suicide while still a student, although I know a few who have attempted it and it normally has been because of exam pressures, so would there be any good in abolishing exams altogether? We need qualifications but not at the cost of our lives!
I was always told I could go down any route I wanted to as long as I’d thought it through, knew what I was doing and would never have to rely on others later in life and I am thankful to my parents for that…
When the pressure gets too much, or an exam goes badly I guess it’s best to just take a couple of minutes to zone out and really just view the big picture… how important is it in the end? Can you not move on? Also parents need to be more supportive in allowing their children to take whichever route they like and are talented in… Its good to see in India, there are more and more students going down the Arts route unlike before when it was only considered ‘proper’ to go down the Sciences route, although I could be considered a hypocrite because I went down the Sciences route but that was because that is where my talent and interest lies, I use my creative side when writing stories or even blogging!
“No job is little” This is so true but it is lost on so many parents because, as is to be expected, they want the best for their child, but as Madhavan said in 3I, it’s better to live poor but happy, than rich and discontented…
I really have no clue why I typed all this… It has very little to do with Bollywood!
The trailer, we Shahid Kapoor and Anuskha Sharma fans have all been waiting for is out! And boy is it good… although even I have to admit it does remind me a little of Bunty aur Babli… here’s to hoping it’s not a copy:
The music is sounding good, what with incorporating the words badmaash and badmaashi into it…
I like the avatars, I seriously couldn’t recognise Shahid as the bald man at first! This one seems pretty sure not to disappoint! I’m interested to see their demise… because I’m pretty sure there will be one, just how?
And OMG squee! Shahnushie kiss! Meiyang and Vir seem to have pretty entertaining characters too…
‘Picture bana te… Madhuri ko sign katre hai…’ I wish!
‘I promise you once you have done business with us, you’ll never do business again…’ ‘Sorry?’ ‘Er anybody else?’ hehe
What do you guys think?
Just on a side note, I just hit 200 hits! YEAH! But then again, probably more than half of them are from me anyway!
Hey guys, I have a lot of work to get on with so I thought I’d leave you with some buzz to think about…
My Shahid dose… Badmaash Company promos will come out in two days! There is a rumour that Shahid had a tantrum about wearing a vest for a video, has anyone else noticed how these stories come out months after the actual shooting of the film?
The rumour about Freida being the next Bond girl is false
Ranbir and Katz will be going to colleges to promote Rajneeti
Lol, Karan has decided to respond to the ‘gay’ tweets!
SRK and Saif would like to be able to dance like Shahid, welcome to my world!
I’m looking forward to Saat Khoon Maaf more and more! Naseeruddin and his son will both play Priyanka’s husbands in it! How much more awesome can it get?
Love Sex Aur Dhokha looks interesting, I want to see which route this movie takes…
Just to finish off… some song trailers from Paathshaala!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVRsmoydr_Y
Good to see the singer too! On a side note… doesn’t the person leaning over the singer look a bit like a young AR Rahman? This all looks so sweet, its a it of a ‘making of…’ video too
Right, from watching this I can tell I probably will cry watching this…
http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=OJkNXFlblbQ&feature=channel
Signing off… KEEP IT REAL hehe
I had expectations from this one, it was the first album I was looking forward to after MNIK so I was hoping it wouldn't disappoint and in all honesty it didn't!Aye Khuda is easily my favourite and has a young and calm feel to it that seems to be lacking a bit in music nowadays, I also adore the lyrics of the chorus…
Bekaraar is alright I guess, I like the background music a lot but the singer felt a bit screechy to my untrained ears.
Mujhe Teri stood out because of its soft, melodious feel and I can’t wait to see how this feeling is captured onscreen!
Khushnuma has the modern feel to balance out the traditional sound of Teri Marzi… plus the chorus is very catchy but I doubt it’ll go down in history.
Teri Marzi has a strong traditional vibe that I like in the background of a video but not all that much just to listen to, but all in all an ok song.
The theme tune is rocking! The way it changes from the Aye Khuda background music is interesting, it also gets in your head to stay there, I also think its sweet to get kids to sing it.
The new thing about this album is that all the singer are people who normally compose and sing a little, making it one of its kind… I liked it a lot and I think Aye Khuda might be here to stay!
He’s a living, breathing Rancho… he’s none other than Aamir Khan, who has turned 45 today!
This man is awesome! He’s willing to do a range of films and puts his whole life into the performance, perfectionism defined!
Let’s see what he has to say:
"I am looking forward to spending time with my family. My kids will be coming to spend the day with me. I have no plans for a special celebration, I am just going to be with the family. I have turned 45 today but mentally I am 18-20 years old."
I think he’s a bit too experienced to think like an 18 to 20 year old, but if that’s what drives him, so be it! His 44th year was a sad and happy one combined… on one hand there was 3 Idiots creating celluloid history, but on the other there was the death of his father…
I wish him all the best for the coming year and hope he continues to impress with his range of films and great performances and can move on in life with good memories of his father…
Filmfare disappointed pretty badly on a range of different level so I won’t go on for too long…
Awards
As most people have gathered, I’m not too happy with some of the recipients, so lets not dwell on that…
Hosting
SRK and Saif disappointed yaar! I was expecting a lot more from the epic duo… They seemed determined to get a cheap joke in everywhere at all costs. But all the same, my favourite jokes were:
1. “Raj, then Rahul, then Raj, then Rahul…”
2. “Bloooo, bloooo” hey we all have to be childish sometimes!
But overall they managed to make me smile occasionally. But the lady of the day must go to Vidya Balan for her hilariously witty retorts to SRK and Saif, does anyone think they might have been decided on beforehand?
“Kuch kuch hota hai… Karan Johar ke liye” “I’ll choose death”
I thought the whole Neil Nitin Mukesh thing was over the top… really, do they have to sink so low for drama and TRPs?
Performances
This was the only bit that didn’t disappoint, even if I was annoyed at the ‘Aamirs’ in Kareena’s performance. However, I think Shahid and Katrina gave their career best performances!
I know I’ve posted Katrina’s before but she actually DANCED so I have to post it again!
Shahid’s tribute was frigging unbelievable! Fine, no one can beat the legend, but Shahid put in so much work in that, now I’ll stop before I get too fangirly.
The Golden Kela Awards is India’s reply to the Razzies of Hollywood… here’s the winners and my thoughts.
Worst Film - Kambakkht Ishq
In complete agreement, I’m lucky to have survived that one.
Worst Director - Ashutosh Gowariker
I thought What’s Your Raashee was meaningful at heart but just far too long…
Worst Actor - Harman Baweja (Whats Your Rashee)
Well, if you compare his performance to Akshay’s in CC2C, he seems to be Amitabh Bachchan himself!
Worst Actress - Kareena Kapoor (Kambakkht Ishq)
Yes, I can understand this choice, all she did was be herself onscreen ;)
Worst Supporting Actor - Ranvir Shorey (Chandni Chowk to China )
I thought it was passable, but I can’t think of someone who deserved it more… any ideas?
Worst Supporting Actress – Deepika Padukone (Chandni Chowk to China the role as meow meow)
Oh come on, it wasn’t that bad! I thought she played it quite well, not her fault if the script and character development was weak.
Worst Debutant Male - Jakky Bhagnani
No comment.
Worst Debutant Female - Shruti Hassan
WTF!?! I adore the way this girl looks and her acting isn’t half bad! Shruti was one of my favourite debutants of the year!
Worst Pair - Rani Mukerji and Shahid Kapoor
Sounds like they didn’t see Lara and Sanjay in Blue then… These two had some great chemical moments :)
Most ‘Original’ Story Award - Dil Bole Hadippa (Copied from She’s The Man)
Unfortunately, I agree.
Baawra Ho Gaya Hai Ke (Have you gone nuts) - Denise Richards and Sylvester Stallone
Why nuts? Should Hollywood actors and actresses be discouraged from working in Bollywood? It’s a different issue when we consider which film they started off in though.
Most Irritating Song – Love mera Hit Hit (Billu)
I agree with this because it was annoyingly cheesy and more annoyingly catchy. :(
But there were others just as bad… Marjaani and Om Mangalam for a start.
Most Atrocious Lyrics – Love me Love me (Wanted)
The lyrics were pretty terrible, so I’m in agreement.
The Insensitivity Award - Chandni Chowk to China
Where was this insensitive? Yes, some bits were inaccurate and WTFish, but not really insensitive…
When Did this Come Out – FOX
I don’t really et this one, could someone please explain?
Special Awards include:
Lajja Award for Worst Treatment of a Serious Issue – Kabir Khan and Aditya Chopra (New York)
I thought New York was quite an awesome movie and quite sensitive too, so I think this one should have gone to someone else, but who? That is the question…
Dara Singh Award For Worst Accent - Abhiskek Bachchan (Delhi 6)
Or maybe Shahid Kapoor for his “XYZ rocks man” in Dil Bole Hadippa (yes I criticize him too sometimes)
Black Award for Emotional Blackmail- Amithab Bachchan (Paa)
Agreed. That was the heights
Bas Kijiye Bahut Ho Gaya Award (stop making the films ) - Madhur Bhandarkar
OMG, why???? Just because Jail was an utter bore? Has everyone forgotten Fashion?
Critic’s Award – Taran Adarsh
What on Earth is this one about?
None of the winners were present to accept their awards. lol
I realised I hadn’t covered them all in my last post so here’s another with hopefully all the ones I missed.
Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai
How cute is this?!? Just the kind of film I like to relax and watch with the rest of my family… the last one being 3 Idiots. I’m pretty sure this won’t be as good but I can’t help but look forward to it.
Housefull
This could so easily go the Dostana way of turning a serious and sensitive issue into a comedy… I have no problem with this as long as its sensitive (which I doubt this one is).
I can’t tell if this will be about polygamy considering three boys are shown too. I couldn’t help but laugh when Jiah said she was a traditional Indian girl, overall I feel this’ll be mostly the slapstick Akshay is famous for…
Right Yaa Wrong
Looks interesting! An action film that has detective undertones starring Sunny Deol, Irfan Khan and Koko has to be good right?
Hum Tum Aur Ghost
I have nothing to say on this one… I like the actors but it looks like someone tried a bit too hard to combine comedy, horror nd thriller and made a mess of it!
Well Done Abba
This looks rubbish! What on earth is this really meant to be about? All I hear is ‘Well Done Abba’
Milenge Milenge
I have very little hopes for this one despite it being a Shahid film. Its old and outdated so I feel it’ll do more harm han good. Also there’s a rumour it’s a copy of When Harry Met Sally, so I’m unhappy about that too…
A song trailer was released too, the song is quite catchy!
Prince
This does look surprisingly like Bourne Identity but it’s smooth and classy so I have my hopes up for this one, the ‘day I die’ bit is intriguing.
And that’s enough for today…
That’s a terrible pun I know… but its still irresistible!
Paathshaala
I love the song especially because of the lyrics!
Here’s some of the older promos for those who might have missed them:
This one looks great and I’m sure it’s going to touch my heart because kids generally do…
Love, Sex Aur Dhoka
I don’t know what to think of this one, on one level it looks interesting and gritty, but then again on some levels it seems hypocritical of the makers to advertise against sex by using sex… And also I’m not surprised to see Ekta Kapoor’s name in the list of producers.
The uncensored version is pretty sickening:
Rajneeti
We might finally see some impressive acting from Ranbir and Katrina!
Or it might be just a remake of all the films that have been made about politics already… And Ranbir is smoking which is something I strictly don’t approve of!
Kites
I’m really looking forward to this one! Barbara Mori looks stunning…
Have a look at Hrithik’s expression at 1:57, that makes the whole thing worth watching! I’m just not happy with the comments Hrithik made about trying to be more like Hollywood, why can Bollywood just not be?
Now all that’s left is Badmaash Company, I hope and pray (not exactly) that the trailer releases very soon!
To celebrate Filmi Girl returning to the US and starting her gossip posts again, I thought I’d do a buzz post of my own…
Here’s a middling review of Road, Movie, I’m not sure I want to see it anymore…
Vidya thinks link ups are fun… only if the article is written well!
One of the bits that show up in the Filmfare promo is the Neil vs SRK bit. Neil sounds really innocent here. Good to hear it was all a joke.
Equality for women FTW! Here’s an interesting take on the women of Bollywood… I think the Chak De girls stand out and Priyanka from Fashion
I’m part of a community called Olive Cookie and there, there has been a debate on Shahid Kapoor vs Ranbir Kapoor. Who gets your vote and why?
Katrina gave her best performance ever at Filmfare!
Here’s collection of my favourite photo shoots of stars where they have been dressed and made up to look picture perfect…
Kareena looking stunning in a beautiful gown, only the hair spoils it for me.
I love everything about this one: the outfit, the pose the background. She reminds me of the head girl at St. Trinians here.
A snazzy picture of the photogenic Amrita Rao, loving the pose!
Hot hot hot hot hot! Gargh! I have no other word for it!
Our pretty Priyanka Chopra rocking the short hair here, interesting pose, but I’m not too fond the dress.
The boy is born for the camera! I like what he’s wearing too.
I admit we can’t see what he’s wearing but this is still such an awesome photo! How do they do those tattoos? Are they fake or edited on?
Here’s another born for the camera! I like the use of shadow on his face.
The first photo shoot of the return of the golden couple! I’ll admit I don’t like what Kajol is wearing here… and her eyeliner is far too thick!
My favourite from that photo shoot, but I think its been photoshopped, Kajol’s arms aren’t that thin…
This photo has a bindaas feel to it from the unkempt hair, the smile and the angle of her head. Sonam proves herself to be photogenic once again, to top it off, I love the pearl necklace!
Sonam in a gorgeous Indian dress, in front of an equally gorgeous background. I want that dress!
She started off as a model and is reaching new heights in her career, the dazzling Deepika Padukone is stunning the lens once again here. I like the simplicity of what she’s wearing and her hairstyle.
If anyone can think of a picture that should be included in this post, post them or a link to them in the comments section below. All credit will go to you.
And now to finish off with a picspam of Shahid!
