thoughts, opinions, ideas & then some more...

Don Na Banaata Dobara

2011-12-27T12:25:00.000-08:00

Of the many ridiculous moments in Don 2, this one by far, takes the cake --

Three Interpol officers, an expressionless Om Puri, a clueless firang and a ravishing Priyanka Chopra have just stepped out of Germany's RBI equivalent, the Deutsche Zentrale Bank. And suddenly there's an explosion inside the building. The three officers stand motionless, looking up to the flames emanating from the glass facade and then Priyanka coolly flips open her cell phone and delivers an absolutely killer line -- "Let me make some calls and find out what's going on"

I wish I had Farhan Akhtar's cell number, for I too was itching to ask the same question. Over and over again.

For it is very difficult to understand, the underlying sentiment behind Don 2, both the movie and the character. Is the movie a sequel? Is it a full on action flick? Or is it a mere extension of the franchise that was never built on original ground to start with?

And is Don the character a suave cool underworld king, a gun-toting Jack Bauer rip-off (from 24, the TV series), a poor man's James Bond, or an irritating, sneering version of Ethan Hunt?

"All of the above", for both sets of questions, is a very bad answer.

Farhan Akhtar, the director, has had a mixed bag career so far. He has given us two of the best movies of our generation, the path-breaking Dil Chahta Hai and the phenomenal Lakshya, a sure-shot entry in my all time top 10 list. The original remake of Don didn't live up to my expectations, but at least had wonderful music, was entertaining in parts and it was fun to see SRK walk down the Bachchan lane. But with Don2, the graph alarmingly nosedives to pedestrian levels.

I guess Farhan needs to go back to the drawing board and thankfully doesn’t have to look too far for inspiration. Zoya Akhtar is fast maturing into a fine director and I think it would really help for him to tap into her reservoir of relatable and interesting characterizations, something Farhan himself executed beautifully in his first two ventures.

It seems like when Farhan the actor has impressively grown and dished out one good performance after another (Rock On, Luck By Chance, ZNMD), Farhan, the director is going the other way. The yin-yang of life, I guess.

Don2 fails at the every level -- script, screenplay and execution. The writing is juvenile and the dialogues are unintentionally funny and Don’s character graph is shoddily inconsistent. For a movie that places so much emphasis on the titular character, this is a cardinal mistake.

I can see how the plot could’ve looked promising on paper. But it doesn’t move far ahead from its initial promise. The movie starts on a decent note, the first action set piece (fantastically shot) is interesting enough to keep you hooked, but that’s about it. There isn't much to write home about thereafter. The “perfect crime” is a clear mish-mash of some very easily recognizable all-time Hollywood blockbusters and doesn’t impress at all. Edge of the seat? Most definitely not.

That SRK isn't an understated actor is known to all and sundry. That he is prone to bouts of overacting is also no secret. But, watching him overact and pretend THIS hard to be cool and menacing is taking overacting to another level. Right from the first scene to the last, SRK tried very hard to convince us that he indeed is “the” Don. The winter coats, spiky hairdo and some very cool glares do lend some chutzpah to the character, but SRK unnecessarily pushes it too far with a constant smirk on his face. And the result is a Don who loses his charm, gets on your nerves and alienates you the viewer from the onscreen proceedings. Cardinal mistake # 2.

Game over, SRK. Time to learn some new tricks. FAST.

A charming Lara Dutta and a sophisticated, though clumsy Aly Khan bring some much needed freshness to the franchise and thank heavens for no Arjun Rampal. I guess that is the perhaps the only thing better than Don(1). Priyanka Chopra had a much better role in the original and is reduced to mouthing some very corny lines here and trying to act “tough”, though she looks a million bucks. Om Puri & Boman Irani clearly need some solitude and time to self-introspect. What are two such fine actors being reduced to??

Hrithik Roshan, in a suave cameo, gives us tantalizing glimpses of what it takes to live up to an enigmatic and engaging character, leaving us ruing the moment he pulls the mask over his head.

Another phenomenal disappointment is the sheer lack of an OST. I mean, where are the bloody songs?! Shankar Ehsaan Loy are so disappointing, that it is even hard to put it into words. The original Don remake had a kick-ass soundtrack, even if three of the numbers were re-mixed from the original Kalyanji-Anandji score. For a movie that tries to build an aura around its central protagonist and the plot, the music ought to play a very key part. Don 2 miserably fails on this account. I couldn’t recall a *single* line from any song as I walked out of the movie, and if that isn’t disappointing, I don’t know what is.

I somewhere read that for the longest time, Farhan Akhtar wasn’t convinced of making a sequel. I so wish he had stuck to his guns.

And the number-plate of the bike in the final sequence notwithstanding, to make or not make Don3 is not even a question.

Rating: * (primarily, for the slick cinematography)

barbaad kare, alfaaz mere..

2011-11-18T23:35:00.000-08:00

the words, they destroy – Precisely what the writing does to the movie.

First things first – It is an absolute pleasure to see Shammi Kapoor in a deep-blue raw-silk kurta, the expressions on his face and the glint in his eye, magically conveying every sur of the shenaai. A real Rockstar, if there ever was one.

The rest of the movie, unfortunately, didn't delight me as much as I hoped it would. I really wanted to like it. And I did try to. When the intermission lights flickered back on, I resisted the urge to get carried away with the “disappointed” emotion running inside me. And then, it went further downhill..

I am all for complex, layered stories. Stories which defy convention. Stories that are not linear. Stories that prompt me to read between the lines. But please don’t give me a story that fails to connect at a basic level. A story that is shallow, in spite of all the detailed characterization and drama.

Passionate love stories can be very intriguing. And enjoyable. Think “Dil Se”. I know a lot of people loathe the movie, but the chemistry of the lead pair, the raw madness, the passion, the junoon – just scorches the screen. And what’s most important is that neither the protagonists, nor the story, tries too hard to do this. It unfolds naturally. And that is where Rockstar loses its brownies. It tries too hard.

Janardhan Jakad, the character played by Ranbir, is all focused to make it big as a musician. And then all of a sudden, he drops everything and starts romping around town with Heer, a girl he barely knows and has nothing in common with. And moreover, forsakes an opportunity for a break in the music world, which he so desperately seeks and heads off to Kashmir, to attend Heer’s wedding. In what capacity? As a friend? Confidant? Man Friday? Pseudo-boyfriend? Or just because the director wanted to film a montage of stunning landscapes and depict a so-short-its-over-before-you-even-realize Kashmiri wedding?

And coming to Heer – Agreed that she’s comfortable revealing her inner-self and hidden desires to Janardhan, since they don’t know each other too well and she doesn't stand the risk of being judged. But then why push it as far as prancing around with Janardhan hours before her wedding, doing a “Kashmir Ki Kali” with him while her friends merrily capture YouTube videos? Pretty much “to hell with my to-be husband, let’s cavort around while you are here”!

My biggest grouse with the movie however, is the romance, the attraction, the connect or lack of thereof between the two characters. And because that is the central premise the movie hopes to hinge on, the rest of it, to me at least, comes across as a farce.

Janardhan, now Jordan (can’t have a Rockstar without a hep name, can we) returns back from Kashmir and is thrown out of his house, lives at the Hazrat Nizamuddin dargah and eventually, two months later, good sense prevails and he moves in with his samosa-sponsoring mentor, Khatana. And this period in exile has brought him a little closer to the divine, made him a better musician – but NOT ONCE in this entire period is Heer referenced – neither in his thoughts, nor his actions and most importantly, not even in his music.

And then suddenly, he is desperate to sacrifice everything and hop onto a free plane ride to Prague? Really? To meet Heer? So much for love.

Yes, love. Probably the most irrational of all emotions. I get it, OK. But am I to believe that what Jordan has for a very-married Heer is love? Or lust? Or just returning the favor, in foreign land, no less - “to hell with your husband, let’s cavort around again while I am here”

After a much hare-brained exit from Prague, what the hell is Jordan angry about? This angry? What’s with suddenly being anti-establishment? Do we have an agenda here? Sadda haq, what the fuck?

And then, the madness intensifies. Negative press, beating up cops, canceled concerts and recordings. Re-enter Heer, marriage crumbling and in the last stage of a terminal disease. And our man goes ballistic once again. And what does he attempt to do the first time he reunites with her in such a condition – kiss her, but of course! The movie spirals into an abyss after this point and the finale culminating in an obscure and violent concert @ Prague is equally baffling.

The true Rockstar of the enterprise is the maestro himself. The combination of Rahman in such tremendous form and Mohit Chahaun doing perhaps the best singing of his life, is sheer genius. One song after the other, the soundtrack grabs you by the scruff of the neck and refuses to let go. The music grows on you when you least expect it to and that’s where-in the beauty lies. Effortlessly, it just seeps into your veins. And then even if you want it to, you cannot resist being drawn into it. The lyrics, by Irshad Kamil are exquisite and according to me, are what lend the x-factor to the album. It’s refreshing to hear such magical lyrics & compositions..Here is an album for the ages.

My most favorite picks of the lot are the fantastically magical and haunting aur ho. You think you’ve heard it all from Rahman and then he comes up with this. Uff. Reserve the Best Playback Singer trophies for Mohit for this one, I say. And then there are the divinely blissful strains of kun faaya kun. Interspersing guitar chords with a qawwali rhythm achieves such a magical sound, that it's impossible to put into words. This is stuff is to be cherished life-long and be thankful for.

Coming back to the movie, my heart really goes out to Ranbir. While not his career-best performance (that honor is reserved for the super-awesome Rocket Singh Salesman of The Year), here is an actor who has put his heart & soul and tried his best to infuse life into Jordan. But criminally, the character is so shoddily written, that it really doesn't allow him to take it beyond a point. Had the script and screenplay been tighter, Ranbir as Jordan could have become a memorable character in the annals of Bollywood. Lost opportunity, this one. And that’s what pains even more. All eyes on Anurag Basu now to pull off an ace with Barfee and give Ranbir a movie worthy of his acting prowess. The guy certainly deserves better.

What Rockstar also severely lacks - the most important ingredient of any love story, is a leading lady that makes you fall head over heels in love and makes your heart skip a beat. While Nargis might look ravishing in some scenes because of her sheer screen presence, it really is difficult to look beyond her pouted lips and her Katrina hangover. The acting, unfortunately, is a huge downer. It is a pity that Ranbir cannot be paired with Kareena, else she would've probably taken this to another level altogether.

Imtiaz Ali, the captain of the ship, while well-intentioned and wanting to narrate an unconventional love story, really botches up the execution. And coming from him, Rockstar disappoints even more than it otherwise would have. Really, socha na tha!

There is a very thin line between flawed characters and flawed characterizations. Rockstar criminally crosses over to the other side and then there’s no looking back.

Rating: ** (one for Ranbir, one for Rahman)

jo darr gaya, samjho marr gaya

2011-03-29T17:20:00.000-07:00

Salim-Javed coined the phrase in the early 1970's - but never before has it been so applicable and so true.

Today is the battle of nerves. Of who first bats an eyelid. Of tension. Of drama. Of passion. Of emotion.

Whoever says this is just another game is freaking KIDDING themselves.

Keep aside the politics of it all. Keep aside the mass-hysteria in the media. Keep aside everything else. This is a bloody knock-out game, a World Cup semi-final at that. Winner takes all. Loser is scarred for life. Yes, for life.

We know, coz we've been there before. Scratch beneath the surface and the wounds haven't healed.

1996 v/s Sri Lanka was absolute tragedy. 2003 v/s Australia was like a bad nightmare.

My generation has grown up on muted visuals of Kapil Dev lifting the Prudential Cup at Lords in 1983. And since then, the burning desire to see another Indian captain lift the biggest trophy of them all has only intensified with each passing tournament. Several inflicted heartaches later, it still is an unrealized dream.

And that is why today's India v/s Pakistan semi-final @ Mohali is not just a game. It is a step towards a shot at glory.

Refute it all you may, but there still is something about your team being called 'World Champions'. Number # 1 Test side and all that doesn't even come close.

This is what matters.

The last World Cup knockout game against Pakistan was 15 years ago, but is still fresh in our memories like it happened yesterday. Ajay Jadeja played the innings of his life and Aamir Sohail will go to his grave regretting the wild swipe off Venkatesh Prasad which led to his downfall.

Take a look at the scorecard of that game here and carefully glance over the team sheet.

Everyone, but one man, has turned into a coach, a commentator or simply slipped into oblivion.

But that one man is still playing so magnificently it's as if the years haven't rolled by. The steel in his eyes, the fire in his belly, the calm head on his shoulders and his passion for the game have even further intensified. If that was humanly possible.

Today, as the team steps out for the National Anthem, a billion pair of eyes will be on that one man - Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. Watching him sing aloud the anthem today will probably be worth more than anything else.

Sure there will be a World Cup every four years. And sure India might go on to win another one or two in our lifetimes. But there will be no Tendulkar. And there won't be anyone like him either.

The greatest cricketer, ever, deserves to win cricket's biggest prize. And no, he wouldn't want the team to win it for him - that'll be trivializing his stature. He will want to win it for the country. And God willing, he will. Watching him do a victory lap in Bombay will probably be one of the best moment of our lives. If not THE best moment.

But first, we have a job on hand today, to crush Pakistan to the depths of oblivion. To make a statement. To let Sri Lanka know that we're coming to avenge that evening @ the Eden.

My gut tells me that SRT will have a huge role to play today, but won't score a 100.

Something tells me that the angels up there, watching over the little man, have written the perfect script, bringing it all together and culminating the epic exactly where it all began - In Bombay.

The Wankhede, all decked up and pretty, awaits its most favorite son with open arms. That is where ultimate glory will be achieved. That is where the 100th ton will be scored.

There cannot be a different end to this fairy tale.

Meanwhile, Shahid Afridi and his men better beware. The weather prediction says that a dust-storm is expected at Mohali today. Deja vu, anyone?

And trust Salim-Javed to brilliantly sum it all up - loha garam hai, maar do hathoda!

rang rangeela parjaatantar!

2010-08-14T01:21:00.000-07:00

To laugh or to cry - that is the real question.

A tinge of sadness permeates through your body as the laughter dies down and you're surprised that your eyes are moist. Tears of happiness, most certainly not.

Charlie Chaplin couldn't have summed it up better when he said - "Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot". Anusha Rizvi's brilliantly written and directed Peepli [Live] is a superb testimony to that fact and to Chaplin's movie making style of black-humored slapstick that ends up moving you. Irrespective of how funny the proceedings are.

Intelligently multi-layered, where at one end it is as in your face as it gets and on the other, its subtely and underplaying of the most key moments leaves you alone with your thoughts and prompts you to think. To feel. To look within.

I am not making any claims that this movie will change anything, but for us, the torch-bearers of a very shallow generation of over-achievers, it prompts us to pause for a second and look at India behind the shining.

Weaving a simple storyline into a compelling screenplay is fine art and on that front PL score big-time. On paper, this one's a wafer-thin story. I wonder how Anusha would've narrated it to anyone and how she would've presented this to Aamir (via email, apparently) that it made the actor agree to produce it. Would love to see that draft, really.

Peepli [Live] reinforces how tolerant and numb we've become towards corruption, that is now an almost indispensable part of our social fabric. As Ahuja (Om Puri's character in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, Peepli [Live]'s spiritual predecessor) puts it - "cement mein ret to sabhi milaate hain, ye to ret mein cement milaata hai!" Really, it isn't about whether one is corrupt or not but about how much is the extent of corruption. Commonwealth Games, anyone?

Also it is a reflection of our cut throat unapologetic use-and-throw attitudes that have become so commonplace and 'natural', that sometimes we don't even end up realizing it.

I guess everyone pretty much knows what the story is - the beauty is in how the material is handled. And in the casting of the actors that take the written word to an absolutely different level. Raghuvir Yadav as the good for nothing elder brother is almost born for the part. Omkar Das Manekpuri playing Natha, the central protagonist, uses his form, facial expressions and body language to convey his confused state of mind so brilliantly, that for once, the dialogues almost seem an after-thought.

However, the razor sharp lines shine through that amazing old lady who plays the bed-ridden but fantastically fire-branded Amma, that it never once seems that she is performing for the camera. An absolute natural. Even the lady playing Dhania, Natha's wife acts wonderfully well.

The similarity between the TV journalist characters and real characters we see on TV day in and day out is no coincidence and increases their believability, if anything else.

A touch of directorial class is the Hori Mahato track that is beautifully woven into the narrative and is so subtlety symbolic, that it might not register an impact with cine-goers used to hearing their news at unbelievably loud decibel levels.

Talking of decibel levels, watching the journalists scream hoarse into their microphones, I couldn't help but think about the peaceful times when there was only DD News at 9. Now, there are 90 national news channels blaring prime-time jarring sound-bytes on everything about gaon-ki-gori to Shilpa Shetty's blouse-ki-dori!

des mera has been one of my most favorite Indian Ocean numbers and it finally gets the kind of mass popularity it so richly deserves. It is the central theme song of the enterprise and the lyrics suit the proceedings to the tee.

And finally, kudos to Aamir Khan for believing in the subject and giving it the kind of platform only he could have. Looking at the unanimous accolades, this might just be his ticket to going one step beyond Lagaan at the Academy Awards. Only time will tell.

For now, switch off the TV and head to your nearest theatre. Really, aaj tak maut ki itni raunak nahin dekhi hogi!

Sam's rating - 3/5

Déjà vu, of the worst kind

2009-08-14T03:43:00.000-07:00

It happened in November 2008 once and now the story is repeating itself all over again.

Both instances involved two brilliant & delightful UTV movies –Oye Lucky, Lucky Oye, then and now, Kaminey. As Dibakar Banerjee said in an interview post OLLO’s release, “har picture ka ek bhagwaan hota hai” – guess these two movies share their deity.

The 26/11 terror weekend brought the entire city down to its knees for almost 3-4 days. Everyone was glued, watching the most horrific reality show unfold itself on national TV. Going to watch a movie in the theatres was the last thing on anyone’s mind. Oye Lucky opened to single digit % bookings over its first weekend and though it recovered with word of mouth, the damage had pretty much been done. Dibakar Banerjee most wonderful second offing, for all the cult status it has gathered since, wasn’t able to rake in the box-office moolah and get the eyeballs it so richly deserved.

And now, swine flu happens. The government hits the panic button and shuts down all schools and colleges for a week and all cinema halls for 3 days. I was just about to get online on Wednesday evening and book my tickets for the Friday evening show for Kaminey, when I heard the dreadful news on TV. I almost sunk. Aug 14 wasn’t gonna turn out the day I was so lipsmackingly looking forward to. Kaminey was going to enthrall everyone through its opening weekend, except for us flu-mania-stuck denizens of Bombay and Pune. I mean, yes, the swine flu scare is pretty real, but still. I am still not able to explain it to myself.

I don’t remember the last time I wished for the weekend to just zip by in a flash and so eagerly waited for Sunday to arrive.

The reviews for Kaminey have started flowing in and I am not one bit surprised by the unanimously positive reactions. I have yet resisted reading any review in detail, have skimmed through the titles and the ratings at the end. Don’t want to pollute my mind with any kind of details that will dampen the Nirvana.

The promos and the kick-ass soundtrack had set the benchmarks way too high anyways. The movie was definitely gonna be all that and much more. And am so glad it is. After all, it’s a Vishal Bhardwaj product.

Yes, having such unreal expectations from anyone is pretty insane, but then you watch any 10 minutes of The Blue Umbrella and you know that the man is sheer genius and that your heart won’t settle for anything mediocre. For all of you who haven’t watched this absolute gem of a movie, please do yourselves a favor and rent a DVD this weekend.

Meanwhile, the Kaminey experience is still two agonizing days away. The weekend has never seemed so long before.

Adieu, PDX

2009-06-03T05:38:00.000-07:00

What a moment to be writing this. Sitting @ the PDX airport, 5.40 in the morning, another 45 minutes to go for my flight to take off.

Dunno when I will be back. Dunno if I will be back. But then as life has been over the last 3-4 years, one lesson I've learnt is to not discount out anything.

13 eventful months. 13 months, in a city, that everyone down in sunny California raised their eyebrows to. "Portland, you leaving the Bay Area for Portland! Do you know the kinda weather that's up there? Blah, blah, blah"

To be honest, I was a lil skeptical to begin with. And it wasn't love-at-first-sight either. But theng gradually, as the city began to seep into my veins, I flipped. Completely. By the old-school charm, the green and most importantly, the calm & peace that Portland had to offer.

And the wonderfully warm people I met, only added to the charm. Some absolute gems, really. I hope the friendships last a lifetime.

After Bombay, Portland is the closest to where I've felt like being @ home. How I'm feeling @ the moment is how I feel everytime I take a flight outta Bombay. Its difficult to believe that another city evokes the same emotions. But it does.

Anyways, life is all about whole-heartedly embracing the change. So here we are. Goodbye, my dear city. And thank you for being such a wonderful host. I really couldn't have asked for more.

Wherever life takes me, I shall always cherish the memories you've given me. Always.

jab we met

2009-04-09T20:03:00.000-07:00

I've been terribly delayed in writing this piece. Actually an entire month, to be precise.

Guys may be supposed to be bad with dates and all, but I for sure cannot forget the day my life changed for the better, forever. When everything I was hoping & praying for just magically fell in place, in a manner much better than I had ever envisaged. The day when coffee @ the Cafe Coffee Day tasted better than it ever has.

That evening, she was someone was I so eagerly looking forward to meet. We had spoken for hours at end on the phone, typed away relentlessly on gtalk, twiddled our thumbs composing SMS smileys almost every single day, and in the process, traversed an emotional journey that perhaps neither of us thought we would undertake in such fashion. But then life had other ideas.

Sure there were flashes of logical realization along the way - was this the right this to do?Without even having met each other once? What about practicality?

But somehow, the questions didn't last for too long. Before we knew it, we were back on the phone. Day by day, one conversation after another, we were comfortably seeping into each others' lives.

As time passed, the questions got more serious - what IF this is not it? How much baggage have we accumulated over four months for us to be able to shed that and move on, as we are supposed to? Are there any "wise" answers to such questions? Isn't this what is called behaving immaturely? Again, there was something that was keeping us both in it. Something that kept us hooked on. What, we really didn't know.

And then finally, as they say, the right time came. We met. And it was as if we had known each other forever. There was no apprehension, the body language was super comfortable. It was like two long lost friends catching up. Could totally relate to each other. Meeting each other in person had turned out to be more wonderful than we could have ever thought.

Today, we are such indispensable parts of each others' lives that it seems weird to think of a life without each other, whenever it existed.

It was evening of the 9th of March when Renu and I first met. When the glint in our eyes and the smile on our lips just said it all. To think of it, neither of us really popped the big question. Both of us just knew that we were always meant to be together.

Someone up there has hand-held us all the way through and here we were are, so eagerly looking forward to share our the rest of our lives with each other. Thank you sooo very much - it really couldn't have been scripted better.

Serendipity now has a new meaning.

the bells are ringing...

2009-03-16T06:10:00.000-07:00

all lines on this route are engaged!
please try after some time :)

virtual reality

2009-03-03T16:53:00.001-08:00

just five more days to a Monday I am so looking forward to...

keep the faith!!

fuper!

2009-02-25T14:55:00.000-08:00

One of the highlights of the drive to Seattle over the weekend was getting to see the trailer of Vishal Bhardwaj's Kaminey.

And if the trailer (and the soundtrack) are anything to go by, we have a cracker of a movie on our hands! Am lipsmackingly looking forward to this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1HcanzUqf0

Releases June 5 - dhan-tan-naa!!

you missed the salt, Rakeysh

2009-02-23T23:05:00.000-08:00

Imagine standing at a roadside chaat thela in puraani Dilli, all set to savor gol-gappas, or paani-puri as they call it in my home town. Your taste buds are waiting to explode in a trance, you can hardly control the slurpp dripping from your mouth.

The bhaiya-ji carefully prepares each puri, deftly breaking its center crust, adding smashes potatoes & chana, dipping it thru various chutneys, garnishing it with a lil dahi, sev and what-have-you and serves the first morsel, which you eagerly bite into. Your eyes roll up with the anticipation of the taste, but then reality strikes - somethings amiss. There's no salt. And the entire taste just comes undone.

The optimist in you waits for the next puri, expecting things to be perfect the second time around. But then again, no salt. The wait begins again and before you know, you've gulped down the entire serving, waiting for that pinch of namak which would bring it all together. Alas, your wish just remains that - a wish. An outing that should have been a lip-smackingly chatpata experience, leaves you with that utterly disappointing feeling of yaar, maza nahin aaya. So near, yet so far.

That, is exactly how I felt as I walked out of Delhi 6. A wonderful opportunity lost.

I am perfectly fine with the movie not having a very strong "story" per se. Even if it were a collection of fleeting moments of great cinema, I wouldn't have been so disappointed. What bugged me was that suddenly in the last 30-40 minutes, Mehra hurriedly tries to force a story, a preachy and overly simplified one at that, into the narrative and even more hurriedly drives the movie to a very disappointing and unfathomable climax. Not done, just not done.

Rang De Basanti, despite the implausibility of the climax, worked because the story was leading up to its finale all through the second-half. The purpose was defined the moment Madhavan's character dies in the plane crash - not way towards the end, like is the case with Delhi 6.

As much as I don't want to compare D6 with RDB, I can't help but notice the thematic similarity of the plot points - the protagonist being a foreigner visiting India with a purpose that is somewhere related to his previous generation, an array of interesting and diverese characters, discovering India through the eyes of the protagonist, the central fulcrum of the story hinged on one of India's many problems and ultimately, the sacrifice of one or more lives for the particular cause -- the two movies are structured pretty much the same.

Anyways, back to Delhi 6 - Another issue I had was the forced romance. As a viewer, I just didn't see Roshan falling for Bittu, or any situation that justified him uttering the shocking "I am incomplete with you" line at the end. Pretty unconvincing, at least as far as I was concerned. It would have been so much better if there was no romantic track at all. At least the movie would've stayed consistent.

Another let down was how Mehra failed to effectively use a massively brilliant Rahman soundtrack. He has not done enough justice to the two best songs of the lot by not giving them the kinda visuals and treatment they so thoroughly deserved - rehna tu & maula mere maula. Cardinal, absolutely cardinal. However, he does make up for it to some extent with the way he has conceptulized dil gira dafaatan against a juxtaposed backdrop of Times Square and Chandni Chowk- if ever there was a real dream sequence, this is it. Brilliantly done. genda phool is also pretty neatly picturized, impromptu jig, et al.

But to give credit where its due, Delhi 6 will always be remember for its stellar, absolutely stellar ensemble cast - Waheeda Rehman, Rishi Kapoor (good to see him spout Urdu couplets), Om Puri, Atul Kulkarni (my pick of the lot - simply outstanding), Pawan Malhotra (wonderful to see him in a meaty role after ages), Deepak Dobriyal (in crackling form), Vijay Raaz (brilliant!), Supriya Pathak, Prem Chopra, Sheeba, Cyrus Sahukar, Divya Dutta, Aditi Rao, KK Raina, Raghubir Yadav - the acting by almost everyone is top-notch. They infuse such believability into their characters, that for once you really don't complain about the lack of a cohesive story as such. You are more than content seeing this motley bunch live out one day of their lives after another in their dilli che mohalla. Only if Mehra had let it remain that way.

And who really was the bespectacled fakir who holds up the mirror to one and all? For some reason, every time he came on screen, my mind kept telling me that he looked like Prasoon Joshi - was it really him?

Some of the scenes are pretty well done - brothers living in neighbouring houses separated by a brick-wall, each pouring a glass of whisky, one with soda, one paani, each lamenting over their life's kahaani, pakoras being exchanged across the household, Atul Kulkarni being fooled by Pawan Malhotra with a Rs. 1o note v/s two Re 1 coins and then his killer, absolutely killer line at the end, the two little kids walking up to Divya Dutta, asking her to convert them from boyz to men, the sequences between Rishi Kapoor and Abhishek, the MLA speech between a RamLeela sequence - they all bring a smile to your face. This is the India we all know.

The slice of life is pretty well depicted too. The movie evokes a certain warmth inside the cockles of your heart, taking your back to the neighbourhoods you grew in, amidst the bunch of people you perhaps didn't really like at one point of time, but without whom your life was strangely incomplete. And You can almost smell the jalebis!

Another big positive is Binod Pradhan's astounding camera work. From capturing the dusty by lanes of the walled city, to the lazy afternoons perched on the rooftops, to the dimly lit jaagran sequence, the tight maneuvers in closed confines, the shadow-play of the Ram Leela characters, the inventively picturised "dil gira dafaatan", the bursting montages of delightful visuals depicting the mood and character of the city, Pradhan deftly does it all. Its a sheer joy to watch one frame after another.

However, even with all its ingredients, how much can you really relish a chaat minus the namak?

Sameer's Stars - 2.5/5

ps: This one's for you, Anonymous :)

there's always a first time..

2009-02-21T07:48:00.001-08:00

Feb 21 is finally here.

And I am just about set for my 3 hour drive up to Seattle to watch Delhi 6 @ the 1 pm show.

The reviews are mixed, as expected. Not everyone can be satiated by a particular type of cinema.

I shall know my answer in a few hours from now.

Mehra, here I come.

the chosen one

2009-02-10T17:00:00.000-08:00

Someone up there really has a massive sense of humor. To say that the road ahead seems eventful would really be an understatement.

How, I mean how does one inexplicable situation arise after another with such amazing regularity?

Beats me, hollow.

But on a more positive note, things have always turned out good in the long run, so I should perhaps take cue and not crib too much. Just keep the faith & hang in there. I sure will try to.

Life, here I come.

Shampoo turns ONE!

2009-02-10T14:19:00.000-08:00

Feb 10, 2008 - Project Shampoo completed successfully.

Feb 10, 2009 - A year has flown by...And how!!

Mr. & Mrs. Bilgi, wishing you a super-duper fun-filled 'blushing-red' first anniversary!

;)

do, do se bhale teen :)

2009-02-06T23:20:00.000-08:00

Feb 7:: birthdays = birthdays + 1;

A very very Happy Birthday to Rahul, Paggy and Shashi's Dad...

The Feburary festivities just continue to pile on - touchwood! :)

Have fun folks & have a piece of the cake from my end too.

God bless! Cheers.

ek, ek se bhale do...

2009-02-05T23:07:00.000-08:00

Feb 6 - one of the most special days of the year -

Happy Birthday, Maa & Kanchu - wish you both the best of everything!!

Lots of love & god bless! :)

caught me unawares..

2009-01-28T16:24:00.000-08:00

zara tasveer se tu, nikal ke saamne aa..

meri mehbooba..

Heard this song from Pardes today after ages. And it has never ever made more sense :)

..magar kab na jaane, ye barsaat hogi,

mera dil hai pyaasa, mera dil akela..
zara tasveer se tu, nikal ke saamne aa..
meri mehbooba..

As they say, be positive ;)

rehna tu, hai jaisa tu..

2009-01-20T16:44:00.001-08:00

Sublime trance.

That's the state I've been in ever since I loaded my iPod with the music of AR Rehman's latest offering, Dilli 6 (yeah, I refuse to call it Delhi 6, Dilli sounds soo much more in character).

Over the years, waiting for a Rehman soundtrack has become an event in itself. Forget the movie, the stars, the directors, the banner - nothing else matters. It is only about the man and his music. Just like it has always been. Simple, unassuming, pure and genius.

With Dilli 6, the expectations are a plenty too. Teaming up once again with Prasoon Joshi, the man who's becoming synonmous with understated and uncomplicated poetry (not lyrics) and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, the man whose cinematic vision and sensibilities provide scope for an enchanting musical score, ARR does a splendid job one more time. Here's a low down of what I think of each offering

tumhre bhavan mein - think a late summer evening in an old semi-dilapidated, dusty, cramped up temple, the only light being the amber glow of the flickering diyas. Add about 12-15 middle aged women, sitting on the ground, huddled together, heads covered with their dupattas or the pallu of their sarees, hands joined and eyes closed in prayer, humming this one in chorus, revering one of the incarnations of maata raani. tumre bhavan mein conjures up these images everytime I listen to it. Marvellous. Especially, the way there is no rhythm used in the song, not even clapping of the hands - there's only strains of the taanpura and a constant "ting" of the mandir ghanti. Very very nice.

bhor bhaye - can't remember the last time when a classical song of such nature was included in a mainstream OST. Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khaan saab wields his magic, but the massive surprise package in this song is the way Shreya Ghosal holds her own against the big wig. She is fantastic! This one's for the connoisseurs.

dilli 6 - the title track - funk personified. madness personified. Here's Delhi's anthem for the 2010 Commonwealth games. A brilliant ode to the capital city, the title track has everything going for it. From the husky singing, to the foot-tapping rhythm that changes tempo just when you don't expect it to, to Blaaze's fantastic rap, to the words that bring a smile on your lips - "ye shehar nahin mehfil hai.." - I mean, could you better encapsulate the spirit of the city in a single sentence? I think not :)

basti hai mastaano ki dilli, dilli...

gali hai deewano ki dilli, (six)

ye dilli hai mere yaar,

bas ishq mohabbat pyaar..

masakalli - What the hell does this word mean? Literal meaning aside, in the context of this song, it just means masti! Full on masti! I mean, when was the last time you heard a singer have sooooo much fun with a song? Mohit Chahuan goes absolutely all out with his singing, backed by ARR himself on the chorus, a wicked tune, brilliant orchestrization and the result is a phataka of a song. Just can't help smiling to this one. Get ready for a few Best Male Playback awards next year for sure. This one's a sure shot winner. And from the promos, if Sonam Kapoor's latka jhatkas are anything to go by, the video is gonna be kick-ass too.

genda phool - one word, hooked. Absolutely hooked. You really will be. Rekha Bhardwaj's vocals are sheer magic. And her first collaboration with Rehman turns out to be truly memorable. Though not a proper song-song per se, this one is more a musical narration of what a married lady goes through in her sasuraal - saas, devar, nanand, et al. The piece starts of with a very traditional sound to it, but the way a funky electric guitar bass & rhythm kicks in just at the right time, the song just takes an altogether different turn. I just keep nodding my head & smiling through the 2.50 minutes duration of the song. Endless loop material, this one.

kaala bandar - is a pretty unique experiment. With the tune, the rhythm, the words (especially), the pacing of the song, the styles and the singing too - an amalgamation of various Rehman songs and sounds we've heard in the past. As soon we start comparing it with a particular song from the past, the song changes gears and we are left scratching our brains all over again. I like the kaala bandar metaphor in the song being used for our material pursuits and sins- this should make for interesting viewing on screen. Looking forward to seeing how Mehra uses this in the narrative.

dil gira dafatan - well, this seems to be the quintessential Rehman number. One that grows on your after several multiple hearings. Hasn't grown on me as yet, but I sure will give it another trip. Maybe its too complex and nuanced for my musical sensibilities. Well, another hear won't do that much harm, will it? :)

arziyaan (maula, maula) - what can I really write about a song that says

daraarein daararein hain maathe pe maula,
marammat muqadar ki kar do maula...

This is sublime trance at its very best. Kailash Kher and Javed Ali team up to give us one of the best (and subdued) qawaallis of late. Just a simple harmonium based tune accompanied by clapping of hands and a tabla-dholak based rhythm, maula mere maula is enchantingly & mesmerizingly beautiful. The words are simple and very very profound too (Joshi, take a bow brother) -

jab teri gali aaya, sach tabhi nazar aaya,
mujhe mein hi wo khushbu thi, jis se tune milwaaya...

And the fact that ARR doesn't sing this one makes it completely different from piya haaji ali and khwaaja mere khwaaja...Brilliant stuff this from ARR. He really is blessed as they say.

rehna tu, hai jaisa tu - save the best for the last as they say. This one's perhaps the best of the lot. Prasoon Joshi outdoes himself with the words and Rehman's singing does perfect justice to the poetry. Off late, Rehman seems to be finding his long-lost jazz roots (like the title track in Jaane Tu) - though this one falls in the same overall genre, it is totally different from what we've heard before. Here, Rehman falls back upon what I think is one his biggest strengths as a composer - his very unique style of using chorus singers. Just listen to the song and you'll know what I mean. More than the tune, the singing or the composition, what touches you most is the soul of the song, the basic idea of accepting someone just the way they are. Nothing more. Nothing less.

rehna tu, hai jaisa tu..
thoda sa dard tu, thoda sukoon...
rehna tuuuuuu, hai jaisa tu..
dheema dheema jhonka, ya fir junoon....
thoda sa resham, tu humdum, thoda sa khurdura,
kabhi to ad jaa, ya lad jaa, ya khushbu se bhara..
tujhe badalna naa chaahon, ratti bhar bhi sanam,
bina sajaawat, milaawat, naa zyaada na hi kamm...
tujhe chaahon...jaisa hai tuuu..
mujhe teri baarish mein bheegna hai, ghul jaana hai..
tujhe chaahon, jaisa hai tu..
mujhe teri lapat mein jalna, raakh ho jaana hai...

Though the obvious reference is to a loved one, I couldn't help notice the way the basic idea applies to one's motherland as well. To India. How much ever we would want things in India to change, we still wouldn't want the basic nature of India to remain intact just the way it is - the warmth, the bigheartedness, the love, the spirit!!

Rehman - really, rehna tu, hai jaisa tu...

After being enchanted with the music the way I am and given Mehra's cinematic reputation after Rang De Basanti, Dilli 6 sure deserves a 3-hour drive up to Seattle to watch ARR's music gel with the brilliant visuals on the big screen.

The countdown to Feb 21 begins.

living upto my DNA

2009-01-11T01:26:00.001-08:00

Of all the things passed down from one generation to another, food, I believe is the most ever-lasting of the lot. Each family kitchen has a peculiar taste to it, one that is acquired over years and years of preparing the same delicacies, recipes changing hands, everyone adding that a little bit of their individual touch to it, but none that over-rides or drastically changes the underlying taste. Now that would be considered sacrilege.

Being born into a family of food aficionados, over the years, food, I mean good food, holds a special place in our lives. The palate has been exceptionally lucky to have tasted the best of so many different cuisines and tastes. Food, is just not meant to satiate hunger. It is meant to enthrall the taste buds, the senses and eventually touch your soul. As the saying goes, pet bhi bhare, aur dil bhi.

Sunday lunches in most homes are when the special delicacies are brought to the table. And being born into a Sindhi family, amidst every other lip smacking delicacy Sindhi cuisine has to offer, that special place on the Sunday afternoon lunch table unarguably has to go to the absolutely one of its kind tamaate besan ji kadhi - the tomato besan kadhi. Add steaming white rice, crisp fried aalo took and sweet boondhi to the mix - and that is as close to culinary Nirvana as you can get. And I've been very fortunate to have attained such salvation almost every second Sunday at home. Home! Those really were the days :)

As I was picking my fortnightly groceries at the supermarket the other day, the red ripe tomatoes caught my fancy. Though they were not on my list, I still carefully started picking the best of the lot. And from absolutely no where, I uttered to my friend, "yaar is Sunday kadhi banaate hain" - to which he suspiciously arched his eyebrows, like he usually does and replied, "uske liye itne tamaatar kyon chahiye?"

Aah, the uninitiated, I thought. Thinks that kadhi is perhaps just of the besan or dahi kadhi variety.

"Tune Sindhi tamaatar kadhi nahin khaayi kabhi kya?"

"Tamaatar ki kadhi banti hai??"

And I knew it. The time had come. As if the Divine was almost hand-holding me to take the next step in my cooking escapades. The besan tamaatar ji kadhi was irresistibly calling out to me.

As much as I am a fan of experimental cooking, throwing in masalas which don't 'belong' to a particular dish, changing the consistency of the gravy and what have you, there are some things that you just don't tamper with. Especially if it is the most revered item from your cuisine and you're trying it for the first time :)

So after confirming the recipe from Maa thrice this morning over web chat and actually typing every little detail into a hurriedly put together text file on my desktop, I was ready.

And little did I know that Maa's blessing, tastes and jaado would actually fly all the way from Bombay and sneak into the kadhi steaming in my kitchen. When I scaringly lifted the lid after letting it simmer for 20-25 minutes, the fragrance and taste that hit my nostrils almost transported me back to Bombay. Its been almost a year since I've been home and here I was relishing the khusbhoo of tamaatar kadhi after such a long time. That too, in my kitchen!!! Wohoooooo. My joy knew no bounds. I was like a 5 year old kid, jumping around in the kitchen.

And when I hesitatingly took that first sip and bit into a moist piece of bhindi, I was almost in tears. It had turned out better than my wildest imagination.

A few years back, cooking by myself, for myself, was almost an unthinkable prospect. And here, I was making tamaatar kadhi of all things and it had turned out lipsmackingly fantastic. Life, I tell you, doesn't ever cease to surprise :)

And my friend who had come over to dinner and had helped me along the way, was spellbound too. Watching him relish every morsel only added to the fantastic experience.

I called Maa as I was at the dining table. I just had to share the moment with her. And her voice told me how proud she was, hearing me rave about my first kadhi experience.

The evening of Saturday, Jan 10, 2009 eventually turned out to be when my cooking came of age and my life in the kitchen turned another corner. It would never be the same again. And the fact that it was just the right time for Sunday lunch to be served back at home is just not a mere coincidence. Some things, as I said, are just not meant to be tampered with :)

Maa, I miss you all the more today :)

Ending the year on the right note...

2008-12-31T23:02:00.000-08:00

As they say, save the best for the last. It certainly does apply to the year gone by.

In the wee hours of the morning of the 31st, main to phir se maama ban gaya! Minal (my sister) and Yogesh (a dear dear friend) were blessed with a baby girl.

Swar, the right note- what an apt name!

What a fantabulous way to end 2008 and start 2009. Happy New Year to all of you out there. May peace and prosperity prevail in the times to come.

Cheers.

Ghajini was killed

2008-12-27T00:15:00.000-08:00

Find him. Kill him.

Revenge! Mr. Murgadoss, I want revenge! You've murdered Ghajini. Brutally.

Now I know why the usually reclusive Aamir went crazy with the publicity campaign of this movie. It simply wouldn't have survived otherwise. As it is, there always is a keen anticipation for the annual (now a carefully worked out pattern) Aamir Khan movie. Add to that a super-duper hyped massive publicity campaign. Get Aamir on the airwaves to talk about anything and everything, even if it is something as stupid & banal as look-look-I-pumped-iron-for-18-months-every-single-day.

I mean, come on. You expect some more class from Aamir. Over the years, for good reason, Aamir has become synonymous with quality cinema - right from QSQT to TZP, his resume sparkles with some absolute gems. Agreed, there were duds too, but the sincerity of the effort was always there. The reason why a particular movie was being made was genuine, 9 times out of 10. Mangal Pandey was a disaster, but Aamir gave 4 years of his absolute prime to the movie. Such was the effort.

Ghajini, am afraid, is a big, big blot on an otherwise impressive resume.

The intention here clearly seems to be to only pure commercial success. While that's a fair deal in its own place and the movie has clearly managed to achieve that goal, seeing Aamir jump on the bandwagon is a little hard to digest. And kinda sad too.

The movie has no consistent graph, the characters are massively poorly sketched, the loopholes are of the glaring-in-your-face variety (lets not even get talking about these) and overall, the movie just fails to grip you as a viewer. You don't even feeling like rooting for the protagonist or don't care if the villain gets bumped off in the end - both these qualities darned essential for the so called 'masala action' movie genre Ghajini claims to be a part of.

The romance is wafer-thin. Absolute zero chemistry between Aamir and Asin, who for some reason is a tone or two louder than the scene demands. Maybe the director asked her to continue in the same vein, as she did in the Tamil version of the movie. Mr Murgadoss, when you remake a movie in Hindi, it isn't just about changing the dialogues to a different language, the characters also need to be reworked to adapt to the new audience you are trying to cater to. Lessons learnt the hard way, I guess.

And then there's Ghajini - the baddie. For a movie that places so much importance on the titular bad guy, the choice of the actor had to be absolutely spot on. And they choose Pradeep Rawat? He's the same guy who played Sultan in the brilliant Sarfarosh and the Teja, the sardar fast-bowler in Lagaan - while he is a fine actor in such bit and piece roles, to say that he is simply miscast in and as Ghajini would be an understatement.

For a role that is supposed to justify Aamir beefing up to eight pack abs and transforming into a man possessed, the movie demanded a villain who could induce the kind aura and wrath that Ghajini is supposed to. If I were to think of casting this one, a few names that come to mind - the first name that springs up is Irrfan Khan, perhaps a KK Menon could work too, Nana Patekar too would be a decent choice I guess. Or how about choosing another mainstream A-list actor - say an Ajay Devgan? Or bring back a forgotten actor - Ashish Vidyarthi, where art thou?

Or if you really wanted this to be a good v/s bad quintessential Hindi movie, just go back to the old tried, tested and spectacular 'bad man' himself, Gulshan Grover?

But not Pradeep Rawat man. No way. And also, like Asin's character, I think Ghajini's character should also have been plotted differently. The loud, gold-chain-hanging-around-his-neck, white trousers-and-shoes-to-match look just doesn't work. Ends up looking more like a caricature than a goon. And what's with the totally out of place UP-Bihar accent? Sheesh.

And how can I forget the perfectionist himself? Mr. Khan, as much as your dedication to the craft is tremendously commendable, do you really think this role demanded sculpting a body like you have? Alas, the movie just doesn't end up doing justice to the blood and sweat you've dripped by the bucketfuls in the gym.

While Aamir's acting is pretty decent, we've been accustomed to expect much more. Stories of his total involvement in all departments of the movie are legendary and perhaps that's why, Ghajini's failure on the character, script and screenplay level hit me real hard.

After watching this movie, I couldn't help you-tubing for the Tamil counterpart. And while I just watched about 10-12 minutes of the same, that movie appeared so much more gripping. I guess mainly because the Surya-Asin jodi seemed so much real. This role clearly needed a younger actor - Hrithik, perhaps? John, well, maybe not? May be a brooding Abhishek? Or a toned-up Imran Khan for all you know! Who knows, the movie could have just worked.

Another thing that stood out was how well lit the Tamil shots were as compared to Ravi Chandran's work for the Hindi version. The cinematography is perhaps over-done, with too much emphasis on dark, grey and dull shots to convey the movie's tone. The background score too appeared more in-sync with the visuals in the Tamil version.

Reasons aside, Ghajini, as a complete package, just didn't work for me. At the end the movie, I had to really pinch myself to believe that this was supposed to be the most awaited movie of the year! What a letdown man, what a let down..

I guess I will have to watch a Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, Sarfarosh or an Andaz Apna Apna (all so-called masala flicks in their own right, mind you) to cleanse my system & reinstate my belief in Aamir Khan, the actor. Ghajini has dented that with the blow of an iron-rod.

Sameer's Stars - 1 on 5.

D. It is written

2008-12-20T13:38:00.000-08:00

It is written - it certainly is. Bloody-well brilliantly written, at that.

The screenplay of Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire is certainly deserving of the above accolade. And much more than that - an Academy honor, perhaps?

Well, Oscar mania aside, Slumdog is a superb motion picture. Right from its riveting screenplay, to wonderfully cast non-actors, a terrific soundtrack (that man Rehman, at it again), exquisite camerawork and above all, a throbbing, passionate soul that bares itself to you so splendidly, that as a viewer, you sometimes find a lump go down your throat. Really, you couldn't ask for more. This is as wholesome a cinematic experience as it gets.

I haven't read Vikas Swarup's QnA to decide how much of it has been translated onto the screen, but I know for a fact that the movie has perhaps taken the written text to an altogether different level. But to give credit to Vikas, the basic premise of the story is a sure shot winner. Clearly inspired by hours of being glued to the telly watching AB and SRK dole out KBC magic, Vikas seems to have struck gold with the story idea - what if, each and every question posed to you on that hot-seat was interlinked with your life in some manner, the answers to which are a slice of your own freaking life. As if every moment of your living life has been a prep for these very set of questions. It is all written, as they say.

More than the story, the beauty lies in the execution. The editing pattern, though predictable after a point of time - cutting to the flashback story for every question that Anil Kapoor, the quiz show host (the actor clearly enjoying himself), or Irrfan Khan, the police inspector (almost sleepwalking through his part as if he were a veteran of such cinema) poses - still does work very well. It keeps you on the edge of your seat through the entire duration of the movie - a rare feat these days.

Some of the scenes just grab you by the scruff of your collar and shake you up so bad with the starkness and realism, that you cringe in your seat. I can't remember the last time when I had to close my eyes and look down in the darkness of the theatre to let a scene pass by. Slumdog did that to me. Shook me out of my confines. One of my friends was in tears. I thought there was a real danger of her running out of the theatre, sobbing inconsolably, but thankfully, she pulled through. God bless butter popcorn.

And then there are scenes, that please you to such an extent that you find yourself smiling loudly (not that ha ha ha kinda laugh) and clapping your hands, cheering for the onscreen protagonist. Like the kids playing a game of cricket on the outskirts of the airport's runway being chased by two portly policemen, Or Jamaal dropping a towering catch distracted by the roar of plane taking off, Or when a young Jamaal starts narrating a fictional story of how the Taj was built, Or when in the middle of the most brutal scene in the movie, the lil Jamaal suddenly stops after starting "darshan do ghanshyam" and with almost apologetic sincerity on his face demands his remuneration - "sorry sir, professional no?"

The acting, by almost everyone, is top grade. But I think the clear winners were the three kids who played Jamaal, Latika and Salim. Such endearing emotions & screen presence, that it leaves you no option but to really feel & root for their story as if you were watching a documentary based on their real life stories. Dev Patel is another actor who stands out. Fantastic portrayal of such complex emotions. Has that amazing air of determined underdog confidence about him. You can almost feel the air emanating from his nostrils, one deep breath after another, as his life asks him questions that no game show could ever match. He certainly is an actor to look out for in the future. Hopefully he won't fall into that cliched genre of playing ABCD characters, caught between the eternal battle of lifestyle v/s values, living in the US of A. He seems much more capable than that.

And then there's AR Rehman. From the opening strains of "o saaya" accompanying the title credits to the bouyancy of Sukhwinder's "jai ho" at the finale, ARR is in top form. Make way for the Golden Globe and perhaps the Grammy too. Also credited for the magical background score, Rahman the whizkid, directly transports you from your seat to the middle of the nail-biting, sweat and blood dripping action. Utter genius.

On the technical front, Slumdog is an amalgamation of some fine work - the cinematography has that almost hand-held feel to it, perfectly playing the fly-on-the-wall, never trying to overpower the story. The editing is razor sharp, with 1-2 second closeup cuts that just let you peep into the emotion and leave you gasping for more. The production designer would have had a nightmare of a job on this one, with almost over 50-60% of the movie shot on almost-impossible-to-shoot-without-a-mishap outdoors locations across the country. But whoever has done the job, has done it fantastically - you should really be proud of this one.

Danny Boyle, the director, has managed to capture the underbelly of Bombay as if he was born and brought up in this city. He masterfully captures the core lessons the city of Bombay teaches its inhabitants - street smartness, survival of the fittest, that money - like or it not - does make the world go around, the man with the gun has the final word & adaptability, without losing that solitary ray of eternal hope, in the most adverse of circumstances. Slumdog Millionaire is a fine tribute to Bombay - the most magical city on this planet!

I was supposed to go home this December and couldn't due to some logisitcal reasons, but Slumdog ensured that for those 2 hours, I was magic-carpeted from Portland to Bombay. In the middle of it all - the chaos, the crowds, the cacophony. Kudos to that magical quality of well crafted cinema :)

And finally, as the folks at MasterCard have been framing it over the years -

A large tub of butter popcorn - $6
Cocktails for three - $30
Watching fantastic cinema with friends on a beautiful snowy Friday evening, for free, courtesy gift tickets from inane dentist referrals - literally, priceless!

main dardi, rab rab kardi...

2008-12-14T19:16:00.000-08:00

I feel sorry for you YashRaj, I really really do.

The harder you try, the harder you fall. The more you try to be "with it", the further behind you trail.

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi is living proof of that. What did you guys set out to make? And did you folks actually keep awake through all the trails before release? Or didn't you guys actually see this one before unleashing it on us all?

The movie has no grammar, no consistent pitch. Nothing. Heck, it is not even remotely entertaining. Just a badly put together idea, which I guess Aditya came up with while watching Nach Baliye reruns in his plush office.

Truth be told, it is a very average movie, at best. Just about average. And for that too, you should thank SRK, the character. Or as he's known in this movie, Surinder Sahni. He's the only one your heart reaches out to in some scenes. That's about it - the rest of the movie is pretty banal.

Especially, the lead female character, Taani. I mean, what is she upto? What does she really want? Does she even understand what marriage means? Two days after her eventful wedding to Sahni, she tells Sahni, that she will never be able to love him. But she will try to be a good wife. Whatever that means! I guess making egg toast in the morning and packing lunch in a yellow tiffin pretty much seals the deal for her. I mean, hello!! What age is she living in?

And when the Raj (Arrrrggghhh!) character tries to get close to her during their dance practice sessions, she very coolly lets him. Romps around the city on his motorbike in pouring rain, shares golgappas, chides him for flirting with her - all of this, without even mentioning to him even once that she is married. She maybe doesn't consider it a big enough part of her life anyways.

The characterization is pathetic. Not once do I as an audience feel for her. Or for what she feels. Anushka does a decent job, looks nice in salwar suits, dances well too. But it ends there. With such an ill-written role, there isn't much she could have done.

And coming to good ol' Raj - why, I mean guys, why? Why does your definition of cool always have to be Raj? Or Rahul? Or watever! But sorry to disappoint you, this dude isn't cool by any stretch of imagination. What was this character supposed to be - a suave cool dude or an irritating jerk? Even if you guys didn't think through, he turns out to be pretty much the latter. Annoying has a new name - Raj.

And Suri, though a nice warm character, isn't far in the stupidity game either. I mean, a guy doesn't understand what "macho" means, but keeps ranting sexy all the time in his other pseudo-trying-to-be-cool-actually-a-pain-in-the-butt avtaar, Raj. Have some consistency guys, please?? Else, don't make cinema.

To give credit where its due, some scenes, mostly all featuring the Suri character do bring a smile on you face. That's coz SRK packs in loads of earnest emotions and a wee bit of helplessness into the character. Your hurt does go out to him. But such moments are few and far in between.

And Aditya, oh my dear Aditya! What is wrong with you son? People might say that you are still in your DDLJ hangover, but if that truly were the case, you'd have made a decent movie at least. Not this excuse-of-a-movie. What happened to your sense of story, screenplay, characterization and most of all - music? DDLJ's music is still a must have on any iPod, but the less said about your song selection in RNBDJ, the better. Not one song stands out. Sad, very sad. Even technically, the movie is plain average. The sets, dances, nothing is worthy of a mention.

And what about those in-house references? In one or two movies, a lil bit of in-house humor looks cheeky. But that's it. Why stretch it like this? Everything from DDLJ, DTPH and even Dhoom (holy mother of God!) is referenced.

This marriages are made in heaven idea (or by the rab, as they would've liked to call it), if handled maturely and sensitively could have yielded some touching cinema, but you guys have squandered the chance big time. And how. Forget Sahni's love story, they would have done better with the Almighty penning down the story of the movie for starters.

So the most dependable trick in the bag - the Aditya-SRK combo has fallen flat has well. Now what YashRaj, now what? I suggest going back to the drawing board, getting a new fresh crew, in all departments, and really really taking a closer look at the kinda cinema you guys chose to put your emblem on. There's enough talent out there, waiting for that once chance. You folks can now reinvent yourselves, coz honestly, the time has come. It really really has.

DDLJ was 14 years back. A lot of water has flown under the bridge since then. Grow up, Aditya, grow up. Coz you know what, the audience has.

We would have loved to remember you as the man who gave us DDLJ. But with Mohabbatein and now this one, you're making the task extremely difficult for us.

Oye rab, Aditya nu samajh de thodi!

johnny walker, walking walking, old monk is talking talking...

2008-12-09T22:11:00.000-08:00

Damn you, Raja Sen. Damn you. You beat me to it.

Though I was disappointed to have not seen your take on as yet on rediff, I have to admit I was glad as well - I finally had a chance to write my piece before reading yours and send you a link to my blog.

Then, this morning at my breakfast table, your review changed everything! At the end of a tired day at work, it has compelled me to finish through the review that I started writing a coupla days back, but one that keeps brewing inside my head, every time I watch even a single scene from this movie. Or hear a song. Which is like, everyday!!

But this isn't about you or me. It is about a masterfully executed piece of cinema, I cannot seem to get enough of.

Ladies and gentlemen, without an iota or shred of doubt, Oye Lucky, Lucky Oye is my movie of the year 2008.

OLLO released at possibly the worst time it could have ever chosen for itself, but then that's just the way it is. After spending about 48 non-stop hours in front of IBN Live's webcast of the Bombay carnage, I headed out for some midnight Thanksgiving shopping. But not before I had started downloading OLLO from a torrent site.

Yeah, yeah, call me names, but I don't care. If you don't release Hindi movies in Portland (in spite of such a large Indian population), don't expect me to drive 200 miles to Seattle in the cold and rain to catch a movie. Or to wait till the official DVD is available. If OLLO had released in my vicinity, I would have watched it on the big screen at least half a dozen times by now. Trust me - I have watched Johnny Gaddar in San Francisco with only FOUR other people present in the theater during an afternoon show and then again a week later :P

Anyways, by the time I was back after shopping through the entire night, the download was complete and I was licking my lips in anticipation. After all, this was Dibakar Banerjee's second offing after the magnificent Khosla ka Ghosla. But more importantly, this time without Jaideep Sahani, who is busy raking in the moolah with Yashraj. To each their own, I guess.

So as I started the movie, rejuvenated by an espresso, I didn't really know whether my humongous expectations would be fulfilled. Second acts are always tricky. Always. The expectations were tremendous, but then how many people have delivered after a super-promising rocking debut movie. But thankfully, Dibakar has made his place in that elite list.

What a fine movie OLLO has turned out to be. Amazing amount of detailing, brilliant characterizations, sexily layered and understated, an effortlessly simple cinematic translation of man's deepest, darkest and most basic desires - acceptance. I mean, what more does one want from life, really?

The technique is innocuous to the point of being a stroke of good luck (pun unintended) - just see the way the camera falls on Lucky's air fighting sardar kid brother - it almost looks like it was a mistake. But no, certainly not. Every frame has been carefully created to create a unique grammar for the movie, something that's rarely seen these days in Hindi cinema - the last such effort I remember was Omkara.

Unknown actors, perhaps performing the best roles of their lives. Be it the phenomenal Manu Rishi, playing Bangali - lucky's faithful sidekick (koni mein lagi hai yaar, mummy promise!!), the coy greeting card girl (free fund mein paise kharch ho gaye tumhaare), Lucky's aunty mom (maine to mother ki feeling full full di hai), Dolly - the best of the lot (teri valuation kya hai??), inspector Devendar Singh (khabar tere paas hai, to de de, na hai, to laa de) or even Sonal & Dolly's mother - one karaare, karaare sequence and she steals the whole Goddamn show. Ensemble casting at its very very best. Today's JBDY, eh? :)

Abhay Deol shines brilliantly too. He totally sinks his teeth into the role and imparts such relatable flesh and blood into Lucky's character - its hard to imagine anyone else do this one. Abhay drips coolth and charm throughout the movie - its almost as if he mocking the entire star Bollywood brigade with his "kyon, main nahin kar sakta? ;) Kar sakta hai bhai, bilkul kar sakta hai !!!

Neetu Chandra nicely holds her own too, in every sequence that she is in. And then there's Paresh Rawal. Three of them, actually. As Lucky's angry Sardar dad, Gogi Bhai and Mr. Haanda - he excels in all three of them. It is interesting to see the shots edit back to back from Haanda, to Gogi to Lucky's Dad - all three played by Paresh himself. For once, a movie has an actor playing multiple roles and the identical looking characters not sharing screen space in a single frame. Goes to show that it wasn't a triple-role gimmick for gimmick's sake after all. I wouldn't expect anything otherwise.

The dialogues are massively special too -

"lucky yaar, syllabus mat change kar",
"ye log peete angrezi hain, karte desi hain",
"tata bano, taate ka beta nahin bano",
"sansanikhez!",
"usne maar diya, humne kha liya, aise hi to relation bante hain bhai",
"ek kaam kar, pehle calendar leke aaja"

...I will perhaps end up writing down the entire movie.

After shortlisting about 5 different titles for this blog post, I just couldn't help but use the line I eventually have. There's just something about this line and the rest of the entire OLLO soundtrack that brings a smile on my face everytime I hear it. Sneha Khanwalkar, where the hell have you been all this while !! Each and every track is dripping with a super effort and a fantastic understanding of the overall script and grammar of the movie. After quite a while, I have seen such tandem between the director and the music director.

Be it the vocals of tu raja ki raaj dulaari, the woof-woof opening lines & brilliance of the punjabi rap in superchor, the foot-tapping beats of the title track - each song is immensely special. But perhaps my song of the album is the magnificently rendered and orchestrated jugni. And what lyrics man, what lyrics -

na jeen tu mainu dendi hai,
na maran tu mainu dendi hai,
jugni, tap, tap, tap, tap khoon bahondi hai...

How the hell does one come up with such lines? This OST & the background soundtrack too, are full of sheer manical brilliance.

Do yourselves a favor & listen to the songs - here

Super-duper choice of the metaphorical chahiye thoda pyaar, thoda pyaar chahiye - isn't that what Lucky is looking for through the entire movie? And a few haunting strains from Surinder Kaur's beautiful & soulful akhniyan wich tu vasda - check out the entire song here on YouTube. Worth a hear. And more.

More than anything else, OLLO is a milestone in Dibakar Banerjee's career. This is his labor of love, all the freaking way. I can only imagine the fun he would have had making this movie. Every single step of the way. Pretty much like how Robal, Handa Saab's son, runs around like mad through the room with a helmet and a videogame joystick in Lucky's new full-full marble floored house. Unabashed joy.

Am eagerly awaiting the DVD release, hopefully with a directors commentary track - please, Dibakar, PLEASE. Make the DVD a collector's delight, like it rightfully deserves to be. Such cinema, rarely comes by.

And now, I have an addition to make to the list directors, whose crew I would love to be part of in any capacity - Vishal Bhardwaj, Farhan Akhtar, Sriram Raghavan & now, Dibakar Banerjee - oye brilliant, brilliant oye!!

Are you guys listening?? When will I get lucky? :)

wahan kaun hai tera, musaafir, jaayega kahan...

2008-12-09T21:08:00.000-08:00

Rediff has been pretty kind to me since more than 5 years and has let me publish my writings on Sam's World - thank you guys. Thank you very much.

That blog, with its title picture, et al. forms a part of my nostalgic memories, which I cherish very dearly. Always will.

But I guess, as with everything else, its time to move on. Or evolve. I think that's a better way to put it.

Folks, welcome to my new abode. For all it's worth.

And then some more...