Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - Trailer

Finally, the trailer of one of the most awaited movies of the year is out. Counting days to May 22!! To watch high-quality trailer, click here.

Wall-E is here!!!

Teaser for much awaited movie is out. (Yeah, yeah, I know I am little late) PIXAR. Sirf naam hi kaafi hai....

Marigold

I had no intension of watching Marigold whatsoever and this start of a review on Desicritics just strengthened belief.

Did you know Marigold is the name of a flower? You did? Oh well, tough luck then - this movie is not for you, because that is about the most interesting thing you come out with. Yeah, it’s that drab.

I know it's not *that* funny, but I ROTFLed for atleast 3 minutes after reading it...!!!

Munnabhai chale amrika

Third movie in the fabulous Munna-Circuit series has been announced. It's called Munnabhai chale amrika. Script isn't finalized yet but it's evident from the titel that Munna and Circuit will embark on their journey to America and movie is expected to release in 2008. This one will be definitely worth waiting for.

Rang De Basanti out of oscar contention

Could I be more happy? Garnered with all the accolades at home, inspite of being above average movie, didn't deserve Academy awards nomination. As Amit Varma says, Much joy comes :).

Dhoom 2 : disappoint kiya re!!

Hindi movies suffer from this problem. They try so hard to be, what's the word, yes cool. Pretty ironical, but that's the fact. Dhoom 2 is one of them too! Everyone tries to be Oh! Look at me, I am so cool !!!.

Ok, so there is a thief, popularly known as Mr. A (Hrithik Roshan), Notorious for stealing precious antiques. While his predecessor (John Abraham), had knack for creating a pattern on Bombay Express Highway, Mr. A has mathematical ambition of stamping his name on the world (literally). After demonstrating his sandsurfing, disguising and but ofcourse dancing skills, it seems all is going well for Mr. A. On the other hand, Jai Dixit (Abhishek Bachchan) is still accomplishing missions with all Suzukis, Ducatis, Waterscooters and his punter-cum-sub-inspector Ali (Uday Chopra) for Mumbai police. Enter his ex-classmate, who had (has) crush on him, sharp-shooter, ACP Shonali Bose. Ah! Shonali does make a wonderful dancing partner than Rimi Sen. Anyway, so now that Mr. A has completed his mission of imprinting his name on the world, is looking for more trouble and enters like desi Angelina Jolie, Sunehari (Aishwarya Rai), who is vying to become accomplice of her long time idol Mr. A. With that begins the tale of betrayal, revenge and theft in new destination of bollywood, Brazil. And in the end lo! Hrithik Roshan is not actually Hrithik Roshan, but John Abraham wearing a mask. Now that is one thing that, thankfully, doesn't happen.

As far back as I can remember, Greatbong always claimed that Sanjay Gupta had biggest collection of hollywood DVDS, but as it turns out, his namesis [sic] , Sanjay Gadhavi isn't far behind either. With bikes and babes, he manages to pay tribute to many hollywood bike-chick flicks. As for the cast, Hrithik Roshan is definitely cooler of the lot, but every now-and-then you have feeling that he still has big time hangover from Krrish, except designer clothes have replaced village attire now. However hard he might try, doesn't pull-off coolness of Rusty Ryan. Abhishek Bachchan manages to stay not to go overboard and is still no-nonsense cop at best. It's becoming harder these days for me to defend my choices. After SRK, it's time for Aishwarya Rai. All-is-well when she removes her disguise and gives Lara Croft-esque pose, but my question is this. WHY DOES SHE UTTER A WORD AT ALL ? I am feeling so hot in here, aren't you? ... Are you like checking me out??. Ms. Rai, as for look and feel, you look charming despite of your age, but you are not Angelina Jolie. Take that. No offence Ms-Rai-soon-to-be-Mrs-Bachchan, but you have definitely given enough reasons for AB fans to crib about you. Bipasha Basu is adequate until Shonali Bose turns to Monali Bose. As for Uday Chopra, lesser said the better. Now that his screen presence is reduced as compared to Dhoom, you don't mind him too much. Biggest villian of the movie is soundtrack. You don't remember a single song (may be except Krazy kiya re...) when you walk out of a theatre and it annoyingly keeps reminding you that you are watching sequel with constant Dhoom again... in background.

It has enough moments for fans and masses to cheer about no doubt. You can't help but to smile when, AB says, Let's do the way my dad used to, just before tossing the coin. You have seen Manhattan buildings and European locales, but you never saw Brazilian beaches, did you? Here is your chance then.

Not that I had many expectations with Dhoom 2 in first place, but people and reviewers going ga-ga about it had raised the bar atleast a little. My Verdict : Go watch it if you liked Dhoom. You might be disappointed, but you won't be bored for sure. Now that movie has released, what I will be eagerly waiting for is Ghoom 2.

Ram Gopal Varma Ke Sholay

After years of speculation, RGV's Sholay is finally hitting the floors. It's offically called Rom Gopal Varma Ke Sholay , sucks. It has been making news ever since RGV announced it. Starting from the whole hearted acceptance from Amitabh Bachchan to denial from Ramesh Sippy, Dharmendra et al. In a chain of events, RGV , almost everyfortnight declared an actor for the particular character in Sholay, creating buzz all around. He sure knows how to stay in headlines. In the recent move, he unveiled new look of Gabbar, which has brought mixed reactions. Anyway, it has been topic of lunch table discussion and here I am to summarize some of the points/suggestions/comments straight out of discussion, Ram Gopal Varma might think helpful.

Katrina Kaif

Katrina Kaif plays role of Jaya Bachchan. Well sort of suits given that Jaya Bachchan didn't have many lines to speak, but we are seriously worried as to how she will do the scenes of Holi where Jaya did running and speaking at the same time. We wish Katrina luck in her most adventorous and toughest job of her filmi career. This one being new age version we have our own suspicion that she might originally belong to London, so that Hindi can be pardoned.

Mohit Ahlawat

Mohit Ahlawat. strain your brains and dude on the left side might seem familiar . Yes he is the RGV's latest find, protagonist in the latest movie "Shiva", which was remake of movie "James" (duhh), which in turn was remake of the movie which brought RGV into limelight "Shiva" (huh??). And what role he plays? oh yes. Jai. All Amitabh Bachchan fans, start digging your graves. We wonder considering his chemistry with Nisha Kothari in above mentioned movies, why Ramu didn't opt for Nisha in role of Radha?

Urmila Matondkar

Urmila Matondkar plays seductress Helen. Considering her early reputation of hit item girl with Rajkumar Santoshi camp, she might be able to live upto expectations.


Trivia :- In one of the biggest ironies of World Cinema, Anu Maliik's (no typos there) Chhamma Chhamma was copied to Hollywood hit double oscar-winning musical Moulin Rouge!, albeit with permission. Oh did I say irony? I take my
words back after coming across this piece of interview.

Q : The music industry is facing its worst-ever recession now...



A : Let me tell you why! It is not downloading, nor technology like MP3, nor piracy. It's just bad music! Why are we still seduced by The Backstreet Boys and Whitney Houston? Why can't we be original? Why should people pay money to listen to poor music? The pop element and the obsession with sound and technology is a passing phase.

Thoughtful indeed(Source)

Suniel Shetty

Suniel Shetty (No sir, no typos there either) has gone too far this time. He is playing Sambha. I wonder how much he paid for this role. His boutique business must have earned him enough to pay for this role.

Here are the two choice, IMHO, which might surpass or atleast match the original cast. Mohanlal as Thakur and Rajpal Yadav as Surma Bhopali, but we have serious issues to handle i.e. unconfirmed cast.

RGV approached Shreyas Talpade (Iqbal) for role of Ahmed (originally played by Sachin) and when he asked for narration, RGV got temperamental saying what does he think? won't I do justice to him? Doesn't he trust me? Man's gotta do, what he's gotta do ... anyway... so we were talking about unconfirmed cast. For Basanti we have scanned everyone from Rani Mukherjee to Esha Doel but none of them seems to fit in the scheme of things, but we'll soon find it out.

On the other line of thought, we were thinking who from Original Sholay can still part of this one, without losing his/her original charm. Considering fact that Mac Mohan hasn't changed a bit in last 'n' years, he could still play Sambha, but as mentioned above Suniel Shetty has already paid hefty sum, we couldn't back out on that, but then we finalized the man to top them all, A K Hangal, I don't think anybody would have problem with that. Do ya? do ya ? do ya?

BUT, Here comes the biggest of all, which made me right this whole crap in first place. Who is going to sing Mehbooba Mehbooba opposite Urmila? Just try to sing this in Jalal Aaga's voice



Mehbooba O Mehbooba.. uuuuuuuuuuuu



and tell me the name comes first into your mind. Bingo! You got it
right. Devil's own singer, Himesh Reshammiya, is going to get featured opposite Urmila in this song and is also composer of the movie. What else could you ask for? Guys go watch this one in theatres near you. SUMMER ... 2007...? 2008?..2015? Let's just keep it SUMMER as of now.

---

PS:- Reasons for putting so many outgoing links and pictures, are simply pedagogical, on the special request by SlimShady, who says he doesn't know half of the name mentioned in this article. Uff yeh nayi generation!!!

Omkara

Omkara - A beautiful poem from Vishal Bhardwaj.

After struggling I finally saw the movie and that too by bunking office on that day. Yeah!!!! It feels so good and it was all worth it. Much has been already said about
the movie. I don't want to add much to it, but I strongly recommend movie to everyone. Vishal Bhardwaj has done fabulous job of bringing Othello on Indian Cinema and in Indian context. I haven't read Shakespeare or even Othello, but movie is a sincere and honest effort to present a story of a tragic hero.

Story is pretty much known, so won't write about it much here, but I will definitely put a word for performances. Saif Ali Khan is a revealation. I bet noone ever expected him to give such a fine performance as Langda Tyagi (Iago). I am betting for Saif for this year's National Award... again. Konkona Sensharma is a boon to Bollywood. This girl handles every role with finesse. Second surprise for me was Kareena Kapoor. I officially detest Kareena, but I must admit after Chameli for the first time, I actually liked Kareena (Kareina if you prefer). Without any makeup, she is perfectly cast as Dolly Mishra (Desdemona). Ajay Devgan succeeds as the tragic hero, but I somehow felt Manoj Bajpai would have done fabulous job as Omkara, but never mind that.

Bottomline : Omkara, without a doubt, is the best movie of 2006 with Being Cyrus being second. If you raised your eyebrows... yes I have seen Rang De Basanti, Fanaa, Krrrrish, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna or any other crap you have in your mind.

Some excellent reviews : Bardwaj Rangan,Falstaff (Not too impressed with the movie, but excellenet review), Raja Sen, Jai Arjun

SRK fascination and 'Don'

Let me accept this first. I used to be a fanatic SRK fan. I used to publicize and recommend anything and everything that attached Shahrukh Khan name with it. If I say ever since Deewaana and Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman came, I was SRK fan I would be lying. As a kid, I used like Shahrukh as Abhimanyu Rai in "Fauji" a lot. Baazigar and Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge just strengthened his status. I still remember when DDLJ re-released after almost two years, I took my friends willingly/unwillingly for the movie on my 18th birthday. Now I was out in full swing. I was ready to take on fan of any other hero. Then I went to see Baadshah first day first show, I came out with all praise (although with a little guilty). Unfortunately, after that I started listening to my conscience more than my fanaticism. Meantime, I also saw Guddu, English Babu Desi Mem, Ram Jaane, Zamaana Deewana (bet you haven't heard this one), Ram Jaane, Duplicate. Duh... what more do I say? Although Hey Ram, Dil se and Swades(an apt review) made me proud.

I am not a fan now, but in some corner of my heart I still hope his every coming film beats any other Aamir (although he is a better actor), Hritik flick. Whatever I or you say about Shahrukh, we must admit he has an aura about him. Whenever he is onscreen doing a typical mushy, candyfloos Yashraj-Karan Johar scene he makes his presence felt. There is energy about every step he takes in his dance. His dance for 5 minutes can make crap like Kaal a hit. I bet there are millions like me out there who would want to watch an SRK movie, although it might be clearly evident from promos that it's just another Rahul/Raj movie, you never know he might surprise you with Aman Varma or Amjad Ali Khan or Mohan Bhargav.

How was I remembered of Shahrukh suddenly? Because I watched First promo of a first official Hindi remake, Don. Disappointing I say. I hope he is not pulling off yet another Mannu (a la Duplicate). Amen!!

Related Posts : Gaurav Sabnis on defending Khan. My feelings aptly put.

Promo Source : IndiaFM

Being Cyrus

Once the game is over, The king and the pawn go into the same box.

With arrival of movies like Raincoat, Black, Iqbal, Page 3, Hazaaron Khwahishein aisi... Bollywood has proved that it's certainly moving forward and going to routes which has remained virgin to it. Being Cyrus is one such attempt. While others have attempted to go subtle. Being Cyrus is not only subtle, but also highly professional, stylish and well executed.

We see the movie through eyes of a young parsi, Cyrus Mistry. He joins family of Dinshaw Sethna, well-known pot-maker in the past and his wife Katy. What follows is a twisted story of Sethna family of Fardounjee Sethna and his sons, Dinshaw Sethna (Naseeruddin Shah) and Farokh Sethna (Boman Irani).

First half deals superbly with development of characters of both of the brothers, their father and their spouses. Homi Adjania, being a Parsi himself, gives superb look into the Parsi culture and mannerisms. Scenes like Boman Irani's encounter with his neigbour, Boman Irani's dealing with his father give a fair outlook. Second half starts a mystery where actual plot starts. Who is good? Who is bad? Who is killer? Who is victim? You never know!!!

Saif Ali Khan vowed to do film with a solo hero after Kal ho naa ho. At that point of time, he seemed overconfident, but in recent times he has definitely grown up into a decent actor. Boman Irani and Naseeruddin Shah are at their usual best. Simone Singh scores. Dimple Kapadia is adequate. Manoj Pahwa does more than what director might have hoped for him as Inspector Lovely.

At no point in movie you have dragging feeling. Editing is superb. Why not? Editing is taken care of by Jon Harris, who edited Guy Ritchie's Snatch. Camera work, Cinematography gives you an international feel. While other offbeats (Page 3, Iqbal) were different yet Indian, but this one is truly international class. Homi Adjania's work as a debutant is fabulous. Watch out for him, he's going to make big in new-age Hindi Cinema. Movie is a punch with its 90 minutes storyline. Highly recommended!!!

Other Reviews : Gaurav Sabnis, Rediff

PS:- This review has been cross-posted to InFiCa, where I am ahem...a movie critic now.

Parineeta

Bollywood these days is experimenting with all sorts of techniques. One of them is trying to recreate magic of old work. After success of Devdas with Grand sets and wonderful music, now it's Parineeta. No this is not going to be another review of movie, but what made me come here is the music of the movie. Managed to watch movie last month and must say I liked and it was treated well with maintaining proper backdrop of '60s.

I heard this album first time when I was working on my thesis report at 3 am and it really moved me. I could feel the music deep within my soul. Only few albums/tracks have managed this. Again, today I am sitting in my office and it's 8-15 in the evening and it's time to leave, but after long time I have managed headphones and can't hold myself back from completing this whole sound track second time before I leave for home. (Anyway, I haven't got anything to do when I reach home ;-) )

Album starts with Piyu Bole by Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal. I feel this song is dear to more after I watched the movie, because the chemistry between Saif and Vidya Balan is very well depicted in the video and song seems natural and not forced in the movie. Kasto Mazza includes superb use of the sound of a chugging locomotive like some '60-'70 movie.

Soona Mann Ka Aangan is the paragon of the album. Sonu Nigam manages to fetch millions accolades from me for this one. He managed to put in all the dard required and wonderfully accompanied by my favourite new age singer Shreya Ghoshal.

Kaisi Paheli Zindgani by Sunidhi is on the lines of dil ko hazaar baar of Murder, but once again consistent with backdrop of the movie. Raat hamari toh is melodious solo by Chitra. Dhinak Dhinak Dha is nasty song and typical wedding song. OK types.

Album ends with title track, Sonu Nigam-Shreya Ghoshal duet Hui Main Parineeta. A romantic and sensual song to fit wedding of Shekhar and Lolita. Both Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal are going up and up in my favourite singers. Cheers for both of them.

PS:- You can listen songs on Raaga.com Here is the link.

Animated Movies rock...!!!!

Now tradition seems changing... Animation is not just matter for children. It's a big business now in Hollywood and world over. Shrek 2 earning over 350 M$ in just 4 weeks of release and still going strong. With three animated movies (Shrek 2, Finding Nemo, Lion King) in Top-15 for all-time box office at US animation movies are making their place. Don't get surprised if you see Pixar Animation Studios and such companies on the list of leading companies of the world. Have a look at my blog for Animated Movies.

Not just animation, the screenplay of all these movies are indeed great e.g. Talk about Ugly but Good-at-heart Ogre (Shrek), talk about "living" the life fishes (Nemo and his father) they made great story.. didn't they??? I am eagerly waiting for sequel of Finding Nemo and a much-talked Shark Tale, Will Smith, Robert De Niro, Angelina Jolie, Renee Zellwegger "voicing" for animated characters.

All-in-all.. Animated Movies Rock...!!!!