Countdown to November 15th: Ram Leela

 

Unconfirmed news of Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone’s dating popping up at every corner. The boy keeps busy, eh? That’s good news. The better and more important thing is, after watching the trailer we are all hyped up over Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s new film “Ram Leela”, which promises to score high on every Bollywood entertainment value. A hot hero, a cool heroine, a grand masala of action and romance: YES. That’s what we Bollywood aficionados are waiting for all year long. And it’s coming to hit us November 15th.

How do we know it’s going to be a spectacular movie? Easy. Sanjay Bhansali is a seasoned director/writer and producer. Whatever this magician touches starts to glow. His sets are lavish, exuberant, his actors inspired and becoming bigger versions of themselves.

Khamoshi: The Musical 1996

Straight From the Heart 1999

Devdas 2002

Black 2005

Saawariya 2007

Guzaarish 2010

 

 

 

 

 

PS, Dear Mr. Sanjay Leela Bansali

I could never forgive you  though the tremendous faux pas in Straight From the Heart. Filming in Budapest, using famous landmarks, whatsmore, and pretending it’s Italy… where we see mostly blond people strolling around in Lederhosen!!! supposed to be Milano? sorry but yeh Italy main nahi hai….  nor do we wear Lederhosen. Try Armani.

 

 

Okay, I got it finally off my chest :-) it’s been bothering me for years

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ship of Theseus

I hope this ship aka movie is going to make it to US shores.

MAMI review of Ship of Theseus

Ship of Theseus, Wikipedia

 

 

 

Jolly LLB on collision course with India’s esteemed legal Incs

Hello lawyers, lighten up! It’s just a comedy.

From the director/writer  of  the wonderful quirky movie Phas Gaye Re Obama,  where a bankrupt American gets kidnapped and devises a plot together with his kidnappers how to make money out of their failing plot,  comes a new film along, Jolly L.L.B. This time Subhash Kapoor ventures into the court system in India.

Lawyers filed a petition against the film claiming it undermines the dignity of lawyers and judges of India’s legal system. That’s funny already and should be incorporated in the film as a side-show. Look, I would think the dignity of Indian courts is in question when rapists get a slap on the hand, when VIPs, who trespass the laws, never serve a sentence…but no, a comedy, a satire apparently is more inflammatory and damaging. Okay.

 

Here is a good interview I found on TOI with Boman Irani, who’s playing a hot-shot lawyer in the movie, talking about his costar Arshad Warsi, children, and India’s New Wave cinema.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/entertainment/bollywood/Boman-Irani-talks-about-his-role-in-Jolly-LLB/videoshow/18746387.cmshttp://

 

 

 

 

“Shootout at Wadala” already making waves

I love Indian crime stories. They are gritty, messy, wild, passionate. In the US they are polished, predictable and boring. Bharat mein, pre-release there are always some little scandals surfacing, pushing much awaited release dates back. Personally I believe that monies might get shoved under some tables to make more people happy.This is India, afterall, where honey cakes get divided, or else!!

Shootout at Wadala is no exception. but it’s not about release dates but rather it might step on some sensitive toes in the underworld.  specifically, we hear,  Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar is not happy with his depiction by Sonu Sood :-) so there, let’s quickly change the character’s name..we don’t want Ibrahim to be sulking.

I just ordered the book the movie is based on. Dongri to Dubai  by Hussain Zaidi at amazon. I hope it’s not written in Hindi :-) i did it a bit in a hurry.

Directed by Sanjay Gupta, close friend of Sanjay Dutt, who was proofreading the script and exclaiming here and there,” no it wasn’t like that at all!” I am making fun of course, Sanjay Dutt has no connections to the underworld whatsoever.

What I am looking forward to is John Abraham and not because of his muscles displays. He is just getting better and better with every film. more forceful, more powerful, more convincing. He can play the phonebook, he’s good at comedy at action at drama at romance.  John Abraham is maturing like a good bottle of Bordeaux. And boy, I wish I had him in my wine cellar. I want to add, I very much enjoyed his first gig at producer, Vicky Donor, it was a hilarious movie. (btw, i think Hollywood might have stolen the idea, just saw a trailer yesterday which reminded me very much of Vicky Donor, a bit too much! )

Most of all,  I love John’s naughty little smirk. but that’s just an afterthought….

 

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Dabangg 2, coming with a big bang or leaving through the wormhole?

As a general rule, I don’t like sequels. I just don’t. With the exception of James Bond maybe. On the other hand it always makes me happy when somebody scores a blockbuster in Bollyland and ultimately that’s more important than if I like or don’t like a movie. It feeds a lot of people, creates excitement in the industry and the cash flowing.  I was happy when Salman had a big bang comeback with Wanted. Because I WANTED him to succeed. ( btw,  I enjoyed Wanted more than Dabangg but all the  talking about a #3 when the verdict on #2 isn’t even out yet, for some reason makes me weary).

Trailer of the first one rocked:

So I checked out the soundtrack to see if it gives any indication of what’s to come and neither trailer nor soundtrack left me tingling with anticipation. All very deja-vu. Perhaps I should get hypnotized before the movie to erase all recollection of former Salman heroes and kahanis to sit through it open-minded.

Well, Dagabaaz is a pretty song and Sonakshi is such eye-candy. Hard to resist her.

Sorry, but sequels are for the lazies. Unless there is a progression of a character or something terribly interesting you were waiting for at the end of number 1, then just progress to greener pastures.  As always though,  I hope I will be positively surprised, the miracle of a fabulous sequel which leaves me yearning for more.

Thankfully for the film industry I am not indicative. Just look at the success of the Twilight series (which I ditched after #2), or the Pirates of the Caribbean, (which I also ditched after #2), but if the Godfather can’t pull it off then I doubt anybody can. I am just tired of being sent to watch rehashes. but maybe I am just tired because it’s 2 am. Tomorrow I will have to rewrite the whole blog. With a more positive spin.

Let’s see what the reviews will be like and the audiences’ reaction and see the glass half full instead of 2 am empty.

 

Okay, now that I am awake, just to clarify, I don’t want to diss Salman bhai’s movie beforehand, because the guy is larger than life and I love his little chutzpah smile. What would Bollywood be without him! Unthinkable! So my sequel phobia won’t overrule my love for Salman Khan. If he wants to hit us with one, two or three banggs won’t matter all that much. He is Bollywood’s heartbeat and should keep on ticking.

 

 

Khiladi786’s genius soundtrack

I am going to watch Khiladi this weekend, and I am excited. Not so much because I love bodies flying through the air, car collisions and firecracker-Kung-Fu. Well, I do love Akki, but that’s besides the point.

My autistic and predominantly non-verbal student LOVES Bollywood music, so whenever a new movie comes out I am showing him the trailer and the songs. I show him Stardust magazines with all its glamorous Bollywood stars. When I point and ask him “who is this?” he will identify the star with 100% accuracy. On our frequent walks I may start humming a BW tune and lo and behold he will know one or two lines of the lyrics -without understanding a word. Point in case I was humming after a very long hiatus Chammak Challo and he knew the title and who’s acting in the movie.

Today I was telling him about the upcoming Khiladi and I went on Youtube to show him the trailer and then the songs. I had seen the trailer but I had no idea how many beautiful tunes it had!

From my student’s point of view here are the songs he liked best: (with passionate repeat-listening..)

Hookah Bar

music and lyrics  and vocals by Himesh Reshammiya

in second place came The Lonely Song, credits go again to  Himesh and Yo Yo Honey Singh & Hamsika Iyer
Lyrics by: Shabbir Ahmed

followed by Saari Saari Raat also by the ultra-talented Himeshji, GEE!!

and we liked Long Drive, music Himesh.  sing sing: Mika Singh

for some reason Balmo came last in our favorite countdown:

music Himesh, singers  Shreya Ghoshal and Sreeram

I mean, this movie is a musical treasure chest

and off I go to buy the CD :-)

can’t wait to see these beautiful songs on the big screen!!

– which makes me laugh because before my Bollywood mania days  I DESPISED music and dance in movies. Go figure.  What a turnaround.

Thank you Youtube, Eros Entertainment and T-series for all these great Bollywood video clips

And thanks Bollywood for adding another dimension to my life. With its colors, its music, its stars, it just brings so much joy, not just to me but all the peeps I can share this passion with. Like my wonderful student.

Khiladi holladi holladidum

releases Dec 7th

Action: Akki in his hottest, pheromoniest Khiladi avatar! Get ready!! Looks like fun.

I love Akshay Kumar in action-packed roles. He’s a bit older now but age doesn’t seem to interfere with his sexiness. Whereas I find that Salman Khan and Shahrukh have lost some of their legendary sex-appeal [ but maybe that’s just me],  this little gangster hasn’t.

He’s a bit heavier around the middle but I don’t mind. hey, and that’s the keyword: MIND. Akki sparkles with genuine enthusiasm and it’s somehow contagious. Salman looks a lit bit worn out. Shahrukh turned slightly introvert, Akki seems to enjoy himself. Even in lukewarm or disastrous movies, he is always a breeze of fresh air. so yes, I am looking fwd to the movie.

 

Most of all, however, I’d  like to see him pairing up again with John Abraham! That would be my greatest joy. They make such a power-team! Garam Masala, Desi Boyz… Action/Romance/Comedy: Can you make it a triple play!?

Midnight’s Children US release date still in the dark

From the wonderful filmmaker Deepa Mehta, who brought us the impressive  trilogy Fire (96),  Earth (98)  and Water (2005) (which always top my list of recommendations),   the irreverent comedy  Bollywood Hollywood (2002)  and the deeply disturbing Heaven on Earth (2008), here comes her maybe greatest venture Midnight’s Children, based on the prize-winning novel by Salman Rushdie.

Music by the multi-talented composer and songwriter Nitin Sawhney, whose music never ceases to inspire.

Midnight’s Children premiered in September 2012 at the Telluride Film Festival  and was presented shortly afterwards at the Toronto Film Festival. Hopefully we’ll get to see it soon here in the US. What takes it so long!?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Life of Pi

 

This is a movie I have been waiting for feverishly. But I have to bite my nails until Sunday.  The new cinematic venture by Ang Lee, Life of Pi,  promises some spectacular visuals. And to my delight it has an almost all-Indian cast, which includes the great Irrfan Khan, Tabu and newcomer Suraj Sharma in his role as Pi Patel, the zookeeper’s son, who gets stranded, shipwrecked, with a hungry, disoriented tiger as only company. [ Look who’s coming for dinner. Could it get any worse? :-) ]

Santiago-born cinematographer Claudio Miranda has worked on several movies as chief lighting technician in the past, did commercials, music videos. Light is the alpha & omega in photography and cinematography. Right off from the trailer of Life of Pi  that sensitivity becomes obvious. Miranda’s website gives a glimpse of his talent: www.claudiomiranda.com. He honed his skills as cinematographer in  The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and TRON: Legacy.  Godknows, Miranda might very well become one of our most influential cinematographers in time, but that’s just a gut feeling. He seems to be the perfect match for grandmaster Ang Lee, who is directing this new 3D extravaganza. I am not a fan of 3D but this one I believe is worth the nuisance.

Ang Lee’s work speaks for itself. Eat Drink Man Woman. 94. Genius. If you haven’t seen it yet, go check it out. Sense and Sensibility (95) based on the Jane Austen novel starring Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet and Hugh Grant. Lives spinning out of control in  Ice Storm (97) with Kevin Kline.  unforgettable. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (2000) which popularized flying up walls and jumping roofs defying gravity. nough said.Oh and the Oscar winner, the epic Brokeback Mountain with Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, which included a lot of manly sex, longing and heartache. I can still smell the campfire, the grand wide landscapes and cowboy boots. Ang Lee always delivers. Life of Pi will be another exceptional film from this masterful filmmaker.

I feel like a kid counting the days until Christmas: 2+1/2.  My only regret is, I haven’t read the book. But maybe that’s a good thing. Sometimes it works better this way around. Movie first, book later. For me, at least. More suspenseful.

crouching tiger fighting Khiladi 786

 

What happened to good old fashioned somewhat realistic fight scenes? (ahhh if it wasn’t for the silly sound effects..)

 

crouching tiger hidden something whatever has ruined it for us. I knew it then. That was the end of an era. Since then we have learned to filmistically fly up walls and through the air like birthday balloons. Sorry but it’s getting old on me. Give me stuff people can actually do.

Aside from that I am happy to see Akki back in action mode.