Amitabh Bachchan asked to carry Olympic torch

If anyone deserves this honor,  it’s Big B. He actually deserves a gold medal after everything he has been through in life!  You gotta love him.  He is my favorite living Bollywood legend.  Have you seen him swing his leg in Bol Bachchan? :-)

If they should ever make a Grandpa Barbie doll I hope they will model it after him.

good idea, btw…

 

 

 

Amitabh Bachchan to carry Olympic torch in London

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Mumbai: In what will be a rare honour for India, Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan has been invited to carry the Olympic torch on the final leg of its relay on Thursday.

An overwhelmed Big B, tweeted about the impending event, “OK !! HERE IT IS : Have been invited by London Olympic Organizing Committee to carry the torch in the relay tomorrow ..”

The face of Indian cinema and the country’s rich cultural heritage for over four decades, has been specially invited to be a part of the London Olympics.

Amitabh will carry the torch in the Southwark area in south London. Talking about the it, the 69-year-old megastar wrote on the micro-blogging site, “Honored to be asked to carry the Olympic Torch in London at Southwark around 10:30 AM !! A proud moment for me and country!”

The Indian star will be in hallowed company with United Nations (UN) secretary-general Ban Ki-moon among the dignitaries who will be the torchbearers on the relay’s final leg. Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal and his 36-year-old son, Aditya, will also be among the individuals who will carry the Olympic torch a day before the Games begin.

The 32.7 mile relay has other legendary personalities from all over the world and all walks of life carrying the prestigious Olympics torch. Other eminent personalities, who will be a part of this event with Big B include Lawrence Dallaglio, Lewis Moody (England rugby players), Jim Anderson (novelist), Phil Packer (army hero and marathon man), Darren Fitzpatrick (Aussie Rules coach) and Tom Davis (2006 Commonwealth judo champion).

This is not the first time that Bollywood stars have been a part of the Olympic torch relay.

For the 2004 Athens Games, Euphoria lead singer Palash Sen, filmstars Aamir Khan, Vivek Oberoi, Bipasha Basu and Rani Mukherjee had been among the torch bearers.

The torchbearers for the 2008 Beijing Olympics included Bollywood brother-sister duo of Saif Ali Khan and Soha Ali Khan.

Action star Akshay Kumar has had the honour of being the torch bearer for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

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http://ibnlive.in.com/news/amitabh-bachchan-to-carry-olympic-torch-in-london/274834-8-66.html

 

 

Rowdy Ram….Gopal Varma should stop apologizing. Department ain’t bad.

Thumbs down for all the critics who panned it. I should know better by now and not listening to critics. Is it because I am watching Bollywood movies from a Western perspective, or because I am weird, but I LOVED Department!

It’s a  department from your typical  good-cop bad-cop, corrupt politician, or in this case, gangster-turned-politician,  feuding-dons-narrative. Partly because the camera angles force you out of your comfort zone and turn everything upside down in unison with the characters who switch continuously in their loyalties.  At the end you are visually and mentally puzzled and can’t tell right from wrong anymore yourself. As the characters keep emphasizing, only situations keep fluctuating in terms of right or wrong. Illegally legal or legally illegal?   Unfortunately there is a component of a disturbingly wishful thinking  here, why not create a system that allows us to kill off all the bad guys without giving them legal recourse, in a Gestapo death squad fashion. It also shows you how complicated it could get.

I usually fall asleep during these kind of movies, but Department had me up and interested in the progression of the story from the first to the last moment. Big B as Sarjerao and Sanjay Dutt, as police officer Mahadev, were just marvelous to watch in action, how they can bring to life complex characters with such ease. I also enoyed Rana Daggubati’s performance in his transformation from good, brave and honest cop to kiss my derriere.

Ram Gopal Varma was lucky Sunny Leone pulled out.  Nathalia Kaur was sensationally hot. She was ON FIRE! an erupting volcano of sensuality. junglee wild. Her item number was breath-taking.  The other songs fell flat. Even though I enjoyed watching Amitabh swinging his leg…:-)

Abhimanyu Singh as  DK and Madhu Shalini as Naseer were miscast.  Naseer wasn’t sociopathic enough.  Kalki Koechlin would have been a better choice for that role.

Vijay Raaz as Sawatya, the don who keeps losing clout, was an asset.  some memorable camera shots and light.

I loved the queer cinematography, the exaggerations of the fight scenes. It all added up to be wildly entertaining. from foot fetish to tea-cup fetishism, the unbalanced and shaky camera. I thought it was all very original. I truly enjoyed the movie. And I BET cinematographers will use those ideas and maybe integrate them with more finesse perhaps, but they should take notice and integrate some of these concepts in movies of this genre.

Bombay theater in Flushing had actually a fairly nice showing. Of course 99% were men. I was surprised after these terrible reviews to see anybody show up.

I  have one dumb question though for those bravehearts, who actually watched the movie:  I don’t know if it  might have been lost in translation or set up intentionally, but Who was  Mohammed Gauri in all of this. Did I miss the most important point or could this have been

A tool for setting up a possible sequel?

Plot

When police officer Mahadev Bhosale (Sanjay Dutt) is asked by his bosses to form a hit squad to take on the Mumbai underworld, he recruits Shiv Narayan (Rana Daggubati), an honest and brave police officer who had been suspended for an encounter killing.

Together, Mahadev, Shiv and others in the ‘Department’ take on Sawatya’s (Vijay Raaz) gang. Sawatya, in spite of many exhortations by his number two, D.K. (Abhimanyu Shekhar Singh), and D.K.’s feisty girlfriend, Naseer (Madhu Shalini), does not hit back at the police.

There is another rival gang, lead by one Mohammad Gauri.

There is also the gangster-turned-minister, Sarjerao Gaikwad (Amitabh Bachchan), who takes Shiv under his wing after Shiv saves his life at a public rally. Mahadev warns Shiv that Sarjerao is just using him. After a certain turn of events, it is exposed that Mahadev is actually working for Mohammad Gauri and is, at the ganglord’s behest, finishing off Sawatya’s gang.

While Shiv declines to be a part of Mahadev’s corrupt world, and Mahadev agrees to let him be, things start falling apart between the mentor and the apprentice when Shiv starts taking on a sub-gang formed by D.K., under Mahadev’s protection.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_%28film%29

postscript:

 

A lot of people hated it, some liked it, me for example. Unfortunately it did very poorly at the box office. Sorry, RGV. not only did it cost you professional friendships, but it looks like it’s going to be a huge financial loss. For the time being.

I can imagine though that people will warm up to it eventually. The performances were really good and it was a hell of a funny movie. :-)

 

MUMBAI: As reported by businessofcinema.com, amongst major films, Ram Gopal Varma’s ‘Department’ had replaced Venus’ ‘Tezz’, as the lowest opener of 2012 with first day collections of approximately Rs 25 million ( Rs 2.5 crore) net.

The first week collections showed no improvement. For a film opening in more than 1500 screens, ‘Department’ has seen the lowest first week collections. The total first week collections are in the range of Rs 115 million (Rs 11.50 crore) net.

Making matters worse, the second week has begun on an extremely poor note. On the 8th day, there has been a fall in collections of close to 95%.

 

 

Department ( in my heart ) for Big B

I wouldn’t be  half that excited about Department (where, I am sure, blood will flow abundantly) if it wasn’t for seeing Amitabh Bachchan again on screen, very much alive and hopping. After his health scare I am grateful for every movie we  get with him. He is still the heart and soul of Bollywood. He is living what he is preaching in his movies. He is a role model and I love him.

Kammo

As it often is the case with living legends like Amitabh, his true worth and what he means to the industry and India at large will only be fully understood and recognized when the day nears, godforbid, that he will leave the stage. so I make it a point for myself to fully appreciate him now!

The film stars besides Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt and Rana Daggubati in lead roles. Directed by Ram Gopal Varma

John Abraham injured on set. About the hazards of being a Bollywood star…

Our fearless Bollywood stars. Last week it was Vidya Balan, on the train tracks who escaped death,  now John got punched on the set of Shootout At Wadala (by mistake, wrongly timed punch)   hard on his precious nose, and don’t we love his nose, He was bleeding profusely, a doctor was called and he won’t resume shooting until March 9th. Not too long ago Abhishek Bachchan sustained an injury… if I recall it was his hand, no, his eye. His hand, that was another accident..(don’t have the time to google it).

Shahrukh is paying dearly for all his stunts of the past. He has been through so many crippling back injuries, surgeries… his doctors are in awe how he coped with all of it. Our Bollywood stars are No Sissies. They are THE REAL DEAL.  They walk the talk, ahem, the script. They do have stuntmen of course but from what I understand they do a lot of the risky stuff on their own. I am in awe!!  In Hollywood they got stuntmen who sit on the toilet in lieu of their actors, in Bollywood the stars dance on moving trains!!!

 

I can never forget how perplexed when I saw Dil Se for the first time and I kept rewinding to see if there was any special effect involved: No, there wasn’t!

and how can you not sing the praises of the whole group and camera crew… On Bollywood sets you truly live on the edge!

 

John Abraham nose punch:

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Abhishek Bachchan on the set of Bol Bachchan

30159350_1_abhishek-bachchan-rickshaw-bol-bachchan

 

Vidya Balan’s brush with serious accident on the set of Kahaani

bollywoodDetails020312h.php

 

Srk accident on set of Don2:  (pay attention to “likes to do his own stunts…”)

srk%E2%80%99s-accident-on-sets-of-don-2.21732

 

and this is just the recent count, let’s not forget Koyla, the movie where Shahrukh almost got killed:

koyla-nearly-killed-shah-rukh-during-filming.12182

 

but the worst of all accidents in Bollywood’s history was Amitabh Bachchans injury of the set of Coolie, which almost cost him his life and has altered it forever.

 

There are so many examples of movie set heroism, near fatal accidents, I am bowing my head to our daredevil Bollywood actors! One more reason to love them…

 

 

 

 

Big B undergoing abdominal surgery

Bollywood’s luminary in absolute,  Amitabh Bachchan, has to undergo abdominal surgery today.  He looks like a healthy and strong man and it’s hard to believe to hear him say “my body is a war zone, one which has been through a great deal and still does”.  This wouldn’t be the first time a nation prays for him. In 1982, he cheated death by little when he received  a nearly fatal injury on the set of the movie Coolie, rupturing his spleen.  I remember reading people were lined up around the hospital for weeks. He was as beloved then as he is now.

 

 

 

And who in India doesn’t love Big B…  We can’t imagine  Bollywood, no,  Mumbai, no,  India, without this larger than life figure. So he’ll just have to live for another 50 years. Sorry.

A Big prayer for Big B, as it is Feb 11th  in Mumbai.  5.27  a.m. to be precise,  (almost 7 pm here in NY).   He was confident, his doctors are.  I hope we will hear good news soon and he will recover in no time.   Meanwhile, thanks Amitabh for all the wonderful films you have made!

I should have rented Sholay…

We are thinking of you, Amitabhji.

Amitabh_Bachchan

 

 

 

Update:

After pain, Amitabh Bachchan remains in hospital

Wednesday, Feb 15, 2012

 

Amitabh Bachchan remained in SevenHills Hospital here for a fourth day Tuesday after two abdominal surgeries, with a source saying he won’t be discharged immediately.

The Bollywood megastar tweeted Monday night that he was having severe pain where the surgeries were done Saturday. He also gave a detailed account of his condition on his blog.

But there was no word from him Tuesday. His family and doctors at the hospital have also not spoken. But an informed source told IANS that the actor was unlikely to be discharged until early Wednesday.

The 69-year-old was earlier meant to be freed Monday.

His son Abhishek had updated details of his father’s surgery Saturday, but he made no comment Tuesday.

Amitabh had tweeted earlier that his release from hospital was delayed because of acute pain.

“NOT SUCH AN EXCITING DAY! Acute pain throughout, but bearing up … still in hospital and delay now in release,” he tweeted Monday.

“The morning has been nightmarish. There has been incredible pain in the region of the surgery, and the spasms so acute that they brought me to the level of a scream … which is saying a lot, for, my resistance to pain has been quite satisfactory in the past,” Amitabh wrote on bigb.bigadda.com Monday night.

“But the doctors were immediately summoned. After change in the dressings and pain killers, there seems to be some semblance of relief. Not entirely, but enough,” he added.

The actor has been suffering from abdominal problems stemming from the injury he suffered during shooting of “Coolie” in 1982.

Bollywood celebrities are making a beeline to the hospital, which has turned into a veritable fortress to keep the media at bay.

Directors Ram Gopal Varma and Apoorva Lakhia called on Bachchan Tuesday. Ramesh Taurani, Sanjay Dutt and his wife Manyata visited him earlier.

Reporters, photographers and TV crew have parked themselves outside the hospital for a glimpse of Bachchan, who started his acting career in 1969 with “Saat Hindustani”. He has acted in 188 movies. – IANS

http://www.bollywoodworld.com/bollywood-news/after-pain-amitabh-bachchan-remains-in-hospital-118544.html

 

Happy Birthday, Junior Bachchan!

Isn’t he most handsome, our little Bachcha?   Born into the most privileged filmi family in Bollywood 36 years ago, he proved his daddy proud. Somehow this family, Big B, Mama B  Jaya, and kids (even if we hear little about his sister Shweta) and grandchildren represent everything we have seen in Indian films. This is a united and devoted family, headed by the almost archaic  patriarch Amitabh Bachchan.  I think this is what I love most about the Bachchans.  Amitabhji  is a very devout, spiritual man with tremendous clout based on his personality alone, forget the fame… There are lots of famous people around,but who can carry themselves with such dignity and grace! Being the son of such an authoritative figure is a job in itself, and I think Abhishek Bachchan does it beautifully. He gets criticized a lot because of his acting, but (me think :-p) those are people who nostalgically think about those classic movies his father did in his time. To be always compared to your father, I can imagine  that’s very difficult. So for years now Abhishek is giving  his very best to prove us wrong. And when you try so hard that’s often very counterproductive in this craft.  I loved him in Dostana when you could see he had lots of fun on the set and he was a NATURAL!  He played John Abraham against the wall, who is usually such an eye-grabber.

I didn’t start out as such, but over the years I became a big fan of Abhi.  You can see how hard he works on himself… if you just remember how clumsily he danced in his earlier films.  He is still not the best dancer but the improvement shows how hard he worked on it.

 

Actually, I am taking that statement back…. haha. I am trying in vain to find a clip to illustrate my point.  Hey, this is kind of cool right here.. but he dances pretty well here  :-)

 

 

Anyways, where was I…   Oh, even though I don’t remember the movie clearly but I thought he had a FANTASTIC chemistry with Preity Zinta in Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. And I’ll love this song forever.. and he looks so hot

 

I loved him in Delhi 6 – what a GREAT movie!!

 

Dostana

 

 

it established that I like Abhishek best in comedies.

 

but I forgot Umrao Jaan where he ( probably) fell in love with his beautiful wife Aishwarya

 

 

How nice to know that these two got married and had  (the still unnamed) Beti B, born November 16th, 2011.   This is indeed a special birthday for Abhi, his first one as a father!

Keep the good traditions alive,  as a son and as a father. It’s so beautiful to see such a united and strong family!  It makes your heart melt.

 

Let us wish him all the happiness on earth!

Happy Birthday, Abhishek!  and good luck with Dostana 2!

 

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(time to change that profile picture… )

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who’s King in Bollywood?

Numero Uno. This is not an easy question to answer! Ever since I started watching Bollywood movies a few years back, I recall  this debate  going on, correction: Raging on! cuz nothing is taken lightly in India…  To the chagrin of  the stars and their entourages involved and to the amusement of audiences – like me, the heated debate of who is Nr.1  is a gladiator fight of gladiatorist proportions. We are in awe.  Let’s look at the contenders. Throughout the 80s 90s up to today this hard-fought for position has been held by a variety of stars:

Shah Rukh Khan  Some call him King.  Some call him dated.  Since his flamboyant debut in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge,  he has been the frontrunner. Not just because of his movies, but the man is just Mr. Charisma Inc.  SRK has a long list of hits under his belt. He’s the desi equivalent of a Beatle in the 60s. When he’s in a generous mood he will come to the balcony of his home and wave to his fans. Yes, he is THAT big. and on top, the most charismatic of all the Indian actors. When he talks to people he will make steel melt, he’s so personable. His last movies were commercial successes but the throne is standing on slippery grounds. Personally, I couldn’t connect to any of his last five or six films. I wasn’t crazy about any but you can’t say that loud because he has millions of fans who will die for him and who will go on barricades. I think he needs not to worry. If #1 is passe, we’ll invent a new category for him.  (like they do at the Zee awards..) or we’ll just make him a Lifetime Hero.

 

 

Aamir Khan.  That doesn’t sit well with Aamir and no. they are not brothers. They are  frenemies, less fr more en.  He has made a few good movies.  His wife Kiran Rao is also someone to watch.  A powerful union.  Aamir pretends he doesn’t care if he is #1 or #2 but that’s bullshit.  I mean this man is box office gold and doesn’t need to worry about public placements. I loved him best in his older movies and my favorite is Earth!  He makes really good movies.  He is known as a perfectionist, so he takes his sweet time to get it right. People say he is shy. But he is not so shy when it comes to promote his movies! I am looking fwd to his next.

 

an older picture but he looks so sexy here :-)

 

Salman Khan, who has been called dead and history more than once ALWAYS bounces back. He has found the success formula with his heroes. But they are getting old. And so does he.  Whenever he reemerges with his big world embracing smile he holds firmly in his fist Box Office Numbers. They are on his side. For the time being. Salman is a party crasher as much as he is a honey-bee. I know lots of people who say he’s the one and only king. The best thing is, he believes it.  The beautiful thing about Salman is his eternal optimism.  It will keep him in the cradle of his all adoring fans.

 

 

 

 

 

Hrithik Roshan . I love the fact that he is back on the throne and people start putting him back into  a possible #1 position. Who would have thought after  Kites and Guzaarish? those movies could have easily been the nails for the fame coffin.  I was sure, he’d phoenix himself out of it.  I liked Kites, btw. couldn’t understand why it was demolished. I celebrate his return with his last two hits:  Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Agneepath.  It feels like he has never left the stadium. Here, Hrithik, you earned the laurels! We’ll make you Kaiser.

 

 

 

 

There is hope then for Akshay Kumar‘s big come-back. I know it’s around the corner. His fans have never abandoned him. He has a steady footing. He is just such an adorable guy. It’s hard not to love him.  I wrote about him in a different post, so I  would  just reiterate which is boring.  Akshay dearest, I will always love you, adore you and watch all your movies.   for therapeutic reasons.  much cheaper than a shrink and less fattening than digging into a pot of chocolate icecream.  It must be the punjabi background  that fills him with irresistible flair and energy… Punjabis know how to celebrate!

 

this picture didn’t come bigger. but you are, in our hearts… :-)

 

 

Fact is, in India, you can be launched into the Nr.1 position with one single boxoffice success, and the movie can stink, the acting being rainbow high over the top. If it appeals to the masses and turns box office revenues into golden cows, you’ll be Nr. One.  But that’s not the only reason. Who is King in Bollywood depends largely on politics, not on movies.

Fans are politically divided and so are their opinions on their stars. Indian fans are not your regular star struck fans. They are MOLOTOV cocktails!!  just go to the Indian cinema board on Imdb and throw in a catch phrase, Aamir Khan is the best!  see what happens.

In my humble opinion, I am not Muslim, Hindu or Quarterback, all these stars will have to take a deep breath because YOUNGER ones will be tomorrow’s superstars. But maybe the whole concept is antiquated.  Maybe that era is already fading. Kids have shorter attention spans. They will not come in drones anymore  and wait for days to get a glimpse of their adored King XYZ. They won’t have time. The economy and making good money will keep them busy. Kingdoms are so yesterday.

 

 

Except the kingdom of  Amitabh Bachchan.

and let’s not get started on the Queens….