Filed under: Celebrity, News, Opinion

Usually when one receives the Filmfare Best Male Debut Award for his first film, despite the fact that it was a bland and a bird-brained-script laden Saawariya, you tend to lose your bearings, and your moorings. It also piles on tones of pride when you get it beating another debut act (Neil Nitin Mukesh) whose Johnny Gaddar was a refreshingly crafted Bollywood product, which had both the critics and the fans rooting for it. Surely, the voting community at Filmfare Awards must have seen something in Ranbir Kapoor which the Constant Movie Fans missed in Saawariya.

There is a pattern seen among most of those who "arrive" into Bollywood with this deadly combination of a starry lineage and a Debut Award. It also brings along with it the pompousness and foolish pride masquerading as star power. Once the misplaced feeling of self - righteousness has set in, only God can save you. Usually after the next three releases that sink without a trace, sanity and commonsense sets in ( Hritik Roshan, Kareena Kapoor, Akshaye Khanna - the list is an eye - opener). For Ranbir Kapoor, there was a slight change in the script here. His debut film itself sank without a trace. Though the leading role came on a silver platter, along with a marketing strategy and an A -list Director, Ranbir Kapoor curiously had earned it, slogging it in a very useful apprenticeship, learning the craft under the tutelage of the very same Director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

But the pattern was back. Saawariya was followed by an equally miserable disaster called Bachna Ae Haseeno, directed by Siddharth Anand must have put the much needed sensibility and the fear of the Lord in Ranbir Kapoor because it seemed to take Ranbir in an altogether different direction, daringly decisive and later proved right.

His new direction was pursuing a strategy of relying on the script and NOT the budget, along with the confidence the director brought to the script. Ayan Mukherji's directorial debut, (produced by Karan Johar's Dharma Productions and distributed by UTV), called Wake Up Sid, that released on October 2nd, 2009 was refreshingly different. Though the script had holes and patchy transitions at parts, he literally lived the role of Sid - "a lazy, aimless, unmotivated slacker from Mumbai" who finds direction in his life with the arrival of Aisha ( played by Konkona), who teaches him the real purpose of living a life, rather than existing by virtue of being alive. For a movie made on a modest Bollywood standard of Rs 15 Crore, the Box Office earnings as of 15 October, 2009 stands at Rs 25 Crore.

Ranbir seems to be poised at the rising tip of a growth curve now. Wake Up Sid seems to have metaphorically transcended to real - life if one takes a look at his choice of roles for his forthcoming movies that would be releasing in November and December.
There is promise in the air.
There is Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani directed by Rajkumar Santoshi - a rollicking love story, paired opposite Katrina Kaif, which is in the news for all the wrong reasons of late.
And in December, Ranbir's Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year - directed by Shimit Amin ( of Chak de India! ) and produced by Yash Raj Films, hits the theaters meeting Aamir's Three Idiots head on.
Rocket Singh also bears a striking resemblance to the Hollywood Flick - Employee of the Month. But, we will confirm it as we get more details.
The last quarter of 2009 will be decisive for Ranbir as far as his craft, carrer and his growth curve in Bollywood is concerned.
Here is wishing him all the luck Prem and Rocket can bring around, in 2009.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: News, Opinion

It may sound awfully inauspicious this Season, but somebody has to say it. It is one thing to have 'inspiration' from a creative product but it is doubly painful to watch the line getting longer by the day.When Dil Bole hadippa came around, and the biggest love factory in Asia went about promoting that spunky Kaur moon - lighting as a spunkier cricket - crazy Sardar, and reams of interviews about the uniqueness of the plot, you forgave them.
I mean, how can you be so naive about all this in this age of information, where evrything you need to search and be informed is at the ease of pressing a key.
Did Aditya Cjopra really think that no one would find the startling similarities been Dil Bole Hadippa and She's the Man directed by Andy Fickman, released in 2006 which is the story of this girl who takes the place of her identical twin - brother, stars in football and falls for his buddy. Yeah, I know, where you are heading with the counter - argument for this one. Change football to cricket, add punjab and patriotism (the usual Yashraj ingredients) and voila, your dish is complete.
What is even more hilarious was She's the Man itself was a reworking of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.
And then came Acid Factory. Coming from Sanjay Gupta, it was no surprise about the originality of the film, but this took the cake amongst all his inspirations.The Columbian film - maker Simon Brand's Unknown released in 2006 in English worldwide and as Mentes en Blanco in Columbia tells you exactly the same story. But, even the original loses steam after the first 20 minutes as the director loses all semblence of ideas and the plot goes into hamming over - drive. It was more of taking Christopher Nolan's Memento (our own Ghajini) and extending it to the entire movie's set of characters. But, it was an acid bath, literally for the movie fans as they watched this garbage in Hindi.
It just didn't stop there.
Blue, the biggest and the costliest Bollywood production is a a mix of two movies , main parts copied from Into the Blue and land action from Torque. Even the story line seems uncannily similar to Into the Blue, starring Jessica Alba and Paul Walker was about a under water treasure hunt by a deep sea diver dreaming of discovering a Spanish galleon, loaded with gold and becoming rich.

And to top it off, Into the Blue was inspired from Peter Benchley's The Deep which was made into a movie in 1977.

Or, for that matter,Sallubhai's Main aurr Mrs.Khanna.

Take the song Tumne Sochcha from Mein aurr Mrs.Khanna.
The song is an unprecedented feat of musical mastery by Sajid - Wajid who seemed to have taken the rhythm of Every breath you take and the song structure of Blackhole Sun by Soundgarden. Amazing!!
The much awaited Teen Patti is another inspired thriller from 21 starring Kevin Spacey.
More on it later.
Warm Diwali wishes to everyone.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: Celebrity, News, Opinion

I jerked upright in the middle of the night imagining that I was caught in a bomb blast. Silly me! It's Diwali time. What did I expect? One of my very excited neighbor decided that he wanted to burst an atom bomb in that very-human (read: inhuman) time of the night, right on the top of my sleepy head. Well, this one time, I am not going to go blast his head instead. Diwali hain, hak bantha hain!

I wish, like in my neighborhood, such blockbusters happened in our B-town too. Diwali has always been the time for big releases in Bollywood - creating a nail-biting situation for film makers and audiences alike. I guess this year its no different. With three films hitting the limelight at the same time, I am all confused here. Which one do I go to first? Which one is paisa-wasool, which one is bheja-fry?

Let's expand on that thought!

The most hyped and the most spent upon release, I would say, is Ashtavinayak Productions' Blue. 100+ crores is no small deal. It's more like placing your one foot in the grave. If the movie doesn't do well, no prizes for guessing how big the loss will be. Let's be hopeful though. An elaborate casting with Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt, Lara Dutta, Zayed Khan and Katrina Kaif topped with a nice chiggy-wiggy performance by Kylie Minogue and not to forget the over-the-top underwater and on ground stunts, Blue definitely seems big to me. AR Rahman gives some good music and I cannot wait to see Resul Pookutty's underwater magic. So what if it's a remake of some Hollywood flick? Some inspiration is good. I hope the film doesn't give me any Diwali-blues!

Promising to get your guts out, err... I mean... make you laugh your guts out with some hilarious situations and some (hopefully non-hilarious) action sequences, Ajay Devgan's All the Best also hits the theaters this Diwali. The star cast of the movie includes Ajay Devgan himself, Sanjay Dutt, Fardeen Khan, Bipasha Basu, Mugdha Godse and Asrani. The music has been provided by Pritam. The movie is all about how Prem (Ajay Devgan) and Veer (Fardeen Khan) try untangling some chaos created by Dharam Kapoor (Sanjay Dutt) through lots of lies and some massive funny cover-ups. I hope the film turns out to be as funny as it sounds. The entire star cast seem like they badly need a hit film for the well-being of their careers. All the very best to All the Best and its cast. However, if you take a look back, last year Rohit Shetty-Ajay Devgan's team effort Golmaal Returns did give the Khan and the Deol brothers (Heroes) a run for their monies! Should we expect something like that for this year too?

Let's move on to Main Aur Mrs. Khanna. A joint production of Sohail Khan Productions and UTV SpotBoy Pictures, this Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Sohail Khan starrer film revolves around an extra marital affair. I think there are by now atleast a zillion movies with this as the concept. So, the concept by itself has lots to prove. I am hoping that the storyline is different from all other similar concept movies. Like everybody else, I cannot take a repetition here. Preity Zinta looks slightly out of place in the item number and Deepika Padukone's special appearance better be for a reason. Salman has had very little luck in the past few years, especially during Diwali - Saawariya, Kyun Ki, Heroes, all flopped big time. Are we to expect a Deja-vu this year again?

My prediction seems to be a little biased towards Blue since it's got a lot to offer. Secondly in my list, I d say is All the Best - Silly comedies sometimes create wonder. As for Main Aur Mrs. Khanna, I really am not too optimistic. Will have to wait for the D-day to see how accurate my prediction is!

Deep blue waters, an extra marital affair, outright comedy - You make your choice. I have chosen all of it. Along with some crackers, family-time and lots of food, Diwali day is also going to be a movie day for me!

Happy Diwali all of you!

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: Review, Opinion

There is one particular genre of movies which force you to contemplate on the broader picture, in other words, expects you to use your brains and form an opinion. And there is another genre which just expects you to keep watching. Karan Johar's Wake up Sid falls under the latter category.
It did not surprise me even a bit when the very spoilt and aimless slacker (but dil se accha) Sidharth 'Sid' Mehra (Ranbir Kapoor) learns how to live his life independently and realises that he is in love with the much older Aisha Banerjee (Konkana Sen Sharma). It's the way any movie with this storyline should move. And it played exactly in the same lines. No need for a revelation there.

Produced by Karan Johar's Dharma Productions and distributed by UTV Motion Pictures, this romantic comedy film is Ayan Mukherji's directorial debut.

So, what worked?
The cast and acting. Yes. Brilliant Casting. Months ago when I read an article where Karan Johar claimed that watching the movie was the only way to understand the chemistry between Ranbir and Konkana, I just dismissed it as yet another movie maker's promising statement. We all are used to such things, aren't we? (My movie biggest, my script greatest, my cast coolest... blah blah). Wake up Sid definitely has given me good hopes about all other unlikely pairs in Bollywood.

The lead actors fit naturally in their roles. Ranbir seemed cute (first time for me) and Konkana - tussi cha gaye! She's pretty, acts her age and acts her role. Thank god! Anupam Kher and Supriya Pathak are promising and so is the rest of the cast. Kudos to all! Not to forget, Rahul Khanna looks very attractive!

Cinematography: I usually relate camera and angles to action and superhero films. But, Anil Mehta (Director of Photography) proves that interesting camera work can be effective on down-to-earth movies too. The angle-wise feel of the movie was great!

What didn't?
Movie Runtime. Too much. Too long. I personally feel the movie would've had some more appeal if the curtains were down in two hours. Three hours was unnecessarily long!
To Filmmakers: The lesser (the crap) the better!

Kashmira Shah. Why? Somebody enlighten me please.

What could have been better?
Music. I loved the Ghoonja Sa Koi Ek Thara number. It was definitely refreshing and definitely Indian. As for the other songs, well, I still can't make out one from another. It all sounds just the same. Some more variety would have been appreciated.

Storyline: Too predictable. Some surprise/intrigue factor would've made me happier.

Overall, the movie is worth the watch, time and money. A well deserved three stars!
If you still haven't, Go for it people!

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: Celebrity, Opinion

Dear Sanju Baba,

As a true blue fan of movies in general, and Bollywood in particular, I can't even recall off - hand the last last time I sat back and really enjoyed a Sanjay Dutt movie, in the past 3 years.The farthest I can look back is to a September, 3 years back when Laage Raho Munnabhai was released, and with your genial charm and dead -pan humor went on to collect close to Rs.70 crore in gross revenues.

There was a glimmer of the affable Sanjay Dutt's Jadoo, (a flare would be more appropriate), in Shootout at Lokhandwala, but that was it.
And that was in 2007.
The list of projects that you were associated with, in the last three years, looks more like a consolidated who - is - who of the general list of Bollywood celluloid disasters.
To refresh your memory, here are a few of the infamous ones -
Eklavya: The Royal Guard
Nehlle Pe Dehlla
Sarhad Paar
Dhamaal
Dus Kahaniyan
Woodstock Villa
Mehbooba
Kidnap
EMI
and Luck, the latest of the flaming, burning wrecks.

Though none of us have actually felt your 'absence', being in the news for all the other reasons than movies, the question is still begging to be answered.

The final quarter of this financial year, thankfully has 3 of your movies to look forward to. All the Best - Fun Begins, produced by Ajay Devgan, (flush with his back- to - back success of Golmaal and Golmaal Returns), the insanely - big budget caper Blue, and of course butting heads with Big B and the Supernatural in Aladin.

It is highly fortunate, and pretty darn lucky too, to have the creative support, and the associated tinsel power that comes with it in all the three releases associated with you, in this quarter.

Anyway you look at it, it is a safe bet.

It is Aladin amongst the three, that has invariably piqued our curiosity levels, and its been a long time since a Sanjay Dutt movie did that to us.

That is a very good sign.

Here is wishing you, Sanju Baba, all the best as you return to the marquee with a triple shot at regaining your lost glory.

Regards,

A Very Optimistic Constant Movie Fan.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments