What I learnt from Kung Fu Panda!

This very cute and very very inspiring film does not need a review. It is a must see film and a must have DVD. I don't know if its just the state I am in where the lessons from the film seem to be very apt and bang-on-target. While Rashmi Bansal and some other bloggers have come out with their own Management Lessons from Kung Fu Panda, here is what I learnt from this very 'awsome' movie.

1. There are no accidents... : What is is meant to be and how it was destined to be. Do not regret.
2. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present : Learn from the past. Do plan for the future but live in the present. I loved this line. Absolutely!!!
3. No matter what you do, that seed will grow to be a peach tree. You may wish for an apple or an orange, but you will get a peach : If a young boy is destined to be a scriptwriter/storyteller/director he will be one. He can't become a doctor. On a different note, if a young boy is meant to redefine music through algorithms, then no point forcing him to go to Indian Idol.
4. There is no secret ingredient in the secret ingredient soup : To make something special, you just have to believe it's special. Love this thought! Totally!
5. Hollywood not only makes great movies, they make the movies with the best messages too : The Shawshank Redemption, Forrest Gump, A Beautiful Mind, Rocky, Little Miss Sunshine, Crash, Spiderman 1 & 2. Need I say more.

The only film which I give 5 stars. Highly recommended!!!

My Review - You don't mess with the Zohan

Adult humour is okay, but this movie about an ex-Mossad agent(played by Sandler) coming to New York and wanting to be a hairstylist is crass, crude and downright vulgar. Adam Sandler seems to be taking a lot of liberties first with Click and now with Zohan. The only bearable part of this very stupid film is the beautiful Emmanuelle Chriqui and the funny Israeli-Arab accent spoken by almost the entire cast.

For hardcore Adam Sandler fans only!

My Review - Scarface

I remember the first time I saw Agneepath. I remember the last time I saw it. I remember the dialogues. I know the scenes which I really like. I remember "Apun ka naam Vijay Dinanath Chavan, poora naam, maa ka naam Suhasini Chavan, gaon Mandwa".

Now that I have seen Scarface, I feel let down. Cause Agneepath is a copy, certainly not a scene-by-scene DVD copy like Zinda, but the concept, styling and character detailing has been lifted straightawayfrom the 1983 Brian De Palma crime drama about a cuban refugee's rise to the top of the Miami underworld.

Watching Scarface is a treat cause you get to see Al Pacino in full form; his volatile character being one of the highlights for this film. One also gets to see the 1980s Miami and a very young Michelle Pfeiffer.

Highly Recommended!

I am back

Tired, lazy and groggy as one can be from a Goa trip which got extended because of reasons beyond control. Will get back to regular blogging soon.

P.S. - Meanwhile on the way to Goa and back I have discovered one of the greatest music albums ever made by a Bollywood composer. Yes!!! Dev D is the best (original)music to come out of Bollywood in a decade. Check it out, if you still haven't.

My Review - Notting Hill

This is such a funny thing. Just day before yesterday, my wife was telling me all about Notting Hill, how it's the most wonderful(est) romantic comedy ever made and how she remembers each and every line of it and how blah blah blah...by the time she had completed, I was off to sleep.

Coincidentally, it was playing today on HBO and I managed to catch it along with sandwiches and tea. An engaging first half , an innovative ending(though not an airport one), a little boring in the second half is how the movie sums up. The writing in some scenes is pretty amazing especially the 'apricot and honey' bit. Hugh Grant is cute as usual and carries the same expression throughout(Britain's Shahrukh, anyone..eh?). Julia Roberts is... well Julia Roberts.

Total ChickFlick. One time watch!!!

P.S. - An interesting fact is the this $40 Million movie made almost $350 Million dollars in total. That is almost an I, Robot. Also, this is Hugh Grant's biggest hit.

My Review - Rainman

My first introduction to Tom Cruise was in late 1990(I was 13) when I saw his poster at a friend's house. This girl was crazy about Tom Cruise. It was Cruise, cruise and cruise everywhere for her. And I thought huh, yeah he's good looking so what? As my passion for movies grew over the years, I consistently avoided Cruise's films based on this presumption alone. Not that I heard much about Rainman, Born on the fourth of July, A Few Good Men, The Firm, Color of Money etc but I did check out the Mission Impossible series but then that is more of Manmohan Desai kind of cinema. The only Tom Cruise movie I had heard about a lot was Jerry Maguire. So on a relatively sunny day of the cold Delhi winter season in 2003, I saw Jerry Maguire. And INSTANTLY became a Tom Cruise fan.

This little piece of history is important not because I am his die-hard-will-watch-his-movie-first-day-first-show fan but because Cruise has always been a fantastic actor.

In Rainman he plays Charlie Babbit, a car dealer who is in a bit of trouble and requires a substantial sum of money to clear his dues. Somewhere at the same time, he gets to know that his estranged father, with whom he never ever got along, has died. Expecting to gain something from this father's will, he is surprised to learn that he has just left him an old car and donated his entire wealth($3 Million) to the mental institution where his autistic brother(Raymond/Dustin Hoffman) lives. Charlie kidnaps his brother and take him along with himself to meet his lawyers. Since Raymond is afraid of flying, they go by road from Cincinnati to Los Angeles. What happens eventually forms the crux of the movie. Although Dustin Hoffman is perfect(He won an Oscar for this one) as the autistic Raymond, it is Tom Cruise who shines as the icy cold Charlie Babbitt. His journey from being frustrated and irritated at Raymond's actions to a caring and protective brother is touching. The plot is simple and the storytelling is brilliant.

Highly Recommended!!!

Also Read
Roger Ebert's Review

Dev D - First Reviews

Anurag Kashyap gets an average of 2.9 i.e. 3 stars.

Rediff - Raja Sen Review - 3.5 stars
Rajeev Masand - CNN IBN Review - 2 stars
Taran Adarsh - IndiaFM Review - 1 star
Anupama Chopra's Review - 3 stars
Nikhat Kazmi - TOI Review - 5 stars(huh??!!!)

Disclaimer : These are the reviews which I follow. The rest do not matter. Taran Adarsh's review is just for cosmetic purposes.

My Review - Sex and the City

Caught Sex and the City(SATC) on DVD. The TV series ended on a very happy note with Carrie back with Big, Miranda settled with Steve, Samantha confessing(shockingly) to Smith and Charlotte getting a baby through adoption. My only intention was to see where would Michael Patrick King take the story next. Unfortunately, King fumbles and so do the girls(you can't really blame them, they are just following the script). Although die hard fans of SATC would love to see the girls doing their usual routine in New York, the plot is twisted and turned in the worst possible way to make it look like another chapter in their lives.

Dissapointing. Some things should just be left untouched.

My Review - Luck by Chance

After the dissapointments which came last year in the form of a Hancock or a Hulk, a Ghajini or a Rab ne(and please don't even get me started on the Tashans, Singh is Kings and suchlike), I was really looking forward to watching Luck By Chance(LBC).

In his review Rajeev Masand spoke about the opening credits sequence and indeed it is mindblowing especially the shot where Zoya's name comes. LBC is a part-serious part-hilarious look at the hindi fIlm industry. A place which is full of punjabi producers, kanpuria strugglers, overprotective divas, dumb stardaughters, selfish friends and manipulating magazine editors. Zoya Akhtar, having seen most of the behind-the-scenes action herself, narrates the story of Vikram Jai Singh(Farhan) and Sona Mishra(Konkona) beautifully. So you have Zafar Khan(Hrithik), reigning superstar walking out of a producer's film to play second lead in a Karan Johar movie, the flop actor(Sanjay Kapoor) of a big producer turning director, a yesteryear's actress(Dimple) scripting every move of her daughter(Isha Sharwani) to make her entry into Bollywood easier and the saddest but the funniest of the lot, producer Romi Rolly(Rishi Kapoor) who is trying to manage everybody.

There are cameos by almost half the fillum industry(Aamir, SRK, Abhishek, Vivek, Ranbir, Dia, Akshaye Khanna, Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Manish Malhotra) including a brilliant two scene cameo of Anurag Kashyap as a (DVD copycat) writer. The pace is somewhat slow but the gags and punches keep you in the loop. The entire cast plays their part to a T but the highlight is Rishi Kapoor as producer Romi Rolly. He is funny, cunning and emotional at the same time. The only weak link I found in the film is Farhan(who is unconvincing in some scenes) and the music.

Luck by Chance is an exciting debut by Zoya Akhtar. Not to be missed.

Also Read

Anupama Chopra's Review

IndiaFM - Taran Adarsh Review

Nikhat Kazmi - TOI Review

Best of the the 80s

On Rediff. I keep saying every now and then that the 80s were probably the worst time in Indian cinema. And when I look at this list which has Mirch Masala, Chashme Baddoor, Jaane Bhi Do yaaron etc on it, I feel like an ass.

Must see!

Isn't this

interfering in other countries' internal affairs? Especially when we as a country have always opposed Pakistan's interference.

Also read : Jug Suraiya on internationalizing Kashmir

Chandi Chowk to China - A lesson

For everybody concerned. I don't agree with the premise that content is the king in Bollywood. Om Shanti Om was unbearable in the second half. So were Welcome and Singh is King. And the less said about Ghajini, the better. In the business of movies, exclusivity is the key. A fact which was recognized by some superstars quite early. Aamir, SRK and Hrithik have restricted themselves to one film a year, which ensures if nothing else their movies get a great opening and hence break even. And more or less, their roles are different in every film even if they are low on content.

Aamir leads the way in this strategy. A look at his last five films(The Rising, Rang De Basanti, Fanaa, TZP, Ghajini) gives you an idea of the way he has built his brand. Even though The Rising was not a super duper hit, it got a great initial which made it to break even(an added fact was that it was Aamir's first release in five years). Every movie since Aamir has been getting a new hairstyle and the media has been lapping it up. He has been living his characters through the media. The media's limited access to him has only added to the exclusivity factor. And the results are there for everyone to see.

Not many Bollywood commentors look at this fact but even SRK has been working on not more than two films per year. Since Paheli, he has not failed.

Akshay unfortunately has not learnt his lessons. His movies are neither high on content(Unlike Aamir's) and neither is he a great talker(Unlike SRK who visits every TV show and every reporter's house to promote his film). It worked for some time(Namaste London, Welcome, Singh is King) but now Brand Akshay Kumar is showing signs of cracking. Since any industry should not have a monopoly, a strong Brand Akshay Kumar is required to keep the Khans and Roshans in check. But the key question is can he salvage it?

Chandni Chowk to China - First Reviews

Initial reviews are not so flattering. Has this become the rule - big superstar, big film equals brain dead/mindless?

My Review - Ghajini

You could say I spolied the fun myself by watching Memento a week before Ghajini released. But however intelligent Memento might have been, the association of a certain Mr Aamir Khan in this film always made me believe that if not anything Ghajini would have a plot aka storyline. Ghajini is a waste. Of time. Of energy. Of all those things which a cinegoer invests while watching a movie. And here is why

1. Asin is overweight and irritating.
2. The whole lovestory subplot(including the Sanjay Singhania bit) is impractical and stretches too far even by Bollywood standards.
3. Aamir looks great with all that body shoddy and the hairstyle but why he gets into those Sunny Deol style screaming and shouting is something I did not get.
4. I was hoping Murgadoss will concentrate and build upon the initial story as to when he starts tattoing on his body but no, the movie starts of with a ridiculous killing-with-a-tap scene; the buildup of whom is not clearly shown.
5. Inspector Arjun Yadav - Who? Why? From where?
6. The entire film has a distinct South Indian feel which ain't bad but it ain't no good either.
7. The best part about Ghajini is Ghajini himself i.e Pradeep Rawat aka the guy who played the sardar in Lagaan. His haryanvi accent gave me some pleasure in three and a half hours of pure agony.

My nomination for the Worst Film of the year 2008.

P.S. : After watching the end credits roll, I sent a message to my dear friend - 'Is Rab Ne even worse'? Got the reply - 'Yep'.

This is hilarious

...and also a revelation. A reasonable Pakistani. Must see

Thank you India Uncut!

The Bollywood Roundup : Top films of 2008

The year 2008 has been bad, not only with the terror attacks all over India, the stock market meltdown and the slowdown but also terrorism spread from the likes of Mimoh, Tushar Kapoor and Harman Baweja. In a year when the biggies came out with Jodha-Akbar, Tashan, Race, Rab Ne Bana di jodi and Ghajini, you had chotu filmmakers coming out with Aamir, Mithya, Dasvidaniya, Dil Kabaddi etc. So amidst the gloom and the doom I present my best films list of the year.

Number 5 - Mithya
That Ranvir Shourie is talented actor is very well known, what was not known to us that a combination of Shourie+Vinay Pathak+Rajat Kapoor's wacky direction would be a dark comedy with a bundle of surprises. Watching Mithya I was reminded of a line from the Tom Hanks' starrer Forrest Gump - Life is a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get. The movie starts of on a wild note...goes slow in the second half and the ending well.. breaks your heart. Ranvir Shourie is brilliant and so is pal Vinay Pathak.
Rajeev Masand Review of Mithya.

Number 4 - Race
Having a plot which is as straight as a jalebi, Race is one of those typical 90's films of Abbas Mastan. The only difference being that you have more cleavage, mindblowing 'copied' music(as a certain Mr Pritam is the music director), countless twists and turns and jokes so silly that they make you laugh. Sample this line from Anil Kapoor - Ganna chusenge bolne main accha nahi lagta isliye bol raha hun ganna khayenge.
Movies are for entertainment and if you agree with that, Race is a total paisa vasool.

Number 3 - Aamir
Inspired from the filipino film Cavite and brilliantly executed by debutant director Rajkumar Gupta, Aamir is an answer not only to the radical islamists in India but also to the current UPA govt, which undertook the Sachar comittee report. On being taunted that he was one of the lucky few, Aamir replies - "I was not lucky. I studied in govt schools and colleges, worked hard, got a scholarship and made my destiny on my own".

Number 2 - Jaane Tu..ya Jaane na
Movie Talkies called it "One of the coolest, warmest, hippest and funniest musical romantic comedy in years has arrived, and a new Khan is born." I would add 'funniest' and the remove the latter line. Jaane Tu is also an example of how great writing and great dialogues can make a simple film work. The gags in Jaane Tu are the funniest I have seen in any Bollywood film since Khosla ka Ghosla.

And the Desiblab Film of the year is...

Number 1 - A Wednesday
I have reviewed the film previously. And there is nothing more to say that in a year when the aam aadmi was the mainstay of Bollywood, media and Madam Sonia, 'A Wednesday' is the perfect candidate for the film of the year.

Also ran - Jodha Akbar, Dostana, Ghajini, Dasvidaniya, Golmaal Returns, Fashion and Rock On!

Farhan's scoreline

Farhan - The Good

1. Dil Chahta Hai
2. Lakshya
3. Rock On(Audio)

Farhan - The Bad

1. Don - The chase begins again
2. Rock On(Video)

Farhan - The Ugly(iest)

1. Oye! It's Friday!

The final score reads 3-2-1.

Back with a BANG!

It's been a long long time actually. First, I had my final semester exams, then dissertation susmission, a marriage and then a crisis on the personal front, all of which are either over or have been resolved. A lot has happened since my last long post, attacks on Bombay being the major happening. Amongst all the crap that has been floating in the media(print as well as TV), I saw some very very few articles/columns being able to see reason and talk sense. Some of them are as follows.

1. GreatBong's posts on 26/11 and the press coverage
2. Offstumped and the Acorn are as usual, at their best.
3. M J Akbar's(for whom I have newfound respect now) piece, here and here.
4. Swapan Dasgupta, as usual everywhere.

Amongst the English channels CNN IBN is the worst. Their coverage as well as their anchors as well as their bias against you know who. NDTV was better but then they have Barkha Dutt no. Whenever NDTV tries to do well, she tries equally hard to show how minorities have also suffered.

Madam Barkha, we Indians are not fools. After the Gujarat riots, there have been almost 8-12 terrorist attacks on India and nowhere have Hindu mobs targetted muslims. So puh-lease stop treating us as kids and behaving as the epitome of (pseudo)secularism.We are more mature than you think.

Amongst the good things that happened was India's win against England and Sachin's knock. And now Dravid's knock too. But the best bit of cricketing news came from down under. So you see arrogance is fallible!!! LOL! On the subject of cricket, Harsha's latest is as usual, ORGASMIC!

Wow!!!

2 months and 1 post.....have to get back to regular blogging. Have a lot on my mind - terror attacks, India's win, Sachin's century blah blah blah.

Harsha Bhogle's latest

is a masterpiece. Sample this

On Laxman

"This double hundred was flawless and like a master cutter shaping a diamond, VVS Laxman eroded the Australian bowling. They respect him there far more than we do in India and this innings was an example of why that is so."

"There is something deeply satisfying about a man who doesn’t thump his own chest, doesn’t give the two fingers to the opposition, is in the news for the right reasons and doesn’t know what a brawl means."

"He was treated very shabbily during the IPL, was prevented, in a most bizarre episode, from playing for a month in England and had to witness the swords being sharpened for his execution. Don’t forget this is a man who gave up a million dollars a year so the Deccan Chargers could get better players and help develop cricket in his state. In England they are going crazy over a million dollars per player. Laxman gave up a million a year for three years! At the end of the first season in the IPL, he was sacked when he had been captain for six games and the job was given to a man who had led in the other eight!! And not a thank you for the extra three million!"