Yash Chopra - Master of the Game

On his 80'th Birthday Yash Chopra told  Shah Rukh Khan in a heart-to-heart televised chat that his family wanted him to become an engineer but he knew he wanted to direct films. "My mother said do what your heart says and gave me Rs.200 and said my blessings are with you. Go ahead and don't worry,"
In the 50 years he was active in the film industry he directed 22 films out of which 10 were super  hits . He had a gift for composing stunning scenes that oozed perfection .His sense of camera angles and  lighting was so good that the films had a larger than life quality to them .His leading lady were the highlights of his film and were presented in the most beautiful way. From the chiffon saris in Silsila and Chandni  to the tight kurta and salwar worn by Sharmila Tagore and Sadhana in Waqt, everything presented in his films turned into a fad.

1.  Dhool Ka Phool (1959)-  Steeped in Nehruvian secularism, the story revolves around a Muslim bringing up an `illegitimate' Hindu child and featured classic song, Tu Hindu banega na Musalman banega, insaan ki aulaad hai, insaan banega on Manmohan Krishna, who also won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Abdul Rasheed.

2. Dharmputra (1961) - Based on a novel by the same name by Acharya Chatursen. It was first Hindi film to depict, the partition of India, and Hindu fundamentalism.  The raw reconstruction of partition riots and sloganeering led to riot-like situations at theatres screening the film , and the film flopped at the box office. Yash Chopra never made a political film again, stuck to love stories till many decades later, when he touched the theme of religious harmony again with Veer Zaara (2004) .

There is a heated scene between a sensible father (Manmohan Krishna) and his son, a Hindu fanatic (Shashi Kapoor playing a extremist oblivious to the fact that he's actually adopted and a Muslim by birth) after the latter resents the idea of a Muslim taking refuge in their home.

Kapoor refers to him as an enemy of his 'sabhyata', 'sanskriti' and 'culture' resulting in a richly articulated argument from Krishna, 
'Tumhara culture kya hai? Tum jaahil ho. Tum culture ka matlab nahi samjhte. Kissi khaas tareeke se khana pakana, pooja-paath karne ya Ganga mein snaan karne ka naam culture nahi. Roohani taraqui ka naam culture hai. Aatma ka parmatma ko pehchaane ka naam culture hai. Achai aur khoobsurti ka naam culture hai.' 

3. Waqt (1965) - This film got Yash Chopra  his  1'st  Filmfare Best Director Award .  B R Chopra had originally planned the film with Prithviraj Kapoor and his three sons, Raj, Shammi and Shashi. Eventually, only Shashi Kapoor was cast in the film.

Famous Song-  Ae Meri Zohra Jabeen, sung by Manna Dey 
Famous Dialogues- 
Jinke apne ghar sheeshay ke hon, woh dusron par pathar nahi phenka karte 
Jani, Yeh bachon ke khelne ki cheez nahi, haath kat jaye toh khoon nikal aata hai 

4.Aadmi Aur Insaan (1969) This is the only movie in which Yash Chopra and Dharmendra have worked together. Feroz Khan received  Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for this film. Feroz Khan plays Jai Kishan, a rich man who befriends Dharmendra and sends him abroad to get an engineering degree. This friendship comes under fire when both the men fall in love with the same woman.

5.  Ittefaq (1969) Yash Chopra won his 2'nd Filmfare Best Director Award for this film.It was one of the first Bollywood movies to have no singing and dancing in it. This suspense thriller  was a remake of a British film, Signpost to Murder (1965)






6. Daag (1973) -  Yash Chopra made his debut as a producer and laid the foundation of Yash Raj Films. It is an adaptation of the novel The Mayor of Casterbridge.
He won his 3'rd  Filmfare Best Director Award for the film and Raakhee won her first Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award
Famous Song- Mere dil main aaj kya hai 

7. Joshila (1973) - Joshilia was the only Yash Chopra directed movie that had Dev Anand in it. The movie was a love triangle between the three characters, Amar, Shalini and Sapna. 
Yash Chopra was famous for making movies that were actually love stories, but had a different twist about them.
 Even in Joshila, it is about a young convict who falls in love with a young poetess. 





8. Deewaar (1975) - Yash Chopra won his 4'th Filmfare Best Director Award  for this film .This movie cemented the success of the writing duo Salim-Javed, who went on to write many more blockbuster films, and made them one of the most memorable writers in Hindi cinema. It is said that after the success of this film, the value of film writers skyrocketed, thanks to Salim-Javed, and they soon were being paid as high as some of the actors at the time. 
Rajesh Khanna and Navin Nischol were the first choice for Vijay and Ravi's roles but Salim Javed insisted that Amitabh Bachchan would suit Vijay's character better. Similarly Nirupa Roy's role was first offered to Vyjayanthimala but she turned it down. 
Deewaar is noted for having "swept the 1976 Filmfare Awards for Best Film (Gulshan Rai) , Best Supporting Actor (Shashi Kapoor) , Best Story (Salim-Javed) , Best Dialogue (Salim-Javed) , Best Screenplay (Salim-Javed) , Best Sound (M. A. Shaikh)  except for the Lead Actor, for which Amitabh Bachchan was nominated."  Sanjeev Kumar won the award for  Aandhi that year.

Famous Dialogues -

'Aaj khush toh bahut honge tum'

'Mere paas maa hai '
'Jab ek bhaai bolega to ek bhaai sunega, jab ek mujrim bolega to ek police officer sunega.'
'Main aaj bhi feke huye paise nahi uthata' 
'Jao jaake pehle us aadmi ka sign lekar aao, jisne mere haath par yeh likh diya.. [Mera baap chor hai.] '

9.  Kabhi Kabhie (1976)-  Every single frame of this epic romance spanning two generations is elegance personified. It examines multiple aspects within a man-woman relationship -- heartbreak, compromise, refusal to let go, envy and grace .
The movie was shot in Kashmir, and Yash Chopra has claimed this to be one of his happiest experiences .The film led to the reinvention of Amitabh Bachchan as a romantic poet who loses his love, which was a major departure from his earlier "angry young man" roles such as Deewar and Zanjeer. The film had been written with Raakhee in mind, and she had agreed to do it during the making of Daag  but before production started she married lyricist Gulzar, who wanted her to retire from acting. However, after some persuasion from Yash Chopra, Gulzar let her do the film. . 
The film particularly noted for its soundtrack compositions by Khayyam, who wonFilmfare Award for Best Music, while film lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi won the Best Lyricist Award for "Kabhi Kabhie Mere Dil Mein," the song which also got singer Mukesh, the Best Male Playback Singer award.^[2]

10.  Trishul (1978)  This film about an illegitimate son's quest to destroy his father's fortune was one of the biggest hits of the eighties. Dilip Kumar was initially offered the role which was eventually played by Sanjeev Kumar .
Though the movie didn't win any awards it was one of the top grossers of 1978 along with Muqaddar Ka Sikander and Don. Amitabh Bachchan was nominated for best actor for all the three films and won the award for Don . 

11.  Kaala Patthar (1979) -  Kala Patthar is a landmark movie in Hindi cinema. It was one of the first movies to be made on a real event, and was also one of the first movies to be inspired from a natural calamity. 
This movie had Shatrughan Sinha and Amitabh Bachchan in their most towering roles, and many would say that Shatrughan Sinha stole the scene from under Amitabh Bachchan.
Famous Dialogue - "Teesre Baadshah hum hain" 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsyQpm8cojA

 The direction of the time when the miners are stuck in the coal mine is actually quite good for its time. The almost nonexistence of the background music during the sequences add to the grit and intensity of the sequences. 
The film, though not a commercial hit then, had it's own intensity and fire in it. Especially for the character Vijay Pal Singh played by Yash Chopra's favorite Vijay Amitabh Bachchan. He didn't have much dialogues and he rather emoted with his fiery eyes. His base baritone set the right tone for the content and his various emotions come out in the form of frustration, anger, love, compassion and disgust.


12.  Silsila (1981)  -  A sensitive tale of emotional conflicts, love, tragedy and adultery, Sisila sent out a message that 'love is faith and faith is forever'. 
It was the most controversial movie  of its time because there were talks about Amitbah Bachchan and Rekha having an affair, and the movie was released during the heat of it all. In fact, many industry insiders were of the opinion that no other production house and director could have got the Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha to work in a movie together at the time that the world was speaking about their rumored relationships. 
In a conversation with Shah Rukh on his 80th birthday, Chopra disclosed that he had earlier chosen to cast actors Smita Patil and Parveen Babi alongside Amitabh Bachchan and both had signed the film.But eventually, it was the Amitabh's real life heroines who got to play the roles. Despite the cold war between the two actresses, Jaya Bachchan and Rekha were dignified enough to not make the shooting difficult for anyone.

"Dekha ek khwab" song was picturised on Amit and Chandni at Keukenhof Tulip Garden, Netherlands. The song was shot there to lend more clout to the lyrics "dur tak nigahon mein hai gul khile huye" 


Famous Song- Rang Barse remains an all-time favourite at every Holi party  

 

13.  Mashaal (1984) - Dilip Kumar plays a straight forward man who takes to a world of crime after some unscrupulous characters kill his wife, but not before he takes Anil Kapoor under his wing, another criminal who turns over a new leaf because of Dilip Kumar’s mentoring. However, when Anil Kapoor returns from further studies to work with Dilip Kumar in his newspaper, he finds out that Kumar has become a underworld don, and then there is a clash between the two of them. Mashaal was considered to be Anil Kapoor’s breakthrough movie, and Yash Chopra’s direction as impeccable as usual. 

Famous Scene- " Ae Bhai, koyi hai "

14.  Faasle (1985)  The first time Yash Chopra shot in Switzerland was for this film  .  It is the debut film for Rohan Kapoor son of singer Mahinder Kapoor and actress Farha, niece of Shabana Azmi.  It was a massive flop at the box office and was panned by critics for weak storyline , bad editing and weak music.

15.  Vijay (1988) -  Before Yash Chopra made romantic movies, he was in a phase where he made big budget movies with a huge starcast.
Anupam Kher played a grandfather who disowns his son’s wife and child because they were from a poor family. Rishi Kapoor plays the rich grandchild who adores his grandfather, but turns against him when he finally finds out what his grandfather did to the young Anil Kapoor. Yash Chopra took the best performances out of everyone. The dramatics and the emotion that he could get from the big starcast was tremendous. Vijay was a kind of a flop at the box office, but it still has a few sequences that are legendary. Anupam Kher played the grandfather with elan, and Anil Kapoor as the guy with the angst was very good. Rajesh Khanna as the washed out son was very good, and some considered it to be his breakthrough and return to the mainstream movie role.  Oh, and yes, Yash Chopra got one of the first women in a bikini sequence in Vijay – starring Sonam with Rishi Kapoor chasing her through the pool. 

16.  Chandni (1989) 

Yash Chopra originally offered the role to Rekha (who had played a woman named Chandni in "Silisila" nearly a decade earlier) but she did not want to go back and play a character she thought she had already done. So she recommended Sridevi for the part. 

Sridevi and Yash Chopra's beautiful bond started with this romantic treat. The lead pair stunned all with their genuine-show of all things possible – love, intimacy, disagreements, separation, grief and reunion. Add to it, the film's captivating soundtrack that still makes us dance up a storm!

The film was a blockbuster hit and not only revived the sagging careers of an aging Rishi Kapoor and director Yash Chopra, but also proved that Sridevi was Bollywood's queen bee.The platinum success of its music was instrumental in ending the era of violence in Bollywood and bringing back music into Hindi films.  Chandni, like most movies of the time, cheerfully disregarded logic, continuity and detailing. Rohit tells Chandni that they should go to Switzerland for their honeymoon and cut to song, the two are in Switzerland with the mountains forming a majestic backdrop for the canoodling couple. The picture-perfect locales of Switzerland were captured in their full splendour. Chandni made chiffon saris the quintessential garb of the Bollywood heroines

Famous Song - Mere haathon main nau nau churian hai is a must in every marriage functions.

17.  Lamhe (1991) -  Lamhe was one of the most mature movies to ever come out of Bollywood, and the movie starred Anil Kapoor and Sridevi. The movie was one of the most poignant love stories ever made in Bollywood, and had Sridevi in her career best performance. Before Anil Kapoor acted in mature movies like My Wife’s Murder and others, this was the movie for which he was most remembered.
It is one of the few films that picked up the Filmfare Award for Best Movie despite its lacklustre business.Over the years the film has been hailed as a cult classic and is regarded as a modern masterpiece and possiblyYash Chopra's finest film. It is also one of the biggest Bollywood hits in the overseas market and video circuit. Sridevi won a lot of acclaim for her double-role as mother and daughter, winning the Filmfare Best Actress Award and other awards. It was also Yash Chopra's personal favourite.

18. Parampara (1992) This was the last film that Yash Chopra directed outside  Yash Raj Films .Saif Ali Khan made his  debut with this film.The film was panned by the critics for its weak storyline, weak music and bad direction by Yash Chopra. It was a commercial flop.

19 . Darr (1993) - This saga of an obsessed lover who goes to any lengths changed Shah Rukh Khan's career graph for good. While Juhi Chawla was actually named Kiran in the film, it was Shah Rukh Khan who became famous for this dialogue. Most parts of the film was shot in Yash Chopra's favourite country-Switzerland where Kiran and her husband go to escape the deranged Rahul. 
The fantasy song ‘Tu Mere Samne' finds Juhi and Shah Rukh cavorting in the snow with SRK wearing a colourful tropical shirt, while Juhi starts off sensibly clothed in pullover and leggings but goes through inexplicable costume changes through the song sporting the mandatory chiffon sari, a mini skirt and the mythological costume that was popular at the time.

Famous Dialogue  - Ki ..Ki..Ki..Ki..Kiran 

20. Dil To Pagal Hai (1997)  This Bollywood musical romantic drama with the tag line  "Someone somewhere is made for you "  was the second highest grossing movie of 1997 and won many awards, including sweeping most of the major categories at that year's Filmfare Awards. The film, initially supposed to be called 'Maine To Mohabbat Ki Hai' brought back the concept of soulmates shall meet. It was a hit with the younger generation with its foreign locales, chart-bursting songs and yes, chiffon!
The film had one of the most infectiously catchy scores of the 90's with 12 songs which were seamlessly woven into the story line. 

Famous Dialogue -  ‘Rahul , naam toh suna hoga?’

21. Veer-Zaara (-2004) The film was the top-grossing Bollywood film of the year at both the Indian and the international box office, earning over Rs. 750 million worldwide, in addition to being showcased at numerous prominent film festivals around the world. The music of the film, based on old compositions by the late Madan Mohan with lyrics by Javed Akhtar, was also successful. 

The film was originally going to be called 'Yeh Kahaan Aa Gaye Hum', after the song from Silsila, but Yash Chopra felt that 'Veer-Zaara' went better with the story of the film. However, a song in the film twisted the title and became 'Yeh Hum Aa Gaye Hai Kahaan'. Rani Mukherjee's role was originally intended for Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, but she backed out.

Famous Dialogue - "Agar kahi kabhi bhi koi dost ki zarrorat pade to bas itna yaad rakhna ki sarhad paar ik aisa shakhs hai jo aap ke liye apni jaan bi de sakta hai "

22. Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012) Jab Tak Hai Jaan was Yash Chopra's last directorial venture before his death on October 21, 2012 from dengue fever . The romantic scenes of the film were directed by Chopra's son Aditya Chopra to give the romance a more contemporary feel.The music and the background score for the film is composed by A.R. Rahman, teaming up with Yash Chopra for the first time .
The movie features SRK playing a role spanning across two stages, first where he plays a 20 something guy and second where he plays an army officer.

For the shoot of the last remaining song in Jab Tak Hai Jaan, director Yash Chopra had a grand vision: a sari-clad Katrina Kaif romancing Shah Rukh Khan in the lush meadows of the Swiss Alps. 
It is now  believed that the film's stars Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma will work together to ensure that the film proves to be a fitting tribute to the Bollywood "King Of Romance "

Review of Student Of The Year -The Musical

Release Date - 19'th October 2012

One Word which describes the film -  Brand-Deewane


Best Dialogue –  " Tumhara rishta rab ne nahi ameeron ke club ne banaya hai ! "

Genre- Romance / Comedy

Story  & Direction-   Karan Johar

Producer –  Hiroo Yash Johar
Gauri Khan

Music Director -  Vishal-Shekhar

Cast –   Siddharth Malhotra , Varun Dhawan , Alia Bhatt ,  Rishi Kapoor

Budget -  30 crores (approx)

Karan's first film as a director Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) was a college film where SRK and Kajol's friendship is tested when a hot girl Tina comes to their college.
After 14 years Karan takes us to a school which is full of rich kids who live in their world of Feraris  and designer brands and are always partying . One of the protagonist is poor but even he is not that poor that he can't afford designer wear or the occasional briefest briefs which give a good look of his well toned body and six packs. 
In fact I think a better name for the film would have been Body of the Year as the two actors have exposed more than the leading lady.Oh,the world of Karan Johar !

Alia Bhatt's entry with the Gulaabi aankhen song remixed with Jimmy Choo and other designer labels takes us into the world of  an affluent girl whose ward robe has nothing suitable for a visit to the hospital. 

Amir Khan at the age of 27 in Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar (1992) did pass off as a student of Model school but Varun Dhawan and Siddhart both  24 ,with six packs ,biceps and triceps hardly looked like school students .Only Alia bhatt ,19, because of her petite frame and short dresses  managed to look like one.

Rishi Kapoor as the dean hardly leaves any impact . It's human nature to compare and  the standard set by Mr Bachchan as Narayan Shankar of  Gurukul (Mohabbatein ) is really high . Rishi Kapoor excelled  as Rauf Lala  in Agneepath but  his character was not given much importance in this film .

Karan Johar is known for his fairy tale romances and larger than life sets . The sets in this film also don't disappoint but as the name suggests we expected a school drama with some pehla nasha kind of first love and good chemistry between the lead actors .But most of the scenes  are superficial and  the love and friendship is expressed mainly through songs . 

I was a bit disappointed with this film as Karan's  last films as a director were Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006) and My Name Is Khan (2010) which were intense and dealt with complex human emotions.

In a line Student of the year may not be the film  of the year but it has some scenes which remind us of our school days , a place where ever lasting friendships are formed .
It's not as good as Karan Johar's earlier films but is a good Time Pass.Can be seen during Dusshera holidays with family and kids.

Review Of Makkhi ( It's Different , Actually !)

Release Date - 12'th October 2012

One Word which describes the film - 
Mind-fly-blowing

Best  Dialogue –  
"Animals revenge lete hai kya ?" 
"Haan, Barjatya ki filmon main !"

Genre - Comedy /Action

Story - S S Rajamouli  ,Janardhan Maharshi

Direction -   S S Rajamouli

Producer –  Sai Korrapati 

Music Director -   M.M.Kreem 


Cast –  Sudeep (earlier seen in RGV's Rann &   Rakht Charitra I  ), Nani , Samantha

Budget - 30 Crores 

The film started in the usual South Indian style.There were flying bullets , guns and the villain trying to seduce a busty siren. Then came the golden  hearted hero and the girl next door heroine and I was wondering what's so great about the film that everyone is praising it and it is a member of the 100 crore club.

After 30 min of waiting the real fun started when the hero is killed by the villain and he is reborn as a fly.This must be the weirdest reincarnation film , but once the scenes unfold in front of your eyes you get so involved in this revenge story that you  forget that it's an animated fly and you start feeling happy or sad for the small fly. The director in an hour takes us to all the aspects of a life of a fly ,the challenges and struggles it faces to complete the ultimate task of ruining the peace of mind of the villain ,destroying his business empire and in the end avenge his own death by  killing him . 

Who could have thought of this concept where a cold hearted man who kills people without giving it a second thought is defeated step by step by an insignificant fly ! Yes we know that all good things come in small packages ,but creating such a small sized hero is taking imagination to new heights .

M.M. Kreem's music is the soul of the film. The fly can't express his love but through music we could feel and experience the fly's feelings for the heroine .

The visual effects and the animation is so natural that after walking out of the theaters we could actually feel the fly buzzing near our ears .Talk about after-effects !

In a line we have always hated flies but this film makes us love them and cheer for them.
Must be watched in theaters .

Review of Kismat Love Paisa Dilli

Release Date - 5'th October 2012

One Word which describes the film -  Irritating

Worst Dialogue –  " Har kisi ki dukaan har taraf se khulti hai bus keemat sahi honi chahiye "  

Genre- Comedy/ Romance /Drama

Story & Direction-  Sanjay M Khanduri 

Producer –  Amit Chandra


Music Director -  Amjad Nadeem, Santokh Singh

Cast – Vivek Oberoi, Mallika Sherawat


Budget –  10- 15 crores (approx)

I liked Sanjay Khanduri's last film  Ek Chalis Ki Last Local   (2007), which was a comedy thriller covering  Mumbai’s underworld . In this film Mumbai becomes Delhi and the local train is replaced by the Delhi metro so I expected a reasonably entertaining film .The film started well . There were dialogues starting with "Wo kehte hai na " which gave a deja vu kind of feeling . 

. After 15 minutes so many characters were introduced and so many parallel stories were running that slowly it started getting on the nerves .

Vivek Oberoi looked so unnatural in the role of a  college guy plus he had to say irritating dialogues like ' Mai kisi aurat ko nahi jaanta, mai to virgin hoon!'  and  ' Dilli main raat ko har admi shikari ban jata hai " . 

Mallika Sherawat commonly known as Jalebi bai had nothing much to do .She couldn't act and had no scope of skin show . And to add salt to her wounds Neha Dhupia  in a cameo showed more skin than her !!

In the  two and a half hours the director took us  from a party of corrupt politicians, to a team of goons who are out to celebrate their Captain's (Ashutosh Rana ) birthday , to a pizza delivery boy who by interval turns into an ear eating superman ,  to a  Punjabi wedding via flood-lit stadium, tortured us with really sick gay jokes, made us watch both the hero and the heroine  almost get raped, and by the climax took us to the first party .

It was like there was no end to the night . To complicate matter the director has tried to add the patriotic element too by introducing a scam and people dying to stop the  proof  from going into wrong hands. 

In a line giving free packet of aspirin along with every ticket could have been a good selling strategy for the film . 

Highly Avoidable .

Review of OMG Oh My God !

Release Date - 28'th September 2012

One Line which describes the film -  Scepticism is the beginning of faith -  Oscar Wilde  

Best Dialogue –  "Jahan dharam hai wahan satya ki jagah nahi hai. Aur jahan satya hai wahan dharam ki zaroorat hi nahi. " 

Genre- Comedy/ Drama

Story -   Bhavesh Mandalia   (who wrote the play  Kanji virudh Kanji on which the film is based ,  Umesh Shukla 

Direction-  Umesh Shukla

Producer – Ashvini Yardi , Akshay Kumar ,  Paresh Rawal


Music Director - Himesh Reshammiya & Meet Bros Anjjan

Cast – Paresh Rawal , Akshay Kumar , Mithun Chakraborty


Budget – 25 - 30 crores (approximately)

Umesh Shukla's Oh My God! based on his own successful play Kanji Viruddh Kanji, which in turn is inspired from  the  film The Man Who Sued God   brings our attention to the misuse and commercialization of religion .
It doesn't say that God is not there but teaches us that we can only be close to God by our actions  and not by just praying to God when we want something in exchange from him . Our faith in God helps us in knowing what is right and it's our duty to follow that path. 


The film with a strong script and powerful dialogues  tries to address  most of the ways in which people have commercialised religion and use the fear inside people to fill their own pockets . We are taught since childhood that there is unity in diversity but in reality we see that the different religions in our country have played more role in dividing people than in uniting them.

Paresh Rawal as Kanjibhai, the self-confessed atheist is the life and soul of the film . He delivers the dialogues with such conviction that not for a second you think of him as Paresh Rawal , the actor but from the starting of the film he is Kanjibhai a shrewd businessman who loves his family and doesn't lose his confidence even when he has lost almost everything important to him.     

When Tisca Chopra asks him -"Dharm ki life main kya importance hai ?" and after a pause he answers  "Dharm ya to logon ko bebas banata hai ya aatankawadi " everyone who has seen the film must have felt like clapping on this simple yet meaningful lines.  

Akshay Kumar as the suited booted  avatar of Krishna Vasudev Yadav from Gokul, makes his entry like a superhero in a specially designed motor cycle worth 10 lakhs .(with the bollywood touch , check the number plate). There are many conversations between him and Kanjibhai which are presented in a comic way but make us question the blind faiths which have been an eternal part of our life (like offering milk to shivlings )

Mithun Chakraborty,  Govind Namdeo, and 

Poonam Jhawer as the modern day Godmen  

were asked by Umesh Shukla to watch spiritual channels to get a feel of how Godmen talked and behaved in real life . 

The parting shot by Mithun "Aastha aur shraddha ka nasha afeem ki tarah hai ,ek baar adat lag jaye to asani se nahi jati .Ye God fearing log hai ,God loving nahi ,ek din laut ke yahin aayenge "   just confirmed the fact that  a film may not be enough to change the thinking style of the majority but then every small step in the right direction  matters and must not be ignored. 
"In  a line OMG may not be Oscar material like Barfi or scandalous like Heroine but it's an eye opening film which every Indian must watch ."
Totally entertaining and paisa-wasool . 

Review of Heroine

Release Date - 21'st September 2012

One Word which describes the film - Scandalous

Best Dialogue –  Manipulate kar lo ya ho jao

Genre- Romance / Drama

Story /Direction- Madhur Bhandarkar

Producer –  Ronnie Screwvala , Madhur Bhandarkar

Music Director -Salim-Sulaiman

Cast – Kareena Kapoor , Arjun Rampal , Randeep Hooda

Budget –  32 crores

The Official Press Release distributed as a part of the announcement of the film stated  that "The film is based on the life and times of a superstar heroine, Mahi from the dream factory we call 'Bollywood'. The film is a daring, shocking, glamorous, scandalous behind-the-scenes account of the reality behind the world of glitz and glamour that our film stars inhabit. For a country obsessed with films and film stars, Heroine will take audiences on a voyeuristic journey to see what really goes on in the lives of India's sweethearts."


Madhur Bhandarkar , despite giving a film with a  strong script ,smart direction, well edited scenes and a  fast story  is receiving lots of criticism just shows the double standards of the film industry and critics . Maybe the story of people using each others ,actors getting  other's roles edited , the under hand tactics used by the stars at the top was too close to the reality to be openly applauded. People are saying that the film is a replica of Page 3 and Fashion . Bollywood industry is closely associated with the modelling world and Page 3 parties so there were bound to be similarities. It's not as if Bhandarkar promised something and delivered something else .

The film was about an emotionally unstable actress, who wants love and acceptance but is  also desperate for success and publicity and can go to any lengths for the same . The film has several scenes which target the cream of Bollywood actors in a subtle yet playful way such as Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif and Preity Zinta . 

The film started well and managed to hold audience's interest till the end. Kareena Kapoor  well known for her real life cat fights with other heroines and glamour doll image perfectly fits the role and has given an intense performance which is bound to get her many awards . 
Randeep Hudda was great in his role of  Vice Captain of  Indian cricket team .With time the actor has not only groomed himself but his acting has also become refined . 

The only thing which I think worked against the film was casting Arjun Rampal and Sanjay Suri as the top stars of the industry . Both actors have given average performance and not left any impact on the viewers.  

In a  line if ever you  felt envious of the celebrity lifestyle you must watch this film to know that once the show is over they are also human beings and face the ups and downs of life like any other common person. 

A must watch for Bollywood lovers . 

Review of Barfi

Release Date - 14'th September 2012

The song which describes the film 
Yaar dildar tujhe kaisa chahiye
Pyar chahiye ya paisa chahiye . 

Best Dialogue –  Life main sabse bada risk hota hai koyi risk na lena .

Genre- Romance / Comedy

Story / Screenplay /Direction- Anurag Basu

Producer –  Ronnie Screwvala , Siddharth Roy Kapoor

Music Director - Pritam

Cast – Ranbir Kapoor , Priyanka Chopra , Ileana D'Cruz

Budget –  (Not disclosed but has to be above 30 crores)

Rating - 5 stars to Anurag Basu for daring to be different , 4 stars for Ranbeer's acting , 3.5 stars for the 70's look created in the film , 3 stars each to Priyanka and Iliena .

Anurag Basu tweeted on 2'nd Sep "Just got the censor certificate, 'Barfi' is my first U certificate film .
This tweet reminded me of his earlier works ,the passionate Murder , the unfinished love story Gangster ,the complicated lives of people in Life in a... Metro   and the ultimate disappointment for me , Kites . 
I thought that, was it a good move by Anurag to shift from his comfort zone and take a risk which will surely win the critics but may or may not appeal to the audience ?" 

When I entered the theater it was just 30% full which was surprising considering the excessive publicity the stars did in the last 10 days. As the film progressed , we got involved in the daily life of a deaf and mute simpleton who lives life to the fullest , never complains , loves his friend but doesn't hesitate in testing their friendship.  Yes,there were some slow moments, times when the film became monotonous and confusing but the end half an hour totally made the film a MUST watch and we left the theaters with a smile on our face.

The one dialogue which totally won my heart was " Usne soch ke pyar nahi kiya aur jab pyar ho gaya to kuch socha nahi "

Ranbir Kapoor is one actor who dedicates himself fully to his films. He did it with Rockstar and here too he doesn't disappoint the audience with his character which is a combination of Charlie Chaplin and Mr Bean . To get the perfect expressions he has himself shot some portions of the film featuring him in intense scenes .  He even has done some of  his own stunts in Barfee.
The idea of showing the different time periods by street hoardings advertising a Murphee radio then  Prestige cooker actually took us back to that time  .There are very few dialogues between the lead actors but the lack of dialogues is made up with the soul touching lyrics and music by Pritam .

It's sad that the film is released between two commercial blockbusters , Raaz3 and Heroine which will surely effect the box office collections but hopefully word of mouth will encourage people to watch it. 

In a  line if you have forgotten to enjoy the simple pleasures life offers to us everyday, this film is for you .
Watch the film in theater to experience some heart touching moments .