Exploring the World!

You never know how interesting something is, until you dive into it head first and experience it with open arms. That’s what i did with World Cinema this weekend. Bored and tired of watching commercial cinema, I dug a little deeper and found a whole new genre of films called World Cinema. These are basically movies that are made around the world, and not necessarily in English. Most foregin language movies fall under this broad category, though they can be distinguished further.  So, armed with my new discovery, I managed to sift through the crap of TV to find UTV World Movies channel.  Some random movie..of some random language was playing. So i decided to watch it anyways. GUess what! It turned out quite ok! I was impressed with World Movies. It’s a genre that has not received its due. So after more googling, i found a community dedicated to World Movies. Check it Out! 

I think, the best world movie i have seen until today has to be the french movie Amelie. It’s absolutely beautiful and refreshingly brilliant. Leaves you with a feel-good after-taste.  

There is a movie called Summer Interlude. It’s a swedish film shot beautifully somewher in the vast open grasslands of Sweden. THough done in black and White, it gives you a clear picture of how stunning this country is. I rented out this movie from Seventymm, a while ago.  You can check it out here…  

To see their entire collection of World Movies, click here. I highly recommend that you give World Movies a chance if you are an avid movie lover. it gives you a different perspective of world culture and the way directors around the world see life. Definately somthing you should not miss out! 

HOli hAi!

The festival of colours is here! And am very excited. I love the maddness, the merriness and ofcourse, the Bhang! It’s a time when everyone is high. And I dont mean, on the Bhang…on life itself..! The atmosphere is charged with excitement and everyone goes into a colour-throwing frenzy! And Bollywood ofcourse, has innumerable songs to go with the flavour of the season! Here are my top three Holi songs. Ja Re Hat Natkat from the movie Navrang, in which Sandya plays the role of the woman and the man. Holi Ke Din from Sholay and Rang Barse from Silsila, which is no doubt the most popular Holi song ever! I also, came across this discussion about favourite Holi songs! Check it out!

Am hoping that my super lazy friends get out of their lounging lairs and come play Holi this year. Last time was absolutely dead, though i did get hit by one egg. SOurce unknown.

Hoping for a little more excitement this year though. Today, a small colourful child came running towards me with colours in his hand.  I would have been more than happy if he had thrown those colours at me, but i guess he only wanted to colour those who dint want to be coloured. So he spared me and ran away in the other direction  

Meanwhile, in all my misery I was browsing the net for anything to do with Holi, and discovered that I could, infact, watch Holi related movies. If you, like me, share the interest. This is the place to be!

    

Now, it’s time for me to continue my search for Holi players. goodbye world. Am off to a more colourful place!

Diwali is Here!

Every festival is celebrated with a lot of pomp and show in Bollywood! And Diwali is no exception. Infatc, it’s one of the biggest festivals of India. In most movies, Diwali often marks the begining of a new chapter in the character’s life or a definitive change in the story. Basically, Diwali stands for change, a new begining and something dramatic on the whole. In the movie Waqt, Balraj Sahahi sings ‘Ae Meri zohra jabeen’ at the Diwali celebration. He’s also celebrating the start of his new business. So Diwali is an auspicious occasion here that calls for a new begining. Although right after the song, there is an earthquake and his three sons get seperated. Again, Diwali marks this dramatic change in the mood of the film.

But the most touching film of all time is Anuraag. Where the entire colony celebrates Diwali a month before the actual festival, beacause it’s the final qish of a dying child. It’s a very touching moment and the festival of lights in a stark contrast to the flame that’s slowly getting extinguished in the child’s eyes. Here’s a little something more about Diwali I came across on the Seventymm site. It’s a Safe Diwali that they are stressing upon this year. I guess this video says a lot more than words can say.

Bollywood Festivities!

I guess India is one of those few countries that celebrates atleast a hundred different festivals a year! And our movie industry is one of those few industries that takes inspiration from each of these festivals and makes celebratory movies in honour of them all! It’s a beautiful representation of our culture and spirit. I was browsing through festive movies on the net and realised that we have a movie for almost every occasion. Movies add to the ‘spirit’ of any festival. They bring families together!

More intrestingly they take you away into a world of fantasy and make beleive, and that too for a good three hours! No matter how good or bad a movie turns out to be, its a new experience. That’s what is so amazing about watching a film! Especially Indian films; almost all of them are a mixed bag of emotions, drama, music, action, adventure and comedy, all packed into one power packed film!

Navrathri and Dandiya are Bollywood’s favourite themes. Everyone is obssessed with this, and some of the most brilliantly picturised songs are the Dandiya Numbers. I especially like the song Dholi Tharo, from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. It was one of the most aesthetically shot songs i’ve seen.

Movies…this week!

I have still not seen Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. Getting tickets for a film in Bangalore is not a task for the faint hearted. I’ve decided to wait it out until the madness dies out and then attempt mission ticket procurement. Meanwhile I saw Kung Fu Panda. It was a great movie, absolutely hilarious. It made me laugh from begining to end. The humour is very quirky and sometimes really subtle. That’s the thing about animated films. They make you laugh out loud and really enjoy yourself. It’s like entering an alternate reality where animals can talk and people can get run over by trucks, get flattened out like pancakes and still bounce right back to life. It’s a world where I often think I belong

I was in Pune last weekend and mangaed to watch Hancock. The film really started off well. I mean, it was very very funny. Then the director went and screwed it up with some melodrama. It could have worked really well if it were a comedy through and through. Will Smith is great in the film. I did not like the actress though. She’s hot, but not so much of an actor. The role was initially offered to Aishwarya Rai, but Madame turned it down. Will Smith is all ga ga over her and she keeps turning him down. I wonder why that is.

It sounds crazy but I actually watched Om Shanti Om again!! It was on TV, and I just got involved in it. It’s so hilarious in parts. I am a total sucker for comedies. I can watch them all day long. I think every movie would do very well to have some humour in it. I plan to watch the film one, two, three today. I heard it’s good. I dont care about hit or flop, well as long as a movie makes me laugh, it’s a hit for me!

Jaane Tu Rocks!

I knew it, I knew it! It comes as no surprise that Jaane Tu is running full house while Love Story struggles it’s way forward. Somehow being associated with Aamir Khan itself is a boon for a film…and then he promoted it so much. It had to have some substance. I have not been able to procure tickets for the film, but am trying and shall not give up until I suceed . Meanwhile I took a quiz on Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na and really liked it.  <thumbs up>

I think Genelia D’souza is going to go a long way. Here are some pics and videos of her…! She has a really cute face and some kinda innocence about her…she will make a mark in bollywood. Imraan Khan, am not so sure bout…well sure, he;s got the chocolate boy looks…but does it really work today? I mean, there’s so much competition…what with Ranbir, Harmaan, Shahid, Neil, Hrithik all already in the game..it’s going to be tough. this year the three biggies are Ranbir, Harmaan and Imran.

I suppose Ranbir is already all hyped up as he’s from the infamous ‘kapoor’ khandan… a boy! after rishi kapoor, i think he’s the next male member in the family to become famous. So yeah, he’s gonna clinch all the deals. Reminds me a little of ‘OK’ in Om Shanti Om. Which by the way, I rented from Seventymm and watched at home for the 2nd time this weekend. It rocked!

Clash of the Titans

Two big releases, two big names, two debutantes……but two great films? Am not so sure about that.  Sure, Love Story 2050 (LS) has a big budget, big star cast blah blah…but what about the storyline, the quality of story telling and everything else that make a great movie really great? I am very sceptical about LS. I dont think it will be a great film quality wise. i.e., in terms of cinema. It may be a hit because of its hype and the fact that Indian audience are starved for glossy cheap entertainment. Put together a few big stars, a couple of songs, some skimpy clothes and you hav a film! oh..here’s a video I saw on Seventymm by the way. click here.

Somehow i have better faith in Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na (JTYJN). Manly because it’s got Aamir backing it. I hope he doesnt let the audience down. When Aamir stands for somwthing, its always worthwhile. I hope the film is the same. I love this song from the film Pappu Can’t Dance! Rahman is at it again! The music is not as good as his previous films, but its better than most of the crap circulation these days. Oh by the way, I was looking throught the Seventymm site and found this fundu quiz on the same film…you shd chk it out!!

RGV strikes back and Monkey men in Bollywood!

 

Ram gopal varma is back! After a series of not-so-great and really really bad films, he’s made a huge comeback with Sarkar Raj. The movie is one of his best works so far. Movie sites are saying that it has superseded its prequel. Here’s somemore interesting feedback on the film. I read on Seventymm, the movie site that Ram Gopal Varma previously deciced to cut down Ash’s role in the film because he thought it was too long and distractive. According to him the main importance had to be given to the male characters around whom the film revolves. Now this may be true to this film but it brings me to an issue that has been around in the back of my brain. How come most Indian movies have a man as the central character? Is our society so set in its ways that it will not accept primarily woman dominated films? Or is it because most of our directors are men? It’s a little dissapointing to see men men men is all the films… A guy is following his destiny.. A guy is fighting against the government… A guy is the Funny Don.. It’s getting incredibly boring.

I’d even watch a dog, honestly…just don’t show me the stereotypical guy anymore. To add to it all, most of new kids on the block look like a cross between some yesteryear star and a wannabe rockstar. It’s NOT cool. Bollywood is so beaten to death of late that nothing makes you go ‘Wow’ anymore. I can’t even remember the last film I saw beacause they all seem to be the same. I HATE that idiot called Emraan Hashmi, i cannot understand how people can cast that MONKEY in films. What an idiot. Can’t act, can’t dance and can barely be called human. sigh.

Another complete disaster is Sikander Kher. He, am sure most people would agrree with me on this, looks like a Gorilla that escaped evolution and landed in Bollywood by some nasty quirk of fate. He;s so not hero material. I wish someone whould smack him in the face and tell him to get a haircut and then go drown himself. And oh, don’t even get me started on Mimoh…the disaster. What was he thinking..oh wait, i forget, he’s probably not capable of such brain-related activity. Dances like a moron who suddenly lost control of his limbs and looks like a mound of clay. ANd that hair… (((((( like dry hay that has been chewed by a cow and spat out in disgust

So that’s Bollywood today! More later… ciao.

 

Look-alikes and Idiots

 

Just take a look at this…why have the brainless makers of the film made this chap look so much like Hrithik?? I don’t know what they are trying to achienve but logic tells me no one ever succeeded by being a carbon copy of someone else… I think Harman is an okay looker who seems to be able to dance. Am not sure about his acting skills though. Guess we gotta wait for Love Story 2050 to release to find out if the chap’s got any substance.

Meanwhile I read about Imran Khan, Aamir’s cousin who’s also making a debut. I have this gut feeling that he’ll be good. Hope he really is.

Cannes Fever!

It’s that time of the year again…Aishwarya’s outfit is yet again in the news. Having faltered three years in a row, this year she seems to have played it safe with black. Though I don’t think the outfit was looking all that great on her. She is a good looking woman who can look stunning with least effort, then why does she always look to out-of-place during the Cannes? I mean, her clothes look like she’s trying too hard to fit in. Why can’t she just wear something Indian. Saris are all the rage today, around the world. What’s the deal with those gowns that make her look all out of shape and uncomfortable. The same goes for Preity Zinta. I don’t understand why they have to try and look western when they can look gorgeous in Indian clothes. Click here to check out Preity Zinta’s Cannes Outfit. But I read on Seventy mm website that Ash was indeed planning to wear Indian clothes this year at Cannes. I hope they all do.

This year, one of the first movies to be screened was Blindness. A story about how an entire village is slowly going blind bue to some strange virus. A scary concept. Here’s a trailer of the film. On the other hand, the film Kingfu Panda was declared out of competition. poor panda

Am not sure how many Bollywood films are being screened at Cannes this year, but one thing I know is none of them will win. We’re really stupid in our choice of films that get sent out there. Why cant a good film like a TZP get sent. No…instead we will sent some miserable excuse of a film like ‘Kabhi Khusi Kabhi Gham’…it’s all just politics. Good for nothing.

The art of Film making died with legends like Satyajit Ray and Rajkapoor.