Rockstar

There are a lot of things which worked for Rockstar and lot of which didn't. I, for one, didn't like the movie as much as I thought I would like. I was fairly disappointed. 

Well, to begin on a positive note, A R Rehman has composed some excellent music. There's variety of music and very soulful and addictive music. There's Kun Faya with a sufiana touch and the wonderful jugalbandi between the shennai and the guitar played onscreen by Late Shri Shammi Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor. The song 'Sada Haq' takes some time getting used to but catches up wonderfully once you get the hang of it. 

As much as the music is wonderful, the singer Mohit Chauhan does apt justice to the compositions. Both - the composer and the singer have done a wonderful job with the music. Some of the music easily reflects a 'Jab We Met'.

Ranbir Kapoor is a natural. With each performance, he is improving by leaps and bounds. He easily fits into the role and does wonderful justice to it. Sometimes, more even when the script gets weak in between the movie becomes slow. There are places of boredom in between. Probably, the script / screen play  should have been tackled in a more effective manner.  

Nargis Fakhri could have very easily been avoided. She did not bring anything new to the table. It could very easily be one our own desi heroines. Dialogue delivery is such an effort and so in the process, the expressions are not happening. Sometimes, I wish, we'd get over our 'thing' with the firang face and the accent!!!!

More than Nargis Fakhri, I enjoyed the performance of Ranbir Kapoor's manager who advised him to get his heart broken to managing his contracts. 

Watch if you must but only for the music and Ranbir Kapoor's performance.

Rating: 3 / 5

The Caliph's House

Came across this blog while I was 'blog' surfing...one click led to another and I landed here.... dedicated to Morocco...Its a photo blog and while randomly browsing through the archives, the writer referred to a book - Yes, you guessed it right - The Caliph's House by Tahir Shah. Ordered this book from Flipcart (*eyes rolling*)...yes the website is burning a hole in my pocket, and immediately got down to reading it. 

Its a wonderful wonderful book. It paints a vivid picture of the life in Morocco. About the writer's struggles to settle down, about the Jinn....yes :-).... about the locals, their idiosyncrasies and wise and not so wise happenings.... It also talks about the writer sticking it out there, when everything was against him. The exasperation of the author with his day to day dealings is well depicted. Some of the instances depicted in the book are actually hilarious. It also gives a message about complex problems having simply solutions!!!! At the end of it all, it will bring a smile to your face and make you dream of visiting Morocco...:-) atleast once!!!!

Review: 4/5, Recommended

Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster

Had been planning to catch up on a movie since quite sometime...After successfully avoiding Ready, Bodygaurd, Singham and Mausam, decided to watch Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster. A tribute to Guru Dutt's Saheb, Biwi Aur Ghulam, this version with the Gangster is quite the opposite to Dutt's romance in the Classical.

For starters, its set in the royal and a rustic town of Rajasthan with a fading haveli and a Raja only by entitlement, his Rani and the Driver cum small time gangster. The theatrics are perfect. One can actually see the poverty of the Raja in fading haveli and lack of finances,  the desparation of the Raja to maintain his status along with the stints with his mistress while the Biwi goes frolicking with the Driver cum Gangster. A gripping movie, if you want to watch something different and are tired from the regular dose of testosterone and munnis & sheilas. The end almost justifies the means!!! Well - almost. While not letting out the story line, to me, there is many a twist and a turn which somehow makes me disinterested towards the end. The end could have been more refined...or maybe  I was looking towards a more dramatic ending...

The performances by Jimmy Shergill, Mahie Gill and Randeep Hoonda were simply fabulous. Every character played their role to a hilt. The costumes, the gait, the language - all added to the rustic charm of the movie. Must watch if you are looking for 'something different'.

My rating: 3.5/5

View: Must Watch

History of India_Viritten

Attended the show "History of India_VIRitten" starring Vir Das at St. Andrews, Bandra on Sunday (13th March). The show takes you from the origination of "India" on planet earth to what it is on present day. It touches various aspects from the Harrappan Civilization, Indus Valley Civilization to the Moghuls, to Vasco da Gama, Britishers, Gandhi, Nehru, B R Ambedkar, Morarji Desai, Indira Gandhi, Sanjay and Rajeev Gandhi, to the Independence Struggle, to the Gujaratis, Bengalis, Delhites, 'Bandraites', Builders, 70s, 80s, 90s, to A Raja, Kalmadi, Common Wealth Games, Barack Obama, Marathi manoos, the riots......Phew!!!! The list is endless.

Needless, there was not one moment where one might have thought anything else. Either you love him for his comedy or you totally hate him (planning to shoot him). It was a very well researched and a thought out script. Well presented. There was a connect with the audience and more importantly the ability to handle eratic behaviour from the audience too.

Vir Das did an excellent job of taking his audience through the History of India with his comical touch that made you sit up and take notice and think - "Hey, Why didn't I think of that?". Not to forget, he had the audience in splits...laughing hysterically...well at the very obvious comments, and some of them at the very subtle ones too.

Thinking of Stand Up Comedy Acts, not many have dared to venture in this genre. Must say it requires a person to be well read, intelligent, articulate and well - witty. It takes a person of merit and bravery to tread where many have feared to tread or maybe not even given it a thought. India does not know many artists who can boast of having such an audience and following not to mention shows running all over.

Mid-week chutti - Yeh Saali Zindagi

Had a mid week holiday yesterday...wednesday that is...occasion being Maha Shivratri... was observing fast... hence had some "fast" food -if I may say so...Komal came over to my place...since she was fasting too...thought it would be easier :-P..well it was not...not wanting to waste much energy and then end up feeling hungry later, we stayed put at my place ...watching television... Got bored very soon...had a mid day nap... got even more bored....finally we decided to drag our lazy selves and catch a movie at a cinemax near by... "Yeh Saali Zindagi"....:-). The smell of the popcorns was all around but we focussed on the movie... Overall, the movie was nice..worth watching..paisa wasool... Well, what follows below is not exactly a movie review but something which I wanted to write about ....

'Yeh Saali Zindagi' is a thriller...fast paced...does not waste time.... and as for the movie goer - one better be focussed or you miss out on the understanding bit...

The movie was very well scripted. All the characters were defined properly. Since, the movie was based out of Delhi, NCR, it missed the dialogue delivery style of a typical Dilliwala. However, towards the end, the movie tends to become a bit slow and predictable, making one wonder about the ending. Too much complexity or inter-connection between the characters works quite the opposite at times.

Irfaan Khan was outstanding in this film...excellent performance and a very mature one at that...Chitrangadha Singh was good.... and well all the actors gave a good performance.

Its a typical Sudhir Mishra film and must be watched. Its not everyday that one gets to see a good thriller!!!!

7 Khoon Maaf

Based on Ruskin Bond's 'Sussana's Seven Husbands', Vishal Bharadwaj has done a good job of making '7 Khoon Maaf' wherein Priyanka Chopra plays the main protagonist while Neil Nitin Mukesh, John Abraham, Irfan Khan, Naseeruddin Shah play one of her 7 husbands.

'7 Khoon Maaf' is a story....just a story. Its no thriller, no romance and no - its not a sad story. Its a story about a woman who's quest for undying love ends in a very unexpected fashion with the death of all her 6 husbands. The story does not have the edgy touch of Omkara or a Kaminey...it flows...sometimes a bit slowly. Although the end wherein Sussana marries for the 7th time, could have been made more clear...or maybe it was open to interpretation...Christianity, Coorg, Kashmir and Puducherry play their very important roles in the movie providing a credible background to the story.

Priyanka Chopra has done a fabulous job of playing Sussana. She plays the character very convincingly of a woman wronged...who just didnt get the love she desired. One actually feels the death of all these men is justified simply because of the way they treated her / cheated her / exploited her.

Neil Nitin Mukesh, Naseeruddin Shah, John Abraham, Annu Kapoor give a wonderful and convincing performance.

Comparing this movie to other of Vishal Bharadwaj's creation, it may not really match up. It may actually not be fair to compare them in the first place. Where Omkara and Maqbool were adaptations of Othello and Macbeth respectively wherein the feelings of love and revenge were strong, Kaminey was a racey thriller about the twins, their interactions with the underworld and the local politics. '7 Khoon Maaf' is a flow of events which unfold forming a story line. It is not required for it to be edgy or thrilling or romantic...It shows a state of mind, a state of being and the eventual ending...

'7 Khoon Maaf' may not turn out a favourite with a lot of people, but then I guess it was not meant to be.

The Blue Mug - A Review

The Blue Mug
Director- Atul Kumar
Production- The Company Theatre, Mumbai
Performed and Devised By : Rajat Kapoor, Vinay Pathak, Ranvir Shorey, Sheeba Chadha, Konkona Sen Sharma, Munish Bhardawaj.
A theatrical creation based on "The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat"
By Oliver Sacks
“
Dr. Sacks recounts the case histories of patients lost in the bizarre, apparently inescapable world of neurological disorders: people afflicted with fantastic perceptual and intellectual aberrations; patients who have lost their memories and with them the greater part of their pasts; who are no longer able to recognize people and common objects; who are stricken with violent tics and grimaces or who shout involuntary obscenities; whose limbs have become alien; who have been dismissed as retarded yet are gifted with uncanny artistic or mathematical talents.
“
My Review:
The intention was to present a world where patients are lost in time... of what was...... however, what came cross was different....
At the outset, the actors come across as standalone characters.... none of them connected in either ways.... connected only in terms of recounting / remembering of what was – their memories.... which is a thin thread .....or rather which is a common ground for all of them....which does not come across so strongly....they recount........remember............ a cremation ground, a grandparent, some porn magazines, a neighbourhood girl, mangoes, cricket, a brother, hostel... blue green stones.... nothing beyond 1983....
There is a doctor (Konkana Sen Sharma) and her patient (Ranvir Shorey)... appearing intermittently..... where the case is presented.... of a patient lost in time... who remembers nothing.... that relationship is the only thread which clearly states what the original author had intended.... of neurological disorders....
However, as for the other characters, Rajat , Vinay, Sheeba and Munish, it was difficult to connect them to this bizarre "presentation"..they appeared as people just remembering.... their performances were brilliant....eliciting responses from their audiences.... in terms of comic... however, the plot is not very clear.... it is a bit vague... as to what was intended to be understood by the audience.... they didn’t seem bizarre or like patients who had lost memory... they just were.... recounting and remembering.... except between the Doctor and the patient... which was very clearly presented.... the connectivity between all the characters and what was hounding them was missing....
Konkana played a very safe character... it was a non challenging role of a doctor.... probably she was just roped in for the “X” factor..... Ranvir was a wee bit over the top.... Rajat and Vinay were just right... Sheeba and Munish passed....
The direction could have been better.... the actors could have been utilized more strongly..... the intention was good....but the projection didn’t convey the conviction.....