Hota Hai Shab-O-Roz Tamasha Mere Aage

Read this excellent article on the current ruckus being created in the media about Kiran Bedi - The Anna effect is bigger than the foibles of Team Anna.
Actually as you must have noticed by now, there is a deliberate attempt to target Team Anna’s members one by one. First Shanti Bhushan, then Kejriwal and now Kiran Bedi; actually the attack is not on individuals, not even on the movement, it’s on the Indian psyche. The ‘You-Know-Whos’ of our political class who were/are/will be the worst affected by the Anna movement are making a deliberate, well thought out attempt to washout the memories of the Aam Junta. They very well understand that we are all Ghajinis (suffering from perpetual short term memory loss) and the media is nothing but paise ka piir or TRP ka piir.

In a country that demands to be constantly entertained, a new tamasha quickly and automatically erases the memory of the last one. You forget the humiliation that our cricket team suffered in England as soon as they start winning at home. Everybody was rooting for the cricketers’ blood when they were losing and now when they are winning at home again, England has been quietly and conveniently forgotten. Nobody is discussing or cares about why our current breed of players - just ‘Ghar ke Sher’?

R.I.P - Shammi Kapoor

Shammi Kapoor - one of the most flamboyant, exuberant and energetic actors of Indian cinema said good bye to this world and moved over to his heavenly abode. 

When you think of Shammi Kapoor you think of his swagger, infectious smile and rawness. He had impeccable comic timing and fun factor something so visible in his numerous songs -   ‘Tum sanahin dekha’, ‘Baar Baar dekho’, ‘Yahooo’ , ‘Tareef karun kya uski’ etc. His great partnership with Rafi sahib gave us numerous romantic melodious songs that will be etched in our memory for ever. His moves and grooves will continue to enthrall us forever. If you want to see his intensity checkout ‘Dil keJharokhe mein’, ‘Ehsaan tera hoga’ etc.  An actor who ruled in his day with his unique style and demeanor took a gracious exit from lead roles to do character roles that suited his age after ‘Andaz’ - something that is rare in the echelons of Indian film industry. 

Not may know he was also one of the pioneers of internet in India. Shammi Kapoor was the founder and chairman of Internet Users Community of India (IUCI).

Shammi ji you will stay in our hearts and fond memories for eternity - R.I.P…

Review: Movie - Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

This was one of those rare movies for which I did not read any reviews, didn’t care what the response was on Facebook/Twitter, I just went ahead and bought the tickets and am glad that I did that J. I loved Zoya Akhtar’s first one ‘Luck By Chance’ which I thought was an intelligent film. So I went for ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ not only for Zoya but also for the super combo of Hrithik, Abhay and Farhan. This is yet another movie this year that breaks the traditional ‘Bollywood Hero’ mould. Each of the above actors is a character that makes up the story, so no boring hero-heroine drama. A lot of people speculated that the movie would be just another repackaged  ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ or a desi version of ‘Hangover’. Thankfully it’s none of that.

Review: Movie - Delhi Belly

A word of caution – Please leave your kids and your parents behind if you are planning to go for ‘Delhi Belly’. Also don’t go if you are averse to language abundantly laced with expletives and choicest of slang words or if, in case, you like orange juice :). The movie though thoroughly enjoyable uses language that may not be suitable or acceptable to all. Delhi Belly is a tribute to both the underworld of the city as well as what might happen to you if you choose to try the street food without caring much for the hygiene.

Plot:

One of the virtues of this film is its simple plot. It’s a short, sweet, fun film that makes no attempt at imparting you a message or teaching you the virtues of being a hero etc. It’s a story of three average guys with their own little problems and what happens to them when they get entangled with a diamond smuggling ring.  There are other characters thrown in to add flavor and color to the happenings on screen but all of them gel quite well in the narrative and nothing seems to be out of place. Most characters would remind you of somebody you have met in real life.

Review: Movie - Ready

Ready is a celebration of Salman Khan. His diehard fans, I guess, don’t need to read beyond the first line and can simply go watch the movie and join the celebration :). For others - don’t expect it to be a ‘Dabbang’ although the makers do try to cash in on the legacy apologetically in a fight sequence where Salman takes off his glasses and then asks ‘kahan rakhun?’ and then hangs them behind his collar with Dabbang’s music playing in the background.

Plot:

Well there is a serious lack of plot. It’s more of a series of gags put together akin to recent Sajid Khan movies like ‘House full’ and ‘Heyy Babyy’ or more like one of those David Dhawan/Govinda movies. The motive is simple to extract laughter out of you somehow even if it low brow humour. Asin is on the run from her two gangster Uncles and takes refuge in Salman’s house where everybody adores her. Once our hero falls for the girl, he sets out to reunite both her uncles and settle the feud between them.

Review: Movie - Dharti (Punjabi)

Well I have been waiting for a good Punjabi movie for a long time so when the promising promos for Jimmy Sheirgill starrer came up, I was naturally excited. Last Jimmy movie in Punjabi that I remember was "Yaaran Naal Baharaan" which was thoroughly enjoyable and all the more the reason for me to go for 'Dharti'.

Plot:

Well honestly the promos were grossly misleading, the promos had projected that the movie had a lot to do with Air Force and little with Politics but the plot was the exact opposite. It's an attempt to make 'Rajneeti' in Punjabi although it has nothing in common with that film. But seriously a ‘Bad’ one. It looked more like an attempt to cash in on the recent success of that movie. It’s a Jimmy Sheirgill production. Most of the movie has been shot in Chandigarh and around – you can easily spot landmarks – PU campus, FunCity, Naada Sahib, Madhya Marg etc. Sadly, the production team has spent most of its money on the cars used by the Characters rather than on actual production quality. If you have a good story to tell viewers won’t mind not seeing any luxury cars on screen, they see them on the roads anyways.