Bollywood

Horror Show (OUTLOOK)

November 27, 2009 | Qalandar

LINK

Horror Show
The film industry has changed, pitching its wares to an ever-narrower (and wealthier) group of people, excluding entire demographics and social groups that, until quite recently, constituted a staple of the Bollywood audience
UMAIR AHMED MUHAJIR

I haven’t seen Kurbaan yet. I certainly will, and it might well be a pretty good film too. But what I won’t be doing is going into the theatre with any kind of enthusiasm. Chalk that up to the ad campaign — and I’m not talking about Kareena Kapoor’s “backless” poster pic with co-star and real-life boyfriend Saif Ali Khan either. You see, it was the other posters and trailers that dampened my enthusiasm. For when I saw the shots of the Jama Masjid, heard the “ShukranAllah” song playing in the background, and saw Kareena sporting a head-scarf, I just knew the film was going to be about Some Topical Issue.

The point isn’t that Kurbaan is yet another film about Muslim terrorists — unlike a decade or so ago, Bollywood has actually become reasonably liberal with respect to that issue, and far more likely to eschew crude stereotypes. The problem today is a more subtle one. For Kurbaan is yet another film conflating symbols of Indo-Islamic identity with the rather distinct phenomenon of contemporary terrorism. Shots of the Jama Masjid? A qawwali playing in the background? Why, this must be a “topical” story about extremism. (Its refusal to go that route was one reason why this year’s Delhi-6 was quite welcome: in that film, the Jama Masjid was simply the Jama Masjid, a “normal” location where people pray as a matter of course.)

The point is a broader one, however, and is not limited to cinematic representations of India’s minorities. Quite the contrary. The representation of minorities is merely symptomatic of a broader issue: in the new dispensation that rules Hindi cinema, “traditional” cultural practices and symbols are themselves, more often than not, problematic, and even the majority is marked in one way or another. For instance, the Hindu temple, once a staple of Hindi film moments ranging from lovers’ trysts to quarrels with God, is conspicuous only by its absence in contemporary Bollywood: the only recent films that even featured anything like a temple or a religious festival are the afore-mentioned Delhi-6; Ghajini, and Wanted — and the last two are remakes of, respectively, Tamil and Telugu films, and hence products of far more rooted cinematic cultures. The dargahs and mandirs that dotted the landscape of Hindi movies in decades past have all but vanished; to the extent any divine intervention is needed today, the more “modern” confines of a church — almost always abroad — have become Bollywood’s preferred houses of worship, at least since 1995’s Dilwaale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge.)

Read More

Om Puri’s Wife Nandita Reveals Embarassing Truths In Biography

November 10, 2009 | Kaveetaa Kaul 24

World calling

August 4, 2009 | Som 1

LINK

The world is finally waking up to Bollywood. After doing well theatrically abroad, mainstream Hindi films are finally being invited to the world’s top film festivals. Even if the screenings are out of competition.

First up is the Venice Film Festival, where not one, but three Bollywood films have been invited. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Delhi-6 will be shown in the Midnight Movies category of the festival. Rakeysh will show his director’s cut, which not only has a different beginning from the theatrical release but also has Abhishek Bachchan’s Roshan dying in the end.

Perhaps Indian cinema’s biggest moment this year is the fact that Anurag Kashyap has been invited to be part of the festival jury in Venice. Not only will he be hobnobbing with Ang Lee, the jury president, but two of his recent films — Dev D and Gulaal — will be shown at the festival.

“I am really excited… it’s a huge honour and I would like to make the most of it,” Anurag told t2. “To be selected for the jury of a festival like Venice is truly a huge thing.”

Read More

Hot selling Bollywood loses appeal

July 27, 2009 | Som 6

Aamir Khan is the only actor who gets his act right all the time. The actor also features in ads that are smart, innovative, and imaginative. From Titan to TATASky, all his ads are A-1.

Read More

Film Review of EK – THE POWER OF ONE by Aakash Gandhi

March 31, 2009 | Aakash

EK – THE POWER OF ONE
Film Review

Source:  avstv.com
By Aakash Gandhi
Reviewer’s Rating:  5.5/10

EK – THE POWER OF ONE is vintage Bollywood masala, flooded with action, drama, comedy, and of course romance. Unfortunately, like most in its category, it fails to leave any lasting impact thanks to a very familiar tale wrapped in an oversimplified script.

The story chronicles the split life of orphaned criminal Nandu (Bobby Deol), who is hired by Maharashtran Opposition Leader Anna (Sachin Khedekar) to stage a fake assassination attempt in order to gain sympathy from the masses. However, before Nandu is able to pull the trigger, another fateful shot takes the life of Anna, transforming a slimy political trick into a full-on murder case.

With the police fresh on his trail, Nandu escapes their grasp by catching a train to Punjab where he runs into Puran Singh (Akshay Kapoor) – a down-to-earth twenty-six year old on his way to reunite with his estranged family after eighteen long years. At one of the stops, an officer spots Nandu and takes a shot that accidentally strikes Puran, killing him on the spot. Nandu reaches Puran’s village to deliver the grave message, but before he can say anything the family mistakes him for their beloved Puran. Unwilling to break their hearts, Nandu continues the charade and is soon enveloped by the family’s warmth and love. All the while, witty CBI Inspector Rane (Nana Patekar) is hot on Nandu’s trail. Will Nandu surrender his true identity to the family? Will Nandu be prosecuted for a crime he did not commit? These are some of the burning questions that develop throughout the film.

Read More

Drona Indicine Movie Review

October 1, 2008 | Ashok

Drona high on special effects low on quality!

Indicine Review -> Drona Review

Read More