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I accidentally catched up the Mira Nair's movie "The Namesake" on the TV (06/06/09) on Star Movies. I have already heard about that movie as it was a celluloid version of Jhumpa Lahiri's Pulitzer award winning novel of the same name. I always had apprehensions that novels can't be translated completely onscreen, so didn't watch the movie for that reason. But what made me sit initially was its arresting visuals, that could get the fancy of anybody who has an eye for colours and frames. In the due course I started getting into the story also. The star cast must also be creditted for making me sit through. This Irrfan Khan - Tabu starrer is really a nice experience to watch.

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I was pleasantly surprised to catch up the Rajshri's classic 'Chitchor' on Zee Aflam last night. Watching this sugar sweet flick was a thrilling experience because I was not sure when the channel will be changed as my housemates felt it as outdated. A case of mistaken identity where the prospect groom's friend (Amol Palelkar) was misunderstood for the actual groom, while he falls in love with the simpleton heroine (Zarina Wahab) and how it got solved. As usual Amol Palelkar was completely natural, heroine's kid friend deserves a special mention and I was completely bowled by the small town girl charm of Zarina Wahab, who later got married to actor Aditya Panscholi. Yesterday only I realised that the movie had some classic songs like 'Jab Shaam dhale aana' & 'Aaj se pehle..' other than the very famous 'Gori Tera Gaon bada pyara'. When I return back to India I should get a DVD of this simple story told in a so simple fashion. Surprisingly the remake of this by same Rajshri productions resulted in a debacle called 'Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon' contributed by over the top performances by Hritihk Roshan and Kareena Kapoor, without realising that simplicity was the forte of 'Chitchor'. If possible, catch up 'Chitchor' in DVD. Spicy Gossip: Aditya Panscholi was rumoured to have an affair with Kangana Ranaut and it is no surprise because Kangana Ranaut resembles a lot.. vey much of Zarina. - {oshits} reads

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Sometimes back after reading my comments about the rape scenes in Arundathi, Ananya had mailed me that all the rape scenes in Indian movies are like that, why single out Arundathi alone. She was right and in our Indian movies rape is more used as a provocative element to titillate the animal instincts of average Indian movie viewers. In the 80's movies almost all the movies had a hero's sister character who was created just to get raped and commit suicide following that gory incident. Thankfully that trend phased out eventually when the heroines took over the part of seducing the male audiences from the vamps and rapes. But there are very few rape scenes that gave me goosebumps when I even think about them. Those were vital for the story to move on and those scenes disturbed me for weeks. Recently when I read 'Kane and Abel' there was this gang rape scene after which I literally stopped reading that novel until Vaidhees assured me that no more such scene will come in that novel.

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Despite knowing that it is a multiplex hit, the Hindi movie 'A Wednesday' caught my attention as soon as Kamal Hassan announced his intentions to remake it in Tamil and Telugu. Quite a poigant tale told in a gripping way, 'A Wednesday' captures the common man's angst against the beaurocratic / red tape involved in government's way of dealing with terrorism. No top stars, no jingoism, yet the director Neeraj Pandey manages to get the audiences a feel of their own angst translated effectively to the big screen. Brilliant performances by the lead players Anupam Kher and Naseeruddin Shah, especially the latter playing the role effortessly, the last dialogue Naseer mouths just makes the anger of the public seep through the blood, give a hair raising experience. Neeraj's clever way of masking the community which Nasseer belongs to is a master stroke deserving a critical applause. 'A Wednesday' - movie that shouldn't be missed by the discerning viewers at any cost. Hope Kamal Hassan retains the same feel & essence and the doubts are basically for (i) he had chosen stars with larger-than-life, himself along with Venkatesh [Telugu version], Mohanlal [Tamil], for the regional versions, (ii) the story revolves around the Mumbai bomb blasts and terror attacks, which the Hindi audiences could identify with but for those in South such terror attacks are another news. All the very best for Kamal Hassan & the crew involved in the South versions. - {oshits} reads

{mosimage}It is raining in the yards of AR Rahman's fans... The 'Madras Mozart' had been dishing out chartbustsers at alarming intervals as if they are an assembly line product. The versatility of the scores of period drama "Jodhaa Akbar" to " funky "Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na" to techno "Ghajini"... the journey this young maestro took last year is incredible. The Golden Globe awards for "Slumdog Millionnaire" came as a diamond in his crown, validating his popularity across the globe. ARR's music for Rakeysh Mehra's "Dilli-6" came in the heels of his Golden Globe awards only to become a smash hit. But this album, Dilli - 6, has the potential to burn the speakers no matter when it was released. I couldn't resist lending my ears tothe songs of "Delhi - 6" every morning, evening and whole day through my iPod. Here is the playlist for those who hadn't heard it still...

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If I am asked to describe the new version of Mahabharat in one word, I would say - "sexy". This Ekta Kapoor's version of Mahabharat called as "Kahaani Hamaaray Mahaabhaarat Ki".... notice her 'K' sentiment and the effects of numerology's effect on the title..... This new version of Mahabharat is no different from the regular mega serials, but it stands apart from the crowd by its presentation. Not only the visuals are rich, but the costumes of the characters are definitely different. Admitted that the costumes came under heavy criticism that the serial looked more like a greek mythology (even my mother felt the same), but as a normal viewer I found the dresses subtle, sensible and sexy. All the boys and girls in the serial had amazing hot bodies. Even the set prop men like ministers, security guards had a well toned body and the girls were sexy in near topless costumes. If you ponder over the dresses, as somebody who keeps watching the ancient dresses through sculptures, I think this the way the people might have draped themselves...

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Subhash Ghai - A.R Rahman coming together after (almost) a decade... The initial promos manage to pump up the adrenaline, especially 'Tu Meri Dost'. Sometimes piracy mills work overtime... The audio was released on Oct 16th morning and the downloads were available by evening itself. I will definitely but this CD as the orchestration is of high quality. There are 9 songs and all the songs are immediately catchy. Best part of this album is that it uses many of South Indian voices - Srinivas, Vijay Yesudas, Benny Dayal, Karthik. I still hadn't got into the songs completely as you know that AR Rahman's songs take sometime to grow on you. So it is an injustice to pass judgements on the first hearing itself. I want to write my views on the songs after enough hearing. I have added the songs playlist in the post. Hear it for yourself.

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I wanted to see this movie but couldn't in theatre as well as DVD. Last weekend I received this surprise package from Filmfare - a collection of 10 DVDs including KKC. The movie by Sudhir Mishra is brilliant in parts but a hogwash on whole. The sheer maginificance of 60-s era recreated by Art director Gautam & Sachin Krishn's cinematography blows your mind in awe, Shantanu Moitra's compositions rooted in melody soothes your ears. Besides these I couldn't remember what we had seen for previous 2 1/2 hrs. The movie set in the early 60s of Bollywood gives a sense of disgust that it is all about casting couch. When Nikhat remembers her first casting couch (rape) at the age of 14, it leaves a lump in your throat. But Nikhat using the same method with reigning superstar to reach the stardom is not something that we sympathise with her. Also some characters are hazy - is Superstar Prem a lecherous creature? or who just takes advantage of the ambitiousness of Nikhat? When Zafar goes to bed with his new muse Ratanbala, we couldn't differentiate him from Prem. Nikhat sleeps with Prem, then with Zafar, on the other hand Zafar sleeps with Ratanbala.... grrrrr!!!!

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Ram Gopal Varma's (favouritely Ramu) marketing acumen accrued from his video library days is evident in his campaigns. The caption of Phoonk (whiff of wind / breath) reads "It's superstition until it happens to you". A clever way of arousing the curiousity towards the product. In 'Phoonk' Ramu charters into the least treaded territory of Black Magic. He admitted in his blog that he is clearly inspired by Endamoori Virendranath's "Thulasidhalam (Tamil) / Kashmora (Telugu)", but the screen version is credited to Milind Gadagkar. The movie is clearly a case of inspiration - you are reminded of the original but couldn't lay hands on similarities". The real hero of the movie is the DOP - Savita Singh. Just through the soft toys the spooky ambience is set in the first half, but sometimes going overboard. Among the cast Ahsaas Channa as the possessed kid steals the show and Sudeep's subtle expressions in agony loaded eyes make an impact. Ashwini Kalsekar as eccentric black magician woman goes over the top towards the climax. Phoonk can't match the standards set by Ramu himself with 'Bhoot', but that's the problem with Ramu he sets his benchmarks higher in each genre that he himself fails to match up with later projects. Shiva, Kshana Kshanam, Deyyam, Ghayam, Rangeela, Satya, Bhoot, Company just says the same. On the whole a worthy entertainer.

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கோவை வந்தாலே காரணம் தேவைப்படாமல் மனது குதூகலிப்பது எனக்கு வாடிக்கை தான். இம்முறையும் அதற்கு விதிவிலக்கு அல்ல. கோயம்புத்தூரில் படம் பார்த்தே 5+ வருடங்கள் ஆகிவிட்டது. இந்த முறை கர்னாடிக் தியேட்டரில் படம் பார்க்க முடிவு செய்தேன். முதன் முறையாக மீரா ஜாஸ்மினை பெரிய திரையில் பார்த்ததும் இங்கே தான் (படம் - மலையாள கஸ்தூரிமான்). அது போல முதன் முறையாக வித்யா பாலனை இதே தியேட்டரில் வெள்ளித்திரையில் பார்க்க முடிவு செய்தேன். படம் - கிஸ்மத் கனெக்‌ஷன். வித்யா பாலனுக்காக மட்டுமல்லாமல் இயக்குநர் அஜீஸ் மிர்ஸா, கூட நடிக்கும் ஷாகித் கபூர் என பல துணை காரணங்கள். அஜீஸ் மிர்ஸாவின் படங்கள் எப்போதும் மிக இயல்பாக இருக்கும். மேலும் பல வருடங்களுக்கு பிறகு அவர் படம் இயக்க வந்திருக்கிறார். நல்ல வேலையாக அஜீஸ், வித்யா, ஷாகித் என யாருமே ஏமாற்றவில்லை. இந்த படம் தான் என்ன?

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Khamosh (1985) - the movie that kept intriguing me for a long time ever since I learnt that it was Vidhu Vinod Chopra's debut movie. After seeing the movie, you can understand why Vidhu Vinod Chopra is one of the most reverred & hated film maker in Bollywood. I always loved his passion towards the good cinema, eccentricity that sometimes snubbs film folks and a dare to break steroetypes. "Khamosh" is an edge of the seat thriller, straight from Aghata Christie type of novels, with no commercial distractions or thrusted item numbers even though the movie offers plenty of scope for such elements. The not so great technical finesse gives the film a raw texture that enhances the stark performances of all talented powerhouses - Naseeruddin Shah, Amol Palelkar, Shabana Azmi, Pankaj Kapoor, Ajit Vachcani and others. I could suggest that "Khamosh" is a must watch if you are a stickler for quality thriller. What keeps "Khamosh" ahead of other murder mysteries?

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Moserbaer's maiden production "Shaurya (Courage)", though a blatant rip off from American movie "A Few Good Men", is engrossing at parts. It is about the court martial of Javed Khan, an young Muslim military officer, whose defense lawyer Siddhant is not so intrested about the case initially. Enter a journalist Kavya Sashtri, who ridicules Siddhant for his ignorance that Siddhant sinks into the case really to find out some intresting communal aspects and fake encounters. Shaurya can best be a movie remembered for its arresting performances by Kay Kay Menon, Amrita Rao as conscience of killed military officer and voice over by Sharukh Khan towards the end. Minisha Lambha grates your nerves, a romantic angle uncalled for and a slow pace proves fatal for Shaurya but with a breath taking cinematography, details of military etiquette, Shaurya can be a nice experience for those who hadn't watched the original. Still it is not a losing proposition costwise (Rs. 50/- in Moserbaer Home DVD). Give Shaurya a try in DVD or in a TV premier.

{moshits left} people had liked to read about and watch Shaurya.