what we are reading – EightandHalf
Fuck the Filmfare, Screen, IIFA, GIFA, Stardust, Zee Cine and every XYZ Awards. They are all the same. Tv shows that needs naach-gaana and stars. And so the competition is who sucks better than whom and which star! Most of them are organised by even management companies who get the stars to do naach-gaana and make sure that everyone gets a fat cheque.
So, here is the real deal – Golden Kela Awards by Random Magazine . Desi Razzies! Pure honesty! 100 percent shuddh!Its the second year of the award. And for a change, we agree with every choice of theirs. Thats rare! Outlook’s Follywood Awards are also good but Golden Kela Awards scores better because they have much better categories.
Worst Film – Kambakkht Ishq
Worst Director – Ashutosh Gowariker for WTF is Your Raashee
Worst Actor – Harman/Hurman/Harrman/Harmun/Whatever Baweja for WTFYR
Worst Actress – Kareena Kapoor for Kambakkht Ishq
Worst Supporting Actor – Ranvir Shorey for Chandi Chowk to China
Worst Supporting Actress – Deepika Padukone for Chandni Chowk To China
Worst Debutant Male – Jackie Bhagnani for Kal Kisne Dekha
Worst Debutant Female – Shruti Hasan for Luck
Worst Pair – Rani Mukherjee & Shahid Kapoor for Dil Bole Hadippa
When Did This Come Out Award – Deepak Tijori’s Fox
Most Original Story Award – Dil Bole Hadippa copied from She’s The Man
Baawra Ho Gaya Hai Ke Award – Sylvester Stallone & Denise Richards for Kambakkht Ishq
Most Irritating Song of the year Award – Pritam for Love Mera Hit Hit from Billu Barber
Most Atrocious Lyrics Award- Sameer for Love Me Love Me from Wanted
Special Awards
The Lajja Award for Worst Treatment of a Serious Issue – Kabir Khan & Aditya Chopra for New York
The Dara Singh Award For Worst Accent – Abhishek Bachchan for Delhi 6
The Black Award for Emotional Blackmail – Paa
The Insensitivity Award – Chandni Chowk To China
The Bas Kijiye Bahut Ho Gaya Award – Madhur Bhandarkar
The Critic’s Award of 2009 – Taran Adarsh
Cyrus Broacha, the chief guest of the show was awarded the Cyrus Broacha Memorial Award this year. To read more about the awards, nominations and blogs, click here. And click on the play button to watch a tv report on Kela-ophobia.
Not a very exciting friday if you dont count the IPL. At the movies, we are counting the scores of two films – Right Ya Wrong and Hide & Seek. Right Ya Wrong is directed by Neeraj Pathak, produced by Mukta Arta and stars Sunny Deol, Irrfan Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma and Isha Koppikar. Its seems to be inspired by Hollywood film Above Suspicion. Yes, Sunny Paaji is back! So, who else is excited ?
Mayank Shekhar (HT) – Come to think of it, a film like this would’ve been infinitely more unbearable, were it for sharp performers like Irrfan, or Konkona Sen Sharma (lawyer), or even walk-on presences like Suhasini Muley, or Govind Namdeo. What a waste of talents again; I guess then! – 2/5
Rajeev Masand (CNN IBN) – Cleverly plotted and never revealing all its cards at once, the film is a smart thriller. And yet the director fails to deliver a tight, slick Bollywood entertainer on the lines of those Abbas-Mustan whodunits, because his treatment’s so archaic. Even the incredibly gifted Konkona struggles embarrassingly through a scene in which she must reveal to a young child that her parent is dead. Saddled with juvenile dialogue, fine actors like Irrfan, Sunny and Konkona are wasted in what might have otherwise been a promising film – 2/5
Taran Adarsh (Indiafm) – On the whole, RIGHT YAAA WRONG is a powerful thriller, with a knockout second half. However, the film faces strong opposition from two quarters – IPL cricket matches and the ongoing examination period. But a strong word of mouth should change the tide in its favour. Go, watch it… this one’s a pleasant surprise! – 3.5/5
Shubhra Gupta (Indian Express) – The trouble with `Right Yaa Wrong’ is that it’s not tight enough, getting derailed when the little boy comes on for his I-love-my-papa scenes, and other extraneous stuff – 2/5
Nikhat Kazmi (TOI) – more than the story, it’s the performances that add meat to this small little film which comes unnoticed. While Sunny, Isha and Konkona are marvelously restrained, it’s Irrfan Khan who walks away with the film — and your applause — with his sledgehammer act of the nosey cop who knows something’s not right, but can’t actually put his finger on the hows of this whodunit. Of course, he knows who did it? But how does he show it to the world, specially when his own sister, Konkona, is determined to prove him wrong….- 3.5/5
Preeti Arora (Rediff) – Right Yaaa Wrong tries to raise issues about duty versus loyalty. Although the movie preaches a little bit it does keep you entertained and engrossed. Try not to miss it. The impact just wouldn’t be the same on DVD – 3/5
Minty Tejpal (Mumbai Mirror) – For a typical Bollywood film, Right Yaaa Wrong has a fairly interesting story, except that the average direction and clumsy casting quite lets it down. Sunny Deol, remember him, returns as Ajay Sridhar, a deadly cop who is the ‘master of disguises’, astutely shown by the various wigs he wears through the movie -1.5/5
The other release of the week is also thriller. Hide & Seek is directed by Shawn Arranha, produced by Apoorva Lakhia and stars Purab Kohli, Mrinalini Sharma, Arjan Bajwa, Ayaaz Khan & Sameer Kocchar.
Anupama Chopra (NDTV) – The final nail in the coffin is the amateurish acting. Everyone shrieks and shakes a lot. And even otherwise reliable actors like Purab Kholi and Arjan Bajwa move into full blown hysterical mode. Hide and Seek could have been mildly diverting entertainment but it doesn’t make you scream or shiver – 2/5
Rajeev Masand (CNN IBN) – Directed by first-timer Shawn Arranha, Hide & Seek struggles to create a real sense of fear or suspense, even though the idea of setting this film in a shopping mall is a clever one. Unfortunately, the film packs only a handful of jump-in-your-seat moments, and is let down completely by amateurish dialogue and insufferable acting from its ensemble. Purab Kohli, Arjan Bajwa and Sameer Kochar, in particular, ham it up in their respective roles, and to be fair the entire production doesn’t come off looking much better than a school play – 1.5/5
Nikhat Kazmi (TOI) – The tangled web of relationships does unwind gradually to reveal undercurrents that lead towards death and denouement. And as the odd assortment of friends try to resolve their old differences, Santa Claus comes gunning for them from the dark shadows of the deserted mall. One by one, the group begins to crumble and the mystery peels, layer after layer. There’s enough pizzazz to keep the adrenalin pumping here – 3/5
Shubhra Gupta (Indian Express) – Hide and Seek’ tries to be a Bollywood slasher film, but it doesn’t have the requisite thrill-and- chill factor. Purab Kohli is the only well-known face, so he has the largest part ( he’s the one who’s been let loose from the asylum), and if you are a fan of movies in which masked figures with sharp objects go after screaming victims, all of whom manage to reveal a body part or two at all times, the better to be skewered, you will know how it will end. The end should have been a shocker. But, given the general loose tone of the film, it’s not – 1/5
Mayank Shekhar (HT) – You couldn’t care less for these characters to bother with their bumbling back-story; never mind that the nuggets in the film itself don’t eventually add up. A group in an inexplicably nightmarish mess as this would pool in resources to figure a way out first. Not these happy campers – 1.5/5
Taran Adarsh (Indiafm) – On the whole, HIDE & SEEK is a gripping suspense drama that keeps you guessing till its end. Go for it, if a good suspense thriller is what you’re looking at! – 3/5
Minty Tejpal (Mumbai Mirror) – Hide & Seek is an amateurish attempt at making a super slick slasher thriller which doesn’t quite add up. The film stars a bunch of wannabe actors and is helmed by a debutant director who tries to be too clever by half – .5/5
Ok, we are going back to the small screen this weekend. IPL seems more exciting.
Its middle name is “Sex”. And as Neha Dhupia in her Julie avatar said once – In this country, only sex or Shah Rukh Khan sells! So, the makers of Love Sex Aur Dhoka are going full throttle selling what they have. Check out the pics.
The film LSD is yet to be censored. So, will the Censor Board pass it ? Or will it do a KLPD ? And if you wondering what is KLPD, go check which planet do you belong to! ( Hint – D is the same in both LSD & KLPD)
To read the full article published in Mid-Day, click here. Its seems the protagonists of any hindi films have never stripped down completely. And so by that criteria, this one is bollywood’s boldest sex scene ever. Aha, when will our actors join Kate Winslet’s Sex & Nudity Coaching Classes ? But first they need to join her acting class! Only actors can carry nudity with so much ease.
And here is the most interesting bit from the article – But the nudity in the scene is not even remotely aimed to titillate. If anything, it is gag-inducing, guaranteed to repel you. Like the rape scene filmed on Monica Bellucci in Irreversible.
Monica Bellucci ? Irreversible ? This sounds familiar. Not sure if its coincidence or has been written as part of an official press release. Remember talking to one of the writers of the film about it long back. How the film had a huge impact on him, how he had first seen the film during his film school days and in the same week, something similar had happened in the film school campus. It was too heavy to get over.
But Mid-day has done what the film’s PR and Marketing guys should be doing. Sold the film to its audience. We were booking our tickets anyway. Now we will double-check. What are you thinking ? or still staring at the pic ?
Are the Sony Music guys waiting for the album to hatch golden eggs ? They dont. And even if they ever do, they can do only when its out in the market.
Dibakar Banerjee’s new film Love Sex Aur Dhokha (LSD) is releasing on 19th March. Not even 10 days left and the music is still not out. Wake up Sony! Smell the coffee. Generally the music of a hindi film is released a month before its schedule release date and every week a new song is aired on tv channels to build up the hype.
In recent past, T-Series did a superb job with two film albums which had no big stars and not big budgets. Dev D and Ishqiya. And it helped both the film’s box office performance too. Dev D was sex + shock + songs, it jazzed up the curiousity factor immensely! Rest all depends on how good or bad the film is. Similarly, Ishqiya’s dil to bachcha hai ji & Kaminey’s Dhen Tedan hyped the film and gave it a strong recall value.
The problem is big labels need big stars. And better if the big stars lipsync the songs. Otherwise they dont have any clue how to market the album and the songs. And they are least bothered. So, the super giant Sony is sitting-thinking-shitting-pondering-ruminating-supershitting.
The music of LSD is by Sneha Khanwalkar who delivered a killer soundtrack with her last album Oye Lucky Lucky Oye. Rustic sound, lesser known singers, all packaged with a power punch. And interestingly, Dibakar has turned solo lyricist with LSD. He co-wrote few songs for Oye Luck Lucky Oye also. But this time, its all solo. Not one or two but he has written three songs including the now popular title track Love sex aur dhokha darling love sex aur dhokha. The second one is – I cant hold it any longer, an English-Rajasthani fusion!
The third song is Tu Nangi Acchi Lagti hai and there is another version of the same song- Tu Gandi Acchi Lagti Hai. Both versions have been written by Dibakar. No, there was no Censor locha as reported in the newspapers. One version is used in the film that goes with one of the characters (nangi) and the other version (gandi) is in the album.
Not sure when will Sony realise that there are people out there who are waiting for LSD music! If only management graduates knew everything about films and music, we would have an Auteur Club passing out of IIM’s every year!
Here is the title track sung by Kailash Kher.
First a confession – Never was so curious and interested in anyone’s marriage or swayavar. But then no marriage was such a non-stop laughathon ever!
And the result is out. Its Dimpy Ganguly from Calcutta. And they can name the pair as Dimpy & Pimpy! Doesnt he look like one with all those kajal and killer sound effect in his laughter! We can also bet that its this pic of Dimpy which did the wonder! He is Rahul Mahajan after all!
So, who is the unlucky Dimpy Ganguly ? She is 21 year old model from Kolkata, West Bengal. According to official release Dimpy gave up a lead role in a film to participate in the Swayamvar. Aur bolo ? Her real name is Soumasri, which means ‘as beautiful as the moon.’ But her cute dimples have earned her the name Dimpy. But this marriage has its share of controversy too. It seems Dimpy had signed a contract with Maureen Wadia’s Gladrags agency and her participation in the show goes against the contract. Click here to know more.
And for Dimpy, here is a marriage gift from our side. Take a look at the pic. Be prepared. Very prepared.
First, lets get the facts correct. Lot of reviewers in their reviews have mentioned that the Ajay Devgan-Konkon Sen starrer film Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge is based on Sharad Joshi’s short story. NO, its NOT a short story! But its based on a short essay written by him.
We still havent seen the film. But our walkie-talkie-moviepedia from Jaipur, Pavan Jha alerted us on this one. The essay is titled Tum Kab Jaoge, Atithi. It was published in his book “Yatha Sambhav” and also made it to other compilations. The makers of the film have taken due permission and have also given him credit in the film, even if its just an idea.
The film has got average rating. But do read the essay. Or do we still need to sell you Sharad Joshi’s writing ?
Lil late to discover it but as they say, better late than never. Atleast for the record!
Remember the popular Iktara song from last year’s Wake Up Sid ? We discovered Kavita Seth and realised that Amit Trivedi can kill Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy with just one song. The trio had the rest of the album. But nobody played anything beyond Ikatara. And many are still playing it in non-stop loop.
Had lot of doubts since the song came out. It sounded so different from rest of the album. And then got to know that there is a male version too. And the male version is not in the CD ? It was released much much later. Was it a official release ? Not sure. A good friend mailed it to us as we were desperatley looking for it. So, whats the story ?
Intially Amitabh Bhattacharya wrote the male version of the Iktara song. Everyone liked it. But Javed Akhtar doesnt like sharing credit on music albums. Its should be only him or let anyone else write all the songs! But it was too good a song to let it go.
To solve the problem Javed Akhtar rewrote a new version of the same Iktara song. It was recorded in a female voice and was put in the album. The male version of the song remained in the system and was released much later after the release of the film.
For better comparison, here is the lyrics of the male version and click here for the lyrics of the female version. Thanks for it Goonda, the only person who doesnt like the song! Or better click on the play buttons of the video attched and decide for yourself. First the female version and the next is male version.
When we had put out this post on Amit Dutta’s film Aadmi Ki Aurat Aur Anay Kahaniyaan, many of you had tweeted and mailed us to know if there is any possibility of screening of the film. Finally, here it is! Read on to know all the details.
A big thanks to Ashok Chaudhary who alerted us about it by commenting on the same post. ( Ashok – If you are reading this, do mail us your contact to moifightclub@gmail.com. Because if someone wants to know something more, can pass your number or email, if thats fine with you. )
What : Screening of Amit Dutta’s Aadmi Ki Aurat Aur Anay Kahaniyaan
When : Date – Saturday, March 13, 2010. Time: 6:00pm – 9:00pm
Where : Movie Labs, SV Road, Goregaon West. It’s near the Goregaon flyover, on SV Road, and near Image Restaurant
Film – To know more about the film, click here. You can also check out the comment section there for more details.
Festival/Award – The film was selected for the Venice Film Festival 2009, the lone Indian entry to the main programme of the festival. It has also earned Special Mention at Festival in the Orrizonti Competition section, the third film from india that has won an award/certificate of merit at the festival after Vishnupant Govind Damle and Sheikh Fattelal’s Sant Tukaramin 1936 and Satyajit Ray’s Aprajito in 1957. (All info according to official release)
Event : GraFTII Adda 5 will be on film! This time we bring you a Diploma film project of students of the acting batch (2006-2008) of Film & Television Institute of India, Pune directed by Amit Dutta. This time the director and part of the cast are absent, away in Kashmir on another film shoot. But four of the film’s actors will be with us to talk about their experiences while shooting the film.
Fees : The contributions towards the projectionist, and tea/coffee will be Rs.100/- for a general audience, Rs.75/- for GraFTII members and Rs.50/- for students with bona-fide ID cards.
PS : If you still havent seen Amit Dutta’s other three film Kra Ma Sha, Sha Tra Gya and Ma Pa, make sure you watch them! Has quite a signature style. Not to be missed.
This friday there are three films and all very different. Road, Movie, Attithi Tum Kab Jaoge and Thanks Maa. Road, Movie is by Dev Benegal and starring Abhay Deol, Tannistha Chatterjee & Satish Kaushik. First, Road, Movie. Will the poster boy of new wave hindi cinema Abhay Deol deliver again ? Or is it desi exotica packaged as pure pretentious fuck for firangis ?
Anupama Chopra (NDTV) – Be warned: the film is slow and in parts, clunky and underwritten. But Benegal tells the tale with such tenderness and affection that you are slowly but irrevocably seduced by his vision – 3/5
Raja Sen (Rediff) – Benegal’s screenplay ends up, as we said, like Deol: it goes nowhere, driving aimlessly around in circles. And yet there are charming characters, and visuals to remember. It’s a casual drive, short enough to not mind, long enough to leave you slightly tired. Sometimes a ride is worth just what you see through the moving window – 3/5
Gaurav Malani (Indiatimes) – Is it a roller-coaster road movie? Is it a novel tale about touring cinema? Sadly, despite immense potential, it’s neither of the two. This one is mediocre middle-of-the-road movie. Dev Benegal’s Road, Movie is designed as one of those typical festival films that pretend to be a transformative journey of a character who en route discovers the true meaning of life, love and blah blah blah – 2/5
Mayank Shekhar (HT) – The point of this road-less journey remains mysteriously unknown though, given it’s the premise. You can’t quite place the leading man either, the wizard of pose: in Levi’s jeans, tightly trendy tee, cellphone in hand, iPod to the ears… You don’t know where he’s coming from, to figure where he’s going. He literally sells tel (exotic Indian oil) for a family business. Gone to get oil, or ‘gaya tel lene’ is of course an unrelated Indian metaphor for screwing yourself over – 2/5
Rajeev Masand (CNN IBN) – Road, Movie directed by Dev Benegal, is a slow and rickety ride that tires you out by the time it reaches its destination. A visually stunning but emotionally hollow adventure, packed with tired stereotypes, the film is an unsatisfying watch even at running time of 90-odd minutes – 2/5
Shubhra Gupta(Indian Express) – The two parts of the title, separated by a comma, conjure up two of the most beguiling subjects a film can have. Being on the road, journeying from point A to point B, with or without a destination, can be magical. And there’s nothing more so than the movies. Dev Benegal’s latest, which marries the two, lacks the enchantment this sort of film must necessarily possess to take hold of, and enthrall – 2/5
Nikhat Kazmi(TOI) – For, Road, Movie is no English, August. It’s less engaging and low on story, although, the characters are rich and the canvas is colourful. The film works slowly and sensuously, drawing you into its folksy tale of a Sheherzade-like journey through a landscape dotted with mean cops and marauding gangsters from the water mafia that rules the parched desert – 3/5
Minty Tejpal (Mumbai Mirror) – In the end, all the actors have done a fine job while the journey has been told in a lavish style, but that’s about it. So be warned, you will only enjoy Road, Movie if you are an Abhay Deol fan or in the mood for different cinema. The rest may find it boring – 2/5
Taran Adarsh (Indiafm) – On the whole, ROAD, MOVIE is more for the festival circuit and some connoisseurs of art house cinema, who may savour it. That’s about it! – 1.5/5
The second film Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge is directed by Ashwini Dheer and stars Ajay Devgan, Konkona Sen & Paresh Rawal. Three superb actors and a comedy ? Am not interested. Lets see.
Anupama Chopra (NDTV) – Dheer has a stellar cast of three national award winning actors but he doesn’t give them sparkling lines or substantial moments. Only Ajay Devgn gets to chew the scenery with a nicely done climactic speech about the relationship between children and parents. Aththi Tum Kab Jaoge attempts to impart valuable lessons but the comic sugar-coating just doesn’t crackle enough – 2/5
Mayank Shekhar (HT) – Everybody over-does it. Among gags after gags, one or two mildly work. But it’s the cast that had initially inspired confidence. Devgn’s last comedy, All The Best, was in parts a riot. Sen Sharma’s last, Wake Up Sid, was a wonderfully affectionate rom-com. And as anyone will tell you, not just a wealthy Gujarati trader in Jersey, Paresh Rawal is Paresh Rawal. None of them (bumbling together in a room) even vaguely add up – 1.5/5
Rajeev Masand (CNN IBN) – Ajay Devgan and Konkona Sen Sharma, credible actors both, sportingly participate in much of the film’s idiocy, and yet succeed in never turning this film into the kind of offensive, unwatchable comedy that it might have easily become in the hands of such actors as Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor who could learn a thing or two about restraint from the leads in this film – 2.5/5
Shubhra Gupta (Indian Express) – there’s nothing fresh about Dhir’s film, which employs tired characters ( Satish Kaushik playing a bejeweled film producer who keeps saying `jai mata di’, for instance), and even more tiresome clichés. There’s not much you can do with a plot which uses a string of noisy farts as a leit-motif, not even a couple who tries to be lived-in : both Devgn and Sen Sharma pull off being married, with an offspring, by bickering well. But neither is given enough to do, the whole focus being Rawal, who is kept very busy not being as funny as he can be. Misplaced emotion is stuffed in here and there, derailing the comic momentum – 2/5
Taran Adarsh (Indiafm) – On the whole, ATKJ is a hilarious movie, but unlike any slapstick comedy. It’s a light-hearted film with sensibility, humour and a strong undercurrent of emotion. This atithi is sure to find a place in your heart! – 3.5/5
Nikhat Kazmi (TOI) – Neat. Subtle. And softly funny. Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge is quite unlike the hysterical laugh acts that have been trying terribly hard to make you laugh in recent Bollywood. More of a chuckle-and-a-smirk drama, this one doesn’t even try to convince you that life is all ha-ha-he-he. Instead, it creates situations and characters that fill you with warmth and make you smile with the familiar quirkiness of recognisable situations – 3/5
Minty Tejpal (Mumbai Mirror) – Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge? is a comedy specially tailored for the average Indian family. Thus, everything about the film is average. Inspired by a Sharad Joshi article, the film is about an unexpected guest, who refuses to go away; always an interesting premise for chaos. Unfortunately, this premise never really gets its full play in Atithi… as the screenplay remains tepid and the jokes tedious – 2/5
Nithya Ramani (Rediff) – Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge is a lighthearted entertainer that tickles your funny bone several times in the film. The film has its share of one-liners and and funny situations, which you can identify with. It bears a resemblance to Satyajit Ray’s Bengali film Agantuk – 2.5/5
And the indie film of the film is Thanks Maa directed by Irfan Kamal. The child actor Shams Patel has bagged a National Award for this one. But why such a boring & generic title ?
Gaurav Malani (Indiatimes) – Thanks to heartening films like these, one never loses faith and hope from Hindi cinema. For a new perspective on the mean city and meaningful cinema, Thanks Maa is strongly recommended! – 3.5/5
Mayank Shekhar (HT) – It may be unfair to expect a kid to carry an entire movie on his weak shoulders. It still proves how the child – raw in innocence — is the father of the leading man. Adults ‘act’. Just watch veterans on the same show — Raghuveer Yadav, Alok Nath…. I’m glad the boy earned himself a National Award – 2/5
Shubhra Gupta (Indian Express) – This is a film hard to watch, but it is a film that needs to be watched. Pity it’s come into theatres unpublicized – 3/5
Minty Tejpal (Mumbai Mirror) – Towards the end, the screenplay gets a bit carried away, but the honesty in the story and the acting keeps you going. It may not be strictly entertainment, but Thanks Maa is a brave effort, which deserves your support. Go see it for the street kids, the ones we avoid all day long – 3/5
Nikhat Kazmi( TOI) – Watch out for the kids. They leave you spellbound with their guttural, gutsy act. Surprisingly, and thankfully, the Censor Board has displayed a sense of maturity too by letting them speak in hardcore street lingo (read abusive). The film, ostensibly inspired by Tsotsi, Gavin Hood’s film that won the Oscar, does get a bit long-winded in the second half and the climax might seem schmaltzy, but these are forgivable in view of the sledgehammer impact of the film. It fills you with a yearning to do something, anything…. – 4/5
Taran Adarsh (Indiafm) – On the whole, THANKS MAA is truly original, innovative and pioneering cinema. The film has won several awards and adulation across the globe and deserves every bit of it. This is one meaningful film you can’t afford to miss! – 3.5/5
Looks like one more ok-dokay week at the movies. Out of three, Thanks Maa seems to have got the best reviews. You know what to pick.
F.i.g.h.t C.l.u.b 