Archive for the ‘bollywood’ Category

Chance Pe DanceChance Pe Dance is the new film directed by Ken Ghosh (Fida, Ishq Vishq) and produced by UTV. It stars Shahid Kapoor and Genelia D’Souza. The film was earlier titled Yahoo. Someone mailed us the story/plot/synopsis of the film, and since we never cared much about it anyway, we decided to read it, atleast once.

Chance Pe Dance is the story of a talented and passionate young struggling actor called Sameer. Positive and brimming with energy, Sameer juggles various jobs while working towards getting his big break in the industry. During his struggle he meets Tina who is a choreographer.

Just when Sameer is promised his big break, he is left without a house as he cannot pay his rent. Not one to lose heart Sam starts living in his rickety old car and starts teaching dance in a school to young kids who have never won any dance competition. He hates kids and the kids hate dancing.

The struggle in life continues as the director who was to launch Sameer now decides to choose his hero through a talent hunt. Sam is shattered but he diverts his focus towards the kids. Getting over his initial dislike of children, Sam not only emotionally bonds with them, but also helps them win a prestigious inter-school dance competition and gets their confidence back – aided by the spirited and beautiful Tina.

Tina urges Sameer to enter the reality hunt, with the love and support from Tina and the kids, Sameer emerges a winner and eventually becomes what he was destined to be, a superstar.

Huh…when will we grow up ? Since ages, we have been churning out High School Musicals. The only new addition is the reality show bit. And its in Chance Pe Dance too. Bhagwaan bachaaye!

Talking of musicals, check out this promo of Rob Marshall’s Nine if you havent seen it yet. And what a cast! Loved it! Now thats what you call a musical promo!

 

UNKNOWN ??

acid-factory-cut2Acid Factory is the new film by journalist turned filmmaker Suparn Verma (Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena). In an interview to Hindustan Times, when asked about the story of Acid Factory, Suparn had to say this…

Sanjay Gupta is known to look towards foreign films for inspiration. So which one was the muse for Acid Factory?

Sanjay (Gupta) had this amazing story given to him by a writer about seven people trapped inside an acid factory. They’ve lost their memories and in the terrifying present have just realised that there’s a killer amongst them and two others are his intended victims. We wove the screenplay around it. The challenge was in shooting the film in sequence and extracting performances from the group as a whole and not simply from individual actors. Before shooting, I made my cast read out their parts in front of each other and that created a bond between them.

You can read the full interview here. For us, the most interesting part of the interview was the first line – Sanjay had this amazing story given to him by a writer. We would like to know who is the writer ? And why is the poor writer not given credit in the interview ? Strangely, even in the IMDB full credit list of Acid Factory, there is no mention of the writer, though it tells you who is the stunt double and even has 2nd AD’s name.

Coming from Sanjay Gupta’s factory, most probably the writer doesnt exist! Or its all UNKNOWN! Read Dvd, copy, plagiarism! Unknown ? Yes, thats the name of the film. We havent seen it but to quote from IMDB, here is the plot of Unknown.

UnknownFive men wake up in a locked-down warehouse with no memory of who they are. They are forced to figure out who is good and who is bad to stay alive.

OR

How would you feel if: You were tied to a chair, In a locked-down warehouse, In the middle-of-nowhere, With no recollection what-so-ever of what happened, or what didn’t. To add to it, you’re not alone. There’s 4 others in the exact same state of mind. Some responsible for putting the others there BUT no one knows who’s who. Thats how this movie starts, getting grittier with every passing minute.

Now, scroll up and read the plot in Suparn’s answer. It sounds suspiciouly similar to Unknown. And coming from sanjay Gupta, dil hai ki manta nahi!

The film stars Irrfan Khan, Manoj Bajapi, Fardeen Khan, Aftab Shivdasani, Dino Morea, Diya Mirza, and Danny Denzongpa.

If you still have some doubts, check out the trailer of Unknown..

Gawd, even the trailer looks the same! And here is the Acid Factory trailer..

Are we jumping the gun again ? With Sanjay Gupta, who loves guns and bikes and babes, its justified! What say ? Or lets wait till this friday.

Irrfan KhanIf rumour mills are to be believed, the news is true! And as they say, the only Khan they know in Hollywood is Irrfan Khan!

Irrfan Khan has been signed on to star opposite Cate Blanchett in the film Indian Summer. The film is an adaptation of the book Indian Summer : The Secret Historty Of The End by London based writer and historian Alex Von Tunzelmann.

The film is about the romance between Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and wife of Lord Mountbatten, Edwina Mountbatten. Hugh Grant will star as Lord Mountabatten, Cate Blanchett as Edwina Mountbatten and Irfan Khan as Jawaharlal Nehru. It will be directed by Joe Wright (The Soloist, Atonement).

The buzz is that the  script of the film is currently with I & B Minstry for clearance, and the Ministry want the romance/sex scenes to be toned down. On CNBC TV18’s Karan Thapar show last night, Nayantara Sehgal, author & Nehru’s niece said that anybody who claims that they had a sexual relationship would be conjecturing. What they had was a long and lasting relationship of love and friendship. It was a rare relationship based on meeting of minds. They had respect and admiration for each other.

Cant find the video link to the interview but you can read more about it here.

raavanFor as long as we can remember, the film has been in the making! And its still making headlines for all the wrong reasons! Incidents, accidents, cast and crew replacements, animal welfare board, notice, arrest, permission issue,  rains, schedule getting delayed, health problems – just think of any problem that can happen to a film and Raavan had it!

The recent news is that Bipasha Basu is out of Raavan! For more details click here. First, her casting came as big surprise. From the beginning, it was not mentioned anywhere. And by july-august, the cast and crew members happily announced that the film is almost complete. Suddenly Bipasha’s name pops out! We are sure it must be for an item number. Cant be more than that. And now, she is even out of it!

Before Bipasha, it was DOP Manikandan who left the film and Mani got his good friend Santosh Sivan behind the camera. Recently they had shooting problem because of the heavy rains in the Malshej Ghat area. Before that it was elephant scare, notice from animal welfare board, permission issue in the jungles of kerala and Ratnam’s heart attack.

And Mr Asif, where are you ? Asif, who ? Asif from this post who thought we were putting out fake news! Earlier we had put a post on the rotal mess of the shooting schedule of Raavan.  Click here to read our earlier post.

The hindi version of the film has Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Govinda & Vikram. In the tamil version, Vikram potrays Abhishek’s role and has Aishwarya Rai, Prithviraj and Priya Mani in the lead.

If its going like Apocalypse Now, we sincerly hope that it turns out to be one Apocalypse Now! We want to get rid of the memory of his last film corporate film on Reliance which was masked as Guru!

Sometimes its difficult to make sense of the world. Of incidents or people around you. And if they belong to the world of cinema, its more insane. Is that him? Is that for a role? If for a reel, why in real life too?

The recent pics of filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh have been quite baffling. He says its all for a role. Click  here to read more about the film Just Another Love Story and his role in the film. Scroll down to see the latest pic on the top left corner. The other pics show him in transition, more or less.

And if you can make sense of anything, put your comments. And if you cant, how does it matter? It’s only the cinema that matters, rite? But then how do you separate the cinema from its maker? Have not been able to do so.

He is one filmmaker whose work I have been following since his debut. Think  he is undoubtedly one of the best filmmaker of our times.  Always has an interesting story or unique take to share. Sometimes repetitive though, but a master at exploring the intimate space between two people. Aha..thats for another day! Check out the pics!

Wake Up SidTwo big hindi releases this week. Wake Up Sid is directed by 26 year old Ayan Mukherjee and stars Ranbir Kapoor and Konkona Sen Sharma. The film is produced by Karan Johar. So, will Sid wake up this friday ? As I tweeted on wednesday evening, think it will score between 3-3.5/5.  Some of the reviews so far…

Anupama Chopra ( NDTV) – Finally then, Wake Up Sid can’t match Dil Chahta Hai, which even eight years later remains Bollywood’s gold standard for coming-of-age movies. I’m going with a generous three stars and recommending Wake Up Sid with reservations – 3/5

Taran Adarsh (Indiafm) – On the whole, WAKE UP SID is a well-made film that should strike a chord with the youth mainly. A metro-centric film, the film should attract its target audience and should also prove to be the first choice of the elite/urban audience this Friday – 4/5

Rajeev Masand (CNN IBN) – It has its heart in the right place and it marks the breakout of a bright, shining star who has come into his own so early in his acting career. Watch it, and be awestruck by Ranbir – 3/5

Sukanya Verma (Rediff) – Wake Up Sid has its heart in place, but it still doesn’t have much of a plot or novelty to rely upon. That’s why the dialogues could have done with a little more quirk and nifty humour. Having said that, a superlative Ranbir makes it too darn hard to notice – 3/5

Gaurav Malani (ET) – It’s pleasing to see Bollywood warming up to fresh talents like Ayan Mukerji and waking up to compelling narratives like Wake Up Sid – 3/5

Anand Vaishnav (Buzz18) – When the veterans are royally messing up screenplays, Ayan Mukerji deserves full marks for his maiden effort. His conviction shows in every department. Wake Up Sid is easily the freshest film in the marquee – 4/5

Avijit Ghosh (TOI) – In the end, Wake Up Sid becomes a sort of template of how GenNow navigate their lives: deal with their own little rebellions, find meaning to their own definitions of independence and handle their own set of mistakes. It feels good when the two friends finally meet in driving rain under the grey skies by the sea. Refreshing and heart-warming, Wake Up Sid really puts you in the mood for love – 4/5

Kaveere Bamzai (India Today) – So wake up, and go watch Sid and Aisha’s sweet little prem kahani. It’s not as perfect as the decor in Sid and Aisha’s home but it’s pretty. Ad yes, the boy gets the girl, a career and his parents too (with their credit card) in the perfect little summation of our consumerist-driven lives – 3.5/5

Mayank Shekhar (HT) – If anything, this film is just as real if not more. Given the clichéd subject, most importantly, the coolness isn’t fake: something most films pretending to be for or about ‘youth’ don’t quite manage to grasp. You can immediately tell the writer-director (Ayan Mukherjee, a heart-felt debut) has lived though the material. So have the actors. I may not mind living through this again – 3.5/5

Minty Tejpal (Mumbai Mirror) – Ranbir has a charming vulnerability coupled with a cheeky insouciance that makes him superstar material, the kind of boy who is adored both by the dadi and her granddaughter. And thank the cinema gods for Konkona Sen Sharma. The talented actress once again puts in a nuanced performance, as we have come to expect from her. Well done, Sid – 3/5

Shubhra Gupta (Indian Express) – Despite the obvious passages, Mukherjee shows he has a way of adding nuance to a scene. `Wake Up Sid’ is a promising first effort – 3/5

Do Knot DisturbThe other release of the week is Do Knot Disturb starring Govinda, Ritesh Deshmukh, Lara Dutta and Sushmita Sen. The film is directed by David Dhawan.

Anupama Chopra (NDTV) – This is cinema as punishment. Steer clear – 1/5

Taran Adarsh (Indiafm) – On the whole, DO KNOT DISTURB is a mass entertainer that keeps you entertained and smiling/laughing in most parts. At the box-office, this one lives up to the hype and expectations and that in turn should reflect very strongly in its business – 3.5/5

Gaurav Malani (ET) – Fun lies behind closed doors’ reads the tagline of the film. One would rather close doors to such farcical fun. It’s time directors DO NOT take the viewer for granted. Take the cue from the title. Do not bother to disturb yourself for this deafening drama – 1.5/5

Rajeev Masand (CNN IBN) – It’s hard to believe this film was actually directed by someone. Was David Dhawan ever on the set at all? Perhaps Sushmita Sen ate him! That answers two important questions – 1/5

Anand Vaishnav (Buzz18) – Govinda and David Dhawan have made us laugh a lot more in the past. And this is certainly below par for them. Watch it if you are looking for handful a of chuckles. Do not expect more – 1.5/5

Minty Tejpal (Mumbai Mirror) – I think the real reason that Govinda is a much loved star is because of his looks or lack of thereof. To see a round, middle aged goofy looking man with clumsy hair and a huge smile flirt and hug former Miss Worlds is pure value for money, especially for all the fat men in the audience. If Govinda can, so can they – 3/5

As expected, Wake Up Sid is clear winner this week! And lets knot disturb the other.

KurbaanThe theatrical trailer of Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Vivek Oberoi starrer Kurbaan is out. The film is directed by Rensil D’Silva and produced by Karan Johar.

Click on the play button. Am already head banging to the beats of kurbaan hua (the song starts at 1:45). Have a feel it will rock the charts!

For the poster and synopsis of the film click here.

The Japanese WifeRemember those good ol’ days of pen friendship ? And if you were born before the internet era and ever experienced the joy of pen friendship, then you must read Kunal Basu’s story The Japanese Wife. Its one of the most beautiful love stories I have read in recent times. Simple, serene, heartfelt and fascinating. The book is a collection of 12 short stories.

BTW, I bought the book because I loved the cover. The paper quality and the pic looks and feels gorgeous (not so in the pic that I have posted on the left). Call me mad but I love all these, and there is nothing like the smell of a new book. Instead of reading between the lines, try putting your nose between the pages once!

Aparna Sen’s new film is based on the same story and it has the same title The Japanese Wife. The film stars Rahul Bose, Raima Sen, Moushumi Chatterjee and Japanese actress Chigusa Takaku. It is in English, Bengali and Japanese. And here is the synopsis of the film….

The Japanese Wife2Snehmoy (Rahul Bose) and Miyage (Chigusa Takaku) are pen friends who exchange wedding vows through letters. Fifteen years pass but they never meet. Yet the bond of marriage is strong between them. This unusual relationship comes under a cloud when a young widow, Sandhya (Raima Sen), comes to stay with Snehmoy along with her eight-year-old son. Snehmoy and the little boy bond and the arithmetic teacher discovers the joy of palpable bonds and fatherhood. There develops an inexplicable thread of understanding with Sandhya too. But what happens to the love story of Senhmoy and Miyage ? Will not spoil it for you. Read the book or wait for the film.

Lil late on this but just figured out from a friend that the trailer of the film is already online. Take a look. Not sure why they are using the word “grand” in the trailer. Its just the opposite…its intimate! The film has been ready for quite sometime but the producers (SaReGaMa) has been sitting and shitting on it! No clue why!

Pradeep SarkarYashraj Films has finally announced their new film with Pradeep Sarkar. The title is not yet finalised but the cast is in place. The film will star Neil Nitin Mukesh and Deepika Padukone.

If gossipmongers are to be believed, Pradeep Sarkar desperately tried his luck with many other actors but none of them were willing to do his new film after the debacle of Laga Chunari Me Daag (LCMD). Am guessing they finally had no choice but to settle for Neil Nitin Mukesh.

According to the press release, “both the actors have extremely challenging roles to play in this love story set in the gritty streets of Mumbai“. Extremely challenging roles for the extremely challenged Neil Nitin Mukesh & Deepika Padukone ? As Dhoni says in the Aircel ad, Aur bolo ?

Talking of Pradeep Sarkar, here is an intersting incident that happened after the release of his last film, and I got to know about it much later. Earlier one of us used to blog on passionforcinema.com. I loved Parineeta and hated Laga Chunari Me Daag. After the release of Laga Chunari Me Daag, I wrote this post on how the directorial debut of his dop Sushil Rajpal is much better than LCMD! I dont know Sushil Rajpal but managed to watch his film Antardwand at a screening. It bagged the National Award for Best Film on social issues this year and is going to get a theatrical release soon through Sunil Doshi’s company.  

The headline of my post ( Pradeepda, call up your dop Sushil Rajpal and ask him how he got those small things right in his unreleased film Antardwand that you could not in Laga Chunari Me Daag ? ) was enough to do the damage. Pradeep Sarkar and his whole team read the post. And they somehow felt that I knew Sushil Rajpal and he is the real culprit.  Voila!

Sushil RajpalAs a dop, Sushil has been working with Pradeeep for long time. When the two (Pradeep and Sushil) met for their next tv commercial shoot, Pradeep wasnt even looking at Sushil. Forget about talking and discussions. A royal ignore! He was still pissed off because of the blogpost. Sushil kept on wondering WTF is this! He told one of his colleagues…yaar maine kya kiya ? Kisi ne mere film ki taarif ki lekin yeh to bilkul ulta ho gaya! Kaun hai yeh….kisne likha hai ?

Though I was the culprit, poor Sushil Rajpal had to face his wrath! Just what can a blogpost do! Cheap thrill, i bet! 

So will Sushil Rajpal shoot his new film ? Lets see. Will keep posted.

They got money. They even got Big B for Bigg Boss. If rumour mills are to be believed, its for some 100 crore! But where is the Big Idea dude ? A new music video featuring Amitabh Bachchan for the new season of Bigg Boss is out. But what a fuckall video! Its F in capital and bold!

Its easy to spot an  idea there but the execution is of nursery standard! Tacky to say the least. Can someone from Colors enlighten us who shot this video ? Dont follow tv too much but have seen some of the best music montage/videos on Sony TV. Their shows may not get TRP’s but have seen some great work as far as promotional videos are concerned.

Take a look at the video. The song is in Amitabh Bachchan’s voice. Even though that doesnt help much.