KAUFMAN - "Or cramming in sex, or car chases, or guns. Or characters learning profound life lessons. Or characters growing or characters changing or characters learning to like each other or characters overcoming obstacles to succeed in the end. Y'know ? Movie shit."
Kaufman is sweating like crazy now. Valerie is quiet for a moment - from "Adaptation".
We are all about CINEMA. That movie shit.
NOTHING is sacred.
NOBODY is spared.
Because we talk about films, dammit.
Not your sex life.
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The first look of Anu Menon’s new film, Waiting, is out. Do check out the trailer.
The film stars Naseeruddin Shah and Kalki Koechlin in the lead, and it also has Rajat Kapoor, Sushasini Maniratnam, and Arjun Mathur.
Going by official release – WAITING is a film about the special relationship between Shiv (Naseeruddin Shah) and Tara (Kalki Koechlin), who befriend each other unexpectedly in a hospital while nursing their individual spouses in coma. It is a film about grief, yes, but it is also about confronting it with optimism and learning to live with courage, love with faith and laugh with hope.
Minor grouse – the way the song is laid out in the background of the trailer, with dialogues coming on top of words (of the song), its difficult to hear either. Wish it was just music, and not words, when there are dialogues on top. One really has to strain hard to get everything
11 Storytellers. 11 Perspectives. One Crazy night!
11 eclectic filmmakers come together to bring you one exciting cinematic vision.
That’s how the makers of “X” have described their film. Interestingly, it’s one-of-its-kind film because eleven Indian filmmakers with disparate styles of filmmaking have come together for this one.
So what is it about? Here’s the official synopsis
A filmmaker with a mid life crisis meets a mysterious young girl who reminds him of his first girlfriend at first, and subsequently, of every woman in his life.
Who is she? Is she real or imaginary? A stalker or a ghost? His past catching up or a character from the script he is writing?
Do check out its new trailer. The film releases on 20th November, 2015.
Cast & Crew
Cast: Aditi Chengappa, Bidita Bag, Gabriella Schmidt, Huma Qureshi, Neha Mahajan, Parno Mitra, Pia Bajpai, Pooja Ruparel, Radhika Apte, Richa Shukla, Rii Sen, Swara Bhaskar, Anshuman Jha and Rajat Kapoor
Directed by: Abhinav Shiv Tiwari, Anu Menon, Hemant Gaba, Nalan Kumarasamy, Pratim D Gupta, Q, Raja Sen, Rajshree Ojha, Sandeep Mohan, Sudhish Kamath and Suparn Verma
Written by: Abhinav Shiv Tiwari, Anu Menon, Hemant Gaba, Pratim D Gupta, Q, Raja Sen, Rajshree Ojha, Sandeep Mohan, Sudhish Kamath, Suparn Verma and Thiagarajan Kumararaja
Directors of Photography: Anuj Dhawan, Aseem Bajaj, Dinesh Krishnan, Gairik Sarkar, Katyayani Mudholkar, Maeve O Connell, Q, Ravi K Chandran, Sandeep Mohan, Siddhartha Nuni, Sidharth Kay and Viraj Sinh Gohil
The film will open the South Asian International Film Festival (SAIFF) which runs from Nov 18-23, 2014. Interestingly, it’s 1 film with 11 segments directed by 11 filmmakers. The directorial bunch includes Sudhish Kamath (Good Night | Good Morning), Q (Gandu), Nalan Kumarasamy (Soodhu Kavvum), Suparn Verma (Aatma, Ek Haseena Ek Khiladi), Raja Sen, Sandeep Mohan (Love Wrinkle-Free), Pratim Gupta (Paanch Adhyay), Hemant Gaba (Shuttlecock Boys), Abhinav Shiv Tiwari Sankhnaad (Oass), Anu Menon (London Paris New York), and Rajshree Ojha (Aisha, Chaurahen). And this includes 3 film reviewers. If you don’t like the film, well, you get the drift.
Check out the first trailer of the film. And scroll down for detailed synopsis, cast & credits.
Official Synopsis :
Is man meant to stick to one woman? Is film meant to conform to one genre?
X is a one-of-its-kind film because eleven Indian filmmakers with disparate styles of filmmaking have come together to make different parts of the same film. In strikingly different styles as a bridge between the various cinemas of India. Mainstream, Arthouse, Popular, Underground, Regional and Global – all at the same time. NOT an anthology but a single story.
The story of K (Rajat Kapoor), a filmmaker with a mid life crisis, who meets a mysterious young girl (Aditi Chengappa) who reminds him of his first girlfriend at first, and subsequently, of every woman in his life. Who is she? Is she real or imaginary? A stalker or a ghost? His past catching up or a character from the script he is writing?
Each episode, directed by a different filmmaker (since every woman/story required a different genre) unravels the role of a different woman in his life. Every woman is different and through the lens of different filmmakers, X hopes to explore the role women play in shaping our lives.
What is it that makes us tick or stop? What is it that keeps us anchored or free falling? What is it that makes us move or let go? Are we products of our past or present? What is that X factor that defines who we are?
Cast & Crew
Cast: Aditi Chengappa, Bidita Bag, Gabriella Schmidt, Huma Qureshi, Neha Mahajan, Parno Mitra, Pia Bajpai, Pooja Ruparel, Radhika Apte, Richa Shukla, Rii Sen and Swara Bhaskar with Anshuman Jha and Rajat Kapoor
Directed by: Abhinav Shiv Tiwari, Anu Menon, Hemant Gaba, Nalan Kumarasamy, Pratim D Gupta, Q, Raja Sen, Rajshree Ojha, Sandeep Mohan, Sudhish Kamath and Suparn Verma
Written by: Abhinav Shiv Tiwari, Anu Menon, Hemant Gaba, Pratim D Gupta, Q, Raja Sen, Rajshree Ojha, Sandeep Mohan, Sudhish Kamath, Suparn Verma and Thiagarajan Kumararaja
Directors of Photography: Anuj Dhawan, Aseem Bajaj, Dinesh Krishnan, Gairik Sarkar, Katyayani Mudholkar, Maeve O Connell, Q, Ravi K Chandran, Sandeep Mohan, Siddhartha Nuni, Sidharth Kay and Viraj Sinh Gohil
The trailer of Ali Zafar and Aditi Rao Hydari’s film London Paris New York is just out. Have a look.
The film is written and directed by debutant Anu Menon and produced by Shrishti Arya and Goldie Behl along with Fox Star Studios.
A new couple, shot well and looks fresh. Just wish that they had paused a bit on those sketches that appear and disappear even before you can blink. More so when the film’s title is on the names of the cities. Who doesn’t like cities as characters in films? Ali Zafar and Aditi Rao are pleasing to eyes, and as a couple, there’s some kind of charming and cool comfort onscreen. Only issue – her babytalk in the last shot.
And here’s the official synopsis…
London Paris New York is a film that captures the angst of the twenties, the most dramatic period of one’s life – when you have to find a career, you have your first significant relationship and most importantly form your identity in this world.
This is story about Lalitha, a middle class south Indian girl from Chembur(an eastern suburb in Mumbai) who is on her way to New York to study politics with full scholarship, and Nikhil, a Punjabi, rich kid from Bandra (a posh western suburb of Mumbai )who is going to study Film Making in London on 100% dad’s money. They decide to hangout together one evening in London and find that they are completely drawn to each other even as their future lies on separate continents.The film follows their personal journey and their love story as they meet in London, Paris and New York for a night each over eight years. The film is in three chapters and each chapter is shot in a manner that mirrors the mental state of Nikhil and Lalitha.
Enough of VVC, CB and 3 Idiots, lets move on to this week’s hindi release. We detest to count any Celina Jaitley release and so that leaves us with only one film Raat Gayi Baat Gayi, with the desi indie boys. The bunch we love! The film is directed by Sourabh Shukla ans has Rajat Kapoor, Neha Dhupia, Vinay Shukla, Anu Menon, Dalip Tahil, Navneet Nishan and Irawati Harshe. But do they deliver this time ? Here’s the score card.
Rajeev Masand (CNN IBN) – Saurabh Shukla directs with an easy hand, allowing the actors enough room to interpret their characters, but it’s the writing here that’s mundane. Most scenes lack the energy that was required to elevate this film into the sly, tongue-in-cheek satire that it was intended to be. What you get is a promising but sadly tiresome film that feels too long even though it’s less than two hours in running time – 2/5
Shubhra Gupta (Indian Express) – The film plays footsie, without really going all the way. How about something braver and quirkier the next time around? This merry band filmmakers can do it – 3/5
Mayank Shekhar (Hindustan Times) – Bashes in ‘Bollywood’ back in the day meant a grand piano at the centre. The hero crooned away his message of love. The heroine joined him for a dance. A huge crowd of suits and sarees gathered in a circle, quietly stared, and sipped their drink. Some white people floated in the back-rows. Oh we miss those! This one neither touches nor tickles. Better still, get us Hangover any day – 2/5
Anupama Chopra (NDTV) – Have you ever been to one of those excruciatingly boring parties in which the conversation is so stilted and the guests so banal that you want to pick up a fork and gouge your eyes out? If not, you might want to catch Raat Gayi, Baat Gayi, which is pitched as a romantic comedy but is neither very funny nor very romantic – 2/5
Nikhat Kazmi (TOI) – Watch out for some fine performances by the entire cast. Veterans like Rajat Kapoor, Vinay Pathak and Ranvir Shorey are eminently watchable as always. But it is Neha Dhupia who is fast emerging as the natty new wave girl with her newfound talent – 3/5
Gaurav Malani (ET) – With a head-spinning narrative about the aftermath of an intoxicating late night party, Raat Gayi Baat Gayi is like wine that takes time to mature but is your perfect partner on a lazy evening – 3/5
Anand Vaishnav (Buzz18) – Raat Gayi Baat Gayi is very funny in parts, held together with delightful performances. Catch it for some spontaneous acting – 2.5/5
Meena Iyer (Mumbai Mirror) – RGBG starts well and its witty dialogue keeps the viewer engrossed up to a point. It makes no deliberate effort to copy the Hollywood hit Hangover either in its plot or treatment, yet there’s a borrowed sense of déjà-vu. And had the director kept the viewers interest level continuously going, he may have had a winner on hand. Where RGBG falls a few notches short is the pace – 2/5
The Gang is back! Dhen tedaaan! Rajat Kapoor, Vinay Pathak, Ranvir Shorey, Neha Dhupia & Saurabh Shukla! Plus Irawati Harshe (we luv her!), Anu Menon (Miss Lolakutty), Navneet Nishan & Dalip Tahil! The film is produced by Pritish Nandy Communications and directed by Saurabh Shukla. The films that he directed earlier like Chehra & Mudda are forgettable to say the least! But this time it looks different.
The film recently bagged the Best Film Award at HBO’s New York South Asian International Film Festival (SAIFF) , 2009.
Take a look at the first official trailer of Raat Gayi Baat Gayi.
And here is the story/plot/synopsis of the film….
3 couples. An 8 year old marriage and a 1 night stand to end all others. Raat Gayi Baat Gayi catches Rahul (Rajat Kapoor) waking up on a very heavily hung-over morning with his wife Mitali’s (Iravati Harshe) constant cribbing. Whilst her voice crashes through his head he remembers snatches of a conversation he had the previous night, at a party, with a stunning young woman, Sophia (Neha Dhupia). As he blinks through his thoughts he stumbles on the fact that one thing led to another and Sophia and he got drunk, talked a lot and finally ended up in bed making crazy love to each other—or did they?
The end of the night remains hazy. What’s worse is that Mitali just can’t seem to keep it together around him—she’s livid, she’s upset, she’s not telling him why—all rolled into one and Rahul keeps thinking back to the previous night and wondering if she caught a whiff of what happened the previous night with Sophia.
As Rahul chases his night for answers, his friends Saxena (Dalip Tahil) and Amit (Vinay Pathak) are suffering through their own marital crises! Driven to his wits end Rahul realizes he must seek Sophia out to restore his sanity!