Posts Tagged ‘Deepika Padukone’

This is the first still of Ashutosh Gowariker’s new film Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey, which has tweeted by Abhishek Bachchan. It also stars Deepika Padukone and Sikander Kher. The film is produced by PVR Pictures and is almost complete.

The film is based on journalist Manini Chatterjee’s book Do and Die on Chittagong uprising. Its pitched as a period thriller in which Abhishek plays the title role of revolutionary Surjya Sen, popularly known as Masterda.

Click here and here to read two reviews of the book Do and Die. The first one was published in Outlook and the second is from The Sunday Tribune. The Outlook review is copy-pasted  here also. Just scroll down. The review follows….

Our history texts hardly have place today for the Chittagong armoury raids, then described by a British bureaucrat as having “no parallel in Bengal since the Mutiny of 1857”. This well researched book was thus necessary. Chatterjee has tracked down masses of documents relating to the raids and met surviving members of Surjya Sen’s (Masterda) army, to produce a gripping narrative. The book’s signal triumph is that it never tries to hide the fact that this entire amateurish adventure was a series of tragic blunders.

Sen’s men took control of the armoury, but found only arms, no ammunition; they didn’t know that arms and ammunition are never stored together. A young revolutionary forgot a simple truth – that you don’t light a matchstick while standing in a pool of petrol – and threw the entire field plan into disarray, something from which it never recovered. One of the leaders, Ananta Singh, was emotionally unstable. Another, Pritilata Waddadar, was driven by a death wish. And finally, Masterda was leading a bunch of schoolboys – the youngest was only 13 – into war against the British Army.These boys never lost faith. On Jalalabad’s hills they fought Gurkha machine-gunners with muskets. The British threw their bodies into a pit and mass-burnt them. Gandhi had not a word to say about them, reserving his commiserations for the mother of Vithaldas, who, as part of Gandhi’s anti-liquor campaign, tried chopping a toddy tree and fatally wounded himself. Chatterjee captures the injustice in one reverberating sentence: “Even martyrdom, it would seem, lies in the ideology of the bestower.” 

You could call these people suicidal fools, but their courage shines through every page of this valuable book. Only two complaints: towards the end, Chatterjee can’t keep her political biases out, and she omits the survivor’s later lives (some had very chequered careers). But overlook that. Read this book and give it to your children, so they know about these misguided warriors who briefly halted the British empire in its tracks. 

The first trailer of Farhan Akhtar-Deepika Padukone starrer Karthik Calling Karthik is out. Its directed by debutant Vijay Lalwani. BTW, do check out Deepika Padukone at 00:17, her ghaatan accent hasnt improved any bit since Love Aaj Kal.

The first look of Kartik Calling Kartik is out. The film has Farhan Akhtar and Deepika Padukone in lead, directed by Vijay Lalwani and produced by Excel Entertainment.

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.

love-aaj-kal new posterBollywood’s new age Love-guru is back! And with a heavy adjective like that, its difficult to live up to the expectation. Yashraj romance is so passe. After Socha Na Tha and Jab We Met, Imtiaz Ali is cool, hep and happening.

Read all the reviews. Thought will catch on sunday morning. Tickets will be cheap and easy to get. How many people wake up and reach the theatre by 11 am. I was wrong. Fame Adlabs – 11:30 am show. Houseful. I thought I will wait, will manage a ticket from someone. It has never happened with me, that i have returned home without watching a film. No luck. I moved to Cinemax Versova. Believe it or not, Cinemax has 24 shows daily! One show every half hour. Cinemax – 12 noon show – Houseful. Again I decided to wait. No luck. 12:30 – Is also houseful. Only red lounge availabe. Huh! Whats the point of waking up and coming early if I am going to watch it in red lounge, which is too expensive. Finally bought the ticket for 13:00 pm show and moved to my fav place (Landmark) to kill time. Now if this is any indication of the box office report, Love Aaj Kal is heading for big numbers. And a real one, unlike Kambakkht Ishq’s pumped up numbers. Next week there is only Agyaat, so Love Aaj Kal will have two weeks time till Kaminey releases.  

Does Imtiaz Ali delivers ? And if so, what ? Well, he tries atleast. Some ten great scenes, smart dialogues but too much of deja vu! Give me one more punjabi family that wants to sing nagada nagada..nagada baja, and I will take out my gun and blow someone’s head! Seriously! Imtiaz’s characters still prefer to run away and get married. They are still confused about their choices. Here, they are just a step ahead, more confused, and realise it all after marriage. They still talk in the same tone. 

Comparing notes of three films, Imtiaz and his love mantra has changed a lot with time, as it happens with us when we grow up and see the same world in a different way at different age. First one (Socha Na Tha) was naive, tender, natural. Second (Jab We Met) was smart, mature, understanding. This one (Love Aaj Kal) is clever, trying to be too smart and calculative.

And when you have two tracks in a love story, the craftsmanship is easy to spot, which makes it look unnatural. Have always felt that. The criss-crossing makes it look all intentional, to mix and match this scene here with that scene there.  The intention is still honest but then the baggage becomes too heavy.

 After a friend’s recco, recently saw a film titled 5 X 2 (Five times two). Five chapters of a couple’s romantic story which starts with their divorce and moves in reverse. So, a story with a sad end has a happy cinematic ending. The first time when the boy meets the girl. Love Aaj Kal too starts with a break up, and you know, its a hindi film, so the couple will get together for sure. How ? Thats the question.

They break up. They find new boyfreind/girlfriend. They pretend to be cool about it but realise soon that its the wrong choice baby! Much like Abbas Tyrewala’s Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. And as a friend asked me, so what new can you do in a romcom ? New ? Well, add a old track then. And thats where Rishi Kapoor fits in with his Harleen Kaur. The villain in the story is distance. Yesterday, they went all out to cover that distance. Today, we have too many choices close to us, why bother to go for the long distance ! Thats the central theme of Love Aaj Kal.

Saif Ali Khan is not new to being the cool n confused lover, having done similar acts in Dil Chahta Hai, Hum Tum and other films. Deepika Padukone is unbelievably inconsistent. In some scenes, she cracks the code perfectly and in some, she is horrible. Harleen Kaur (Giselle Monteiro) must be the subtle-est character in the history of hindi cinema. Blame it on Brazil! But it works.

They poke. But they dont make out. They talk and go yap yap. But they dont do anything. You only hear the “khula saand“, the “kuch bhi” talks. The intention must have been to score U/A certificate, so that it becomes family viewing. Was surprised to see so many kids in the theatre. What kind of parents take their kids to the theatre to watch Love Aaj Kal ? Its not for kiddies, by any logic and reason. Its a mature story and God only knows, what the kids will make out of it. Am scared for the next generation. Poking friends on Facebook and in Love Aaj Kal is not the same.

I loved Socha Na Tha. I liked Jab We Met. Superbly written. And Love Aaj Kal is, well, nice. Honest but too crafty! Its all about having black tea/coffee together!

love aaj kal4Will Imtiaz Ali score a hattrick ? Everyone loves his first one Socha Na Tha. Jab We Met gave him box office success. And now the third one – Love Aaj Kal starring Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone and Rishi Kapoor. And who is that Harleen Kaur ?

Post-press screening, we heard mixed reviews about it. Nothing mindblowing. Ok to good to great timepass. Some early reviews are out. Take a look.

Gaurav Malani (Indiatimes) – Love Aaj Kal doesn’t promise much newness in its plot but clicks largely for its casual-n-cheerful presentation – 3/5

Anand Vaishnav (Buzz18) – Love Aaj Kal is not perfect. But in one of Bollywood’s dullest years, this one comes as a refreshing ray of hope. It’s bound to bring a smile on your face. Here’s a film with both head and heart – 4/5

Taran Adarsh (Indiafm) – On the whole, LOVE AAJ KAL is for the young and romantic at heart. Sure, it’s not perfect, but the terrific performances, melodious music and stirring emotional moments more than compensate for the hiccups – 4/5

Raja Sen ( Rediff) – Love Aaj Kal is a harmless, watchable film — sad, because it could have been truly special. It has its moments in the first half, while the second half is an over-melodramatic drag – 2.5/5

Anupama Chopra ( NDTV) – Love Aaj Kal is an above average film with some wonderful moments, nice lines and fine performances. But it’s not as sparkling or engaging as it should have been – 3/5

Rajeev Masand (CNN IBN) – The film in the end is ordinary stuff, watchable but never memorable like the director’s previous efforts, the far superior “Socha Na Tha” and “Jab We Met” – 2/5

Shubhra Gupta (Indian Express) – It’s hard not to warm up to a film which is, at its core, likeable. I just wish I could have liked it more – 3/5

Khalid Mohamed (Aslibaat) – The result is cuts above the kind of movies you’re getting aaj kal. Worth the price of a ticket-cum-popcorn. Make that caramel – 3/5

Minty Tejpal – Though a poignant love story, Love Aaj Kal lacks the joyous, organic soul of Jab We Met, and appears crafted. Nevertheless, Imtiaz Ali shows that he is a top notch director, with an eye for subtle, emotional nuances 3.5/5

Mayank Shekhar (Hindustan Times) – Eventually, a script that starts off supremely crisp, loosens out into climaxes. And a final explanation that while times have changed, only expressions may have altered – 3/5

Baradwaj Rangan – After ‘Socha Na Tha’ and ‘Jab We Met,’ Imtiaz Ali dreams up another winning romance – about love today versus love yesterday.

So far, 2.5 to 4, seems what we heard is right.

And yeah, finally we have got the name of the actress who plays Harleen Kaur! So all you guys who have been googling Harleen Kaur, stop now. She is Giselle Monteiro! And with an intersting name like that, we are more curious. Anybody got any more dope!

Thats what the buzz is. We would like to believe its NOT. Plagiarism ? Not again! Because we have never heard of Imtiaz Ali as dvd director. But then, you never know. May be only the basic idea, story, plot or synopsis. Or it can be coincidence. Lets check out.

Zui Hao De Shi Guang ( Three Times)

To quote from Imdb.com –

Zui Hao De Shi GuangThe film wisely opens with the most successful of the three ‘Times’ – 1966 A Time for Love – – tracing the emergence of timid passion between a lad headed for the military and a young girl who works in a pool hall. They communicate by letters after their first brief introductory encounter and circumstances interfere with the progress of their relationship in 1966 Taiwan.

The middle section 1911 A Time for Freedom is gorgeous visually and conceptually the director has elected to use the cinematic form of the period (silent movie) to tell his story about the freeing of a young girl from the grip of a brothel madam and surveys the political tensions between Japan and China as the quietly lighted story of love and yearning unfolds.

The film ends with 2005 A Time for Youth and here our lovers are caught up in the pollution of smog, cellphones, emails, nightclubs, and infidelities for same sex affairs that speak loudly about the tenor of the times.

Two actors play the lead roles in three stories set in three different years.

And here is a promo of the film

Love Aaj Kal

loveaajkalposter 2Love Aaj Kal is the story of Jai ( Saif Ali Khan) and Meera (Deepika Padukone). It starts at a cafe in London which is run by Veer Singh ( Rishi Kapoor). The duo meet, jump into bed first and then they fall in love. With Jai-Meera’s love story, there is parallel track of Veer Singh, his love story with Harleen, which happens in flashback and is set in Delhi. One is today’s love story and the other is of yesteryears. Saif Ali also plays the younger Veer Singh (Rishi Kapoor).

Veer does not understand how Jai can treat matters of the heart without passion, like a financial transaction. Jai does not understand how Veer Singh could have been so naïve and silly about Harleen in the days of his youth. But as both stories unfold, we realize that the process of relationship might be different in different eras, but the experience of being in love remains the same.

So there is the frolic and despair of modern living, the liberation and confusion. And there is the past – the times of innocence and compulsion. And there is distance, and the fondness that increases with distance. Gaps widen between two people, but bridges keep growing too.

Conclusion

The basic idea suspiciously sounds similar. One is Love Aaj Kal and the other is Love Aaj Kal Parsoon. One is Two Times, other is Three Times. But since its Imtiaz Ali, we would like to reserve our comments till its release. Lets see. 

The naagin dhun is back and how! We are loving it! Here’s the new song from Imtiaz Ali’s new film Love Aaj Kal. Its called twist. The film stars Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone and Rishi Kapoor.  Enjoy!

Vodpod videos no longer available.

more about “Love Aaj Kal – new song – twist“, posted with vodpod

 

love aaj kal6Love Aaj Kal = Love Aaj + Love Kal. For the synopsis/plot/story of Love Aaj Kal, read on..

Love Aaj – London, San Francisco, Delhi – 2009.

Jai and Meera is a modern-day couple in London. They are very happy together but do not believe in tying each other down. So when life pulls them in different directions, they decide to go with the flow. “These Heer-Ranjha, Romeo-Juliet type janam janam ka saath type couples exist only in story books,” Jai says. In the real life, we have to be practical.

Love Kal – Delhi, Calcutta – 1965.

Veer Singh is struck by a thunderbolt when he sees Harleen for the first time. Soon after, he stands under a tree and swears that “is janam mein aur har janam mein… yehi meri votti banegi – Harleen Kaur.” He travels a thousand kilometers by train to stand under her balcony only to have a glimpse of her face. And yet not speak a word with her.

Love Aaj Kal

Veer does not understand how Jai can treat matters of the heart without passion, like a financial transaction. Jai does not understand how Veer Singh could have been so naïve and silly about Harleen in the days of his youth. But as both stories unfold, we realize that the process of relationship might be different in different eras, but the experience of being in love remains the same. So there is the frolic and despair of modern living, the liberation and confusion. And there is the past – the times of innocence and compulsion. And there is distance, and the fondness that increases with distance. Gaps widen between two people, but bridges keep growing too.

Directed by Imtiaz Ali, it stars Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Pudukone and Rishi Kapoor.

love aaj kal4Its been a long wait. We know that the film has been ready for quite some time but we are not sure why nobody bothered to release a single trailer/promo/teaser of Imtiaz Ali’s Love Aaj Kal. Oh yeh, they released one supershitty promotional tie-up video with T20 cup.

Its finally here!! And if the trailer is any indication, then Imtiaz surely has a blockbuster hit in his pocket. After all, who would not go to the theatre when its “From the director of Jab We Met”. We hope its the final one in his trilogy of love-on-the-road films. Thats what it looks like. Imtiaz, give us something new.!

As they say in distributor circle, hit hai ji pikture hit hai! Its releasing on 31st July and stars Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone. Enjoy!

And if you are looking for the story/plot/synopsis of Love Aaj Kal, click here.