Posts Tagged ‘Guardian’

WTF : Shabana Azmi’s 60th birthday – Slum Cake!

Posted: September 23, 2010 by moifightclub in Bolly Jokes, gossipmongers, News, pics, shit, WTF
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Yes, thats the cake. And no, its not a typo for PLUM cake. Its a SLUM cake! Aur bolo ? Not only the idea is disgusting but even it looks fugly! Imagine, you are eating a slum at a birthday party. How moronic! Well, its Bollylalaland. It was Javed Akhtar’s idea, cut by Shabana Azmi and bollywood biggies danced their way to glory.

Click here to read to Guardian piece on slum cake. Click here for the party pics and here for the party report. And if you wondering about Vidya Balan’s weird wardrobe, well, headgear was the theme of the party.

Film Reviews : Karan Johar’s My Name Is Khan

Posted: February 12, 2010 by moifightclub in bollywood, cinema, film review, News, reviews
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Its filmy friday. Its Khan-day! Karan Johar’s big budget film My Name Is Khan is the release of the week, starring Shah Rukh Khan & Kajol. So, does its score or not ? Lets check out.

Anupama Chopra (NDTV) – My Name is Khan is a film made with sincerity and sweat, ambition and conviction. It grapples with the most urgent and fraught issue facing humanity: religion. It features a striking performance by Shah Rukh Khan – 3/5

Raja Sen (Rediff) – Karan Johar’s finally made his first grown-up film, and made it well. It could have been the stuff of much more, but let us leave that for another day. This is a film that will inspire, make aware, make happy. And for now, let us celebrate how the man whose name is on the marquee just proved why he deserves that crown he so often boasts of  – 3.5/5

Rajeev Masand (CNN IBN) – The film shamelessly tugs at your heartstrings and on more than one occasion wallops you to weep. Aided by solid camerawork, tight editing and a layered story, Johar crafts an engaging, stirring saga that is earnest and noble. With this message movie in the mainstream format, the director takes a step in the right direction. Watch it for its star who doesn’t miss a beat – 3.5/5

Kaveree Bamzai (India Today) – In khushi or gham, Karan Johar always wants to please. He stuffs his goodie bag with so many little bon bons that the viewer finds it difficult to look away. It’s the same with My Name is Khan – 3.5/5

Mayank Shekhar (HT) –  Forrest Gump in its scope, Rain Man in its approach, slightly convenient in its ‘Bollywood opera’, world-class in its photographic treatment (Ravi K Chandran), more sorted than Kurban (from the same producer, along a similar theme); you can sense, throughout, honesty in the film’s purpose – 3/5

Taran Adarsh (Indiafm) – On the whole, MNIK is a fascinating love story, has an angle of religion and a world-shaking incident as a backdrop. It not only entertains, but also mesmerises, enthrals and captivates the viewer in those 2.40 hours. At the same time, a film like MNIK is sure to have a far-reaching influence due to its noble theme. I strongly advocate, don’t miss this one – 4.5/5 

Gaurav Malani (Indiatimes) – Like his placard that reads ‘Repair almost anything’, Shah Rukh Khan makes up for every minor inconsistency in the film. My Name is Khan is worth a watch on his name alone – 3/5

Nikhat Kazmi (TOI) – It’s Khan, from the epiglotis (read deep, inner recesses), not `kaan’ from the any-which-way, upper surface. In other words, it’s the K-factor — Karan (Johar) and Khan (Shah Rukh) — like you’ve never seen, sampled and savoured before. My Name is Khan is indubitably one of the most meaningful and moving films to be rolled out from the Bollywood mills in recent times. It completely reinvents both the actor and the film maker and creates a new bench mark for the duo who has given India some of the crunchiest popcorn flicks – 5/5

Sukanya Varma (Rediff) – The verbose nature of the script doesn’t leave much scope for gestures. Although the image of Khan standing on a deserted highway with a sign board that reads ‘Repair almost everything’ is true to the soul of this film. Even if it’s the only one of its kind – 3/5

Khalid Mohamed (PFC) – At the end of 18 reels,  you do carry something precious  home – SRK and Kajol. They are absolutely electric. Undoubtely, they don’t make’em like that anymore. And never will, which is why MNIK is absolutely compulsory viewing. You may have problems with it. Yet it is a must-must-see – 4/5

Shweta Parande (Buzz18) – One of the important films of Hindi cinema. Although it messes up its length, there are some touching scenes not to be missed. My Name is Khan has many messages and not just an ‘Autism Alert’ and ‘Terror Alert’. Go for it and enjoy interpreting – 3/5

Phelim O’Neill (Guardian) – It’s stunningly shot, on mostly US locations, and tackles plenty of hard topics – its deceptively light touch gets heavier as things progress. It’s a shame that much of the intended audience will not see this well-intentioned, slickly constructed and just plain likable film, for reasons that are very little to do with the film itself – 3/5

So, the verdict is between 3 and 5, scoring 3.5, 4, 4.5 and 5 too! Seems like much better than KANK which had quite extreme reactions.

So whats “very rare” in this father-son-son-father-whatever-it-is story ? Club ICB reports.

Posted: December 8, 2009 by moifightclub in Bolly Jokes, bollywood, cast & crew, cinema, film review, News, shit, Thoughts
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Finally managed to catch Paa. The film which is touching every heart, making everyone cry, the “very rare” story. The “moving” film of the year.

Not sure what “very rare” exactly means. Beacuse we always felt that the word “rare” has “very” attached to it. May be Balki can explain it better. But here is the list of “very rare” things that we discovered in “Paa”.

1. The film moves in montages. Some 15-20 montages. No scenes, no dialogues. Everytime you are stuck, the answer is simple. So how does it happen ? Just play the background music and put the visuals. It doesnt matter, just increase the volume, it will flow. Father-Mother meet. Check montage. Father-son meet. Check montage. Politician goes for the act. Check montage. Kingfisher Airlines. Check Montage. The list is long and its boring!

2. Paa is the official theatrical trailer of Ramu’s next release Rann. Big B does it religiously, almost everyday, before going to bed. He blogs about it. The Small D has done it on the big screen. He suddenly goes for the big expose, which has no relation, no meaning to the main story. Media-bashing! And the way its done, we thought it looked like an internship project of  B-handarkar Woods International. Has B-alki done a short-term course from there ?

3. Paresh Rawal has one dialogue after every 12 minutes 52 seconds. And interestingly, it doesnt matter what he says, why he says and where he says. He is there to make you smile.

4. Balki is obsessesd with two things. Age – over age, under age, age difference. And over-smart kids who will mouth over-smart lines and will tickle your funny bones.

5. It breaks every rule of screenwriting. Even the eternal ones. Remember “dont say, show it”. Jaya Bachchan makes a special appearance to “say” the entire credit roll. Why ? Because its “very rare”.

6. Progeria ? Whats that ? Its a “very rare” disease. And ? And thats it. Synonym – Prosthetics.

7. The most important relationship in the film – Paa & Progeria. What do you feel when you see the bond ? Nothing. Because its cut to one more song. Check montage. There is nothing more to it. Where is the bond ? The relationship ? The “very rare” father-son-son-father-whatever-it-is ? Remember Masoom and that killer line – Kya main aapko Daddy bula sakta hoon ? The ever reliable Naseeruddin Shah & Jugal Hansraj at his career’s best. The montage works only when there is a pre-roll and post-roll to it. Otherwise, its nothing. 

8. A very-rare mutant creature on top of a clock. Is it a fish, a cockroach, a bird, a plane or a super-insect ? Every 15 minutes, there is a shot of it. Why ? Because its “very rare”. The most repetitive visual. Time’s running out!

9. Is Vidya Balan the new brand ambassador for FabIndia or some such brands. Every scene, she is in a new saree that reminds you of the previous one. Sometimes, even in one scene there are few saree changes. (Courtesy – my friend Deepak confirmed it). The film can be alternately titled Saree-spotting!

10.  Balki = Pure Gimmick = “Very Rare” talent. Give him 15 seconds and he will rock. His advertising background explains that. The promos of Cheeni Kum and Paa re-confirms it. Like Cheeni Kum, Paa is just 15 seconds idea with some smart one-liners. All that you need in advertising.

Everything else is a mess. A big mess, which is boring and is desperately begging for sympathy. Not sure if any kind of glycerine will also help in that cheesy death scene.

OR are we the only members left in the Club ICB ? Not actually, if you read the Guardian and The New York Times reviews. Click here and here to read the reviews.

And one thats not rare….

Arundhati Nag. She is still the same. Such natural presence. In every scene, whenever she is there, the keyword is effortless acting. Can we please see her more often!

PS : ICB – Inglourious Cynical Basterds.